CARLOS LEÓN (Ceuta, 1948).
"Devastated Memory", 1987.
Acrylic on canvas.
Presents label of the Soledad Lorenzo gallery (Madrid).
Signed, dated, titled and located (Madrid) on the back.
Size: 178 x 257 cm; 179 x 258 cm (frame).
In this work "Devastated Memory", the author proposes an abstract, expressive and emphatic image in the use of colour and the movement of the pictorial material on the surface of the canvas. This apparent chaos, where dark tones converge with light colours such as pink, blue or yellow, becomes a space that invites the spectator to reflect on the rupture, the light and the darkness that coexist in the same space, or in the same life. He speaks to us of memory, but also of personal or collective history, presenting us with an image where colour seems to be dragged along, as if it were the waves of the sea.
In 1968 Carlos León abandoned his medical studies to devote himself completely to art. Four years later, he moved to Paris to continue his artistic training. It was there that he met Marcelin Pleynet, art critic, and began to form part of the circle of artists and theoreticians connected with the magazine "Peinture, cahiers théoriques". In 1975, he held a group exhibition at the prestigious Galería Buades (Madrid), and in 1976, his first individual exhibition took place at the Galería Juan Mas, where he achieved a notable success that made him one of the names proposed for the Venice Biennale. Years later, he returned to Paris, thanks to a grant awarded by the Juan March Foundation, a situation which was repeated in 1985, in this case to New York, with a grant awarded by the Spanish-American Joint Committee. In 1987, he began his work as a teacher, teaching at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Cuenca until 1991. His work can currently be seen in important international art spaces, including the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, Spain, the Barcelona City Council Collection, Spain, the Bank of Spain Collection, Madrid, Spain, the Citibank Collection, Madrid, Spain, the Autonomous Community of Madrid Collection, Spain, the Helga de Alvear Foundation, Cáceres, Spain, the Triangle Artist Workshop Collection, New York, USA, the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, Spain, the Centre of Contemporary Art, Cleveland, Ohio, USA, the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, Spain, the Centre of Contemporary Art, Cleveland, Ohio, USA, the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, Spain, the Cuenca Fine Arts Centre, Cuenca, Spain and the Cuenca Fine Arts Centre, Cuenca, Spain. Ohio, USA, the Colección Caja Madrid, Spain, the Portland Museum, Clement Greenbergs legacy, USA, the Museo Municipal, Madrid, Spain, the Fundación La Caixa, Spain, the Colección Fundación Mer, Spain. The MUSAC, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León, León, Spain and Museo Patio Herreriano, Valladolid, Spain.