Alberto Banuelos has been one of the leading sculptors in Spain for the last 25 years. Now the IVAM Centre JULIO GONZALEZ dedicated him a large exhibition in Valencia. His pieces do not appear in chronological order, but are a reflection of his working process. Therefore his artwork is shown in connection to his working studio so the spectator gets an idea of his creative working processes.
Alberto Banuelos was born in Burgos in 1949. When he was a child he was already attracted to brushes and showed his talent in sketching. He went to Madrid early on in order to study at the University for political and sociological studies. From 1978 on he had his own studio where he found his way from figuration to abstraction. In 1982 he created his first sculpture a torso made from a block of alabaster. Since then torsos have always been present in his work. During the early years he also lived near the legendary stone pits of Carrara.
Banuelos sculptures seem like an echo from megaliths and monoliths from the Stone Age. You can find many famous stone related monuments from all ages in his work like the Menhire, Dolmen and the graves of Carmac or Los Millares in Almeria. ?Entre la Tierra y el Cielo? (between Heaven and earth) was the title of his exhibition which took place in Mexico between 2006 and 2008. If you look at the rising size of his sculptures you might get the idea that his sculptures are rising to the sky.
The contemporary character of his work and his dedication to his favourite material can be seen I his interest shift from technical aspects to nature itself. Banuelos asks himself if his search for the perfect shape is of aesthetic nature or a question of morale. This might origin in traditional aspects, which might lie in the ascetic mystique of Castilia. However this is a universal question, because Castilian ascetic can be found in the work of many American and UK artists of the 1960/70?s. An interesting example is ?Spiral Jetty?, created in 1970 by the American artist Robert Smithson in Great Salt Lake/Utah. Banuelos picks this up in his work ?Homenaje e Smithson? 2009, which will be shown at the exhibition.
The year 2003 marks the begin of he new phase in his work, the phase of ?deconstruction?. Therefore he uses old stones, which he splits and rearranges. He describes this as a new perspective of life for him. ?I destroy stones and make something new? Banuelos reflects about this change. It is like an element of oriental philosophy and the technique like separating fruits into smaller parts or like the opening of a door: you can see the soul of objects. ?The element of surprise is crucial and I admit that I always liked to play. An artist never forgets his childhood.
30. September 2009 - 10. Januar 2010
IVAM Centro Julio Gonzalez - Galería 5 (Sala Pinazo), Guillem de Castro, 118, E -46003 Valenciaopening hours: Tuesday - Sunday: 10 am - 8 pm Uhr, monday closedhttp://www.ivam.es
