Helena Almeida: 'Seduzir' [To Seduce, 2002] (detail)

Collection

El Naufragio [The Shipwreck]

Image caption
MIGUEL ÁNGEL CAMPANO

El Naufragio [The Shipwreck]

  • 1984
  • Oil on canvas (Triptych)
  • 171,3 x 484,3 cm
  • Cat. P_312
  • Acquired in 1984
By:
Julián Gállego Serrano, María José Alonso, Carlos Martín

Among the more ambitious (in terms of size and compositional display) of Campano’s works from the 1980s, The Shipwreck triptych (1984) was a remarkable highlight within the series on the theme of shipwrecks, following his other glosses of works by Cézanne and Delacroix. On a rough, stormy sea, the figures and boats, depicted in thick oil paste, and the movement of the water show the artist’s ability for expressive synthesis, which had already been clearly seen in his rigorously abstract painting from the late 1970s. The energy of the brushstrokes and the touches of colour, always with a spontaneity revealing a great gift in the use of colour, link the painting to the German, Austrian and Italian Neo-Expressionism of the 1970s, which was to triumph on the market during the following decade. The whole provides a constructive rigour that is surprising for the daring and accomplished resolution of each of the three parts, addressed in a way that shows a nod to muralism.

The artists earlier, paper-based works Auburn Collage (1979) and Blue Collage (1979) date from the pivotal moment in Campano’s work in the late 1970s. The technique of paper cutting always appears to contain some reference to Kurt Schwitters, although these works are a long way from the spirit of the German artist and his Merz compositions and closer to the research by José Guerrero, acknowledged by Campano as one of his masters, who created a new language using paper cutting to produce shapes, outlines and limits. Campano had already moved on from his first painted and glued pieces of paper, more reminiscent of the neo-plastic, when he made these works, which reflect the expressive force that began to be apparent in his work from the end of the 1970s on and which was to lead to his definitive success. They are also symptomatic of the extraordinary skill Campano showed throughout his career in using colour.

 
By:
Roberto Díaz
Miguel Ángel Campano
Madrid 1948 - Madrid 2018

A leading figure in the renewal of Spanish painting in the 1980s, Miguel Ángel Campano’s work, the style of which did not fall into any set category, was based on exploring the tensions between abstraction and figurations, tradition and modernity, to create his own language. He started studying at the Madrid School of Architecture, but soon dropped out and moved to Valencia in 1968, where he began his artistic training at the San Carlos School of Fine Arts. During his initial interest in automatic processes in painting, Campano met Fernando Zóbel in 1971, who introduced him to the Cuenca circle of artists, including Gerardo Rueda and Gustavo Torner. That would draw his work into the field of geometric abstraction and lead hm further into the playful and constructive aspects of painting. He moved to the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris. During his time there, from 1976 to 1977, his work shifted away from geometrization to a form of expressionist action painting with roots in the US. In 1980, Campano was awarded a grant from the Juan March Foundation to further his studies. He began to explore French painting, from the works of Nicolas Poussin or Eugène Delacroix to the modernism of Paul Cézanne, which led to series such as La Grappa (1985-1986), and also literary figures such as Arthur Rimbaud, in the Vowels series (1979-1981). In 1994 and 1995, he travelled to India, an experience that was reflected in his paintings from that time. In 1996, he embarked on a black and white phase which lasted until 1999, when he returned to colour and gestures in works on Indian fabrics (loongis). Between 2001 and 2002, Campano produced a series of paintings inspired by the works of José Guerrero, and has continued to explore abstract art since then.

Since his first show in 1969, his work has formed part of key exhibitions for the Spanish painting renewal movement, such as ‘1980’ at the Juana Mordó Gallery (Madrid, 1979) and ‘Madrid D.F’ at Madrid Municipal Museum (1980); he has also featured in many overseas exhibitions of Spanish art from the time. Amongst the many individual shows at galleries, special mention should be made of those organised by the Valencia Institute of Modern Art (IVAM) (Valencia, 1990); the Maison des Arts Georges Pompidou (Cajarc, France, 1995) and the José Guerrero Centre (Granada, 2002), where his work has been displayed alongside that of José Guerrero. Campano was awarded the National Award for Plastic Arts and the peak of his acclaim was a major retrospective organised by the Reina Sofia at the Velázquez Palace exhibition hall in Madrid in 1999.

Roberto Díaz

 
«The Shipwreck», Galería Egam (Madrid, 1984). «Level Zero (+ 0.00) over sea level», Caja de Ahorros de Alicante (Alacant/Alicante, 1985). «20 Contemporary Spanish Painters in the Banco de España Collection», Sala de Exposiciones de la Estación Marítima Xunta de Galicia (La Coruña, 1990). «20 Contemporary Spanish Painters in the Banco de España Collection», Palacio del Almudí (Murcia, 1990). «20 Contemporary Spanish Painters in the Banco de España Collection», Sala Amós Salvador (Logroño, 1990). «20 Contemporary Spanish Painters in the Banco de España Collection», Museo de Navarra (Pamplona/Iruña, 1990-1991). «Campano, 1979-1993», Association Fortant de France (Séte, 1994).
Alfonso E. Pérez Sánchez & Julián Gállego Banco de España. Colección de pintura, Madrid, Banco de España, 1985. José María Báez Cota Cero (+-) sobre el nivel del mar, Alicante/Alacant, Diputación Provincial, 1985. Alfonso E. Pérez Sánchez, Julián Gállego & María José Alonso Colección de pintura del Banco de España, Madrid, Banco de España, 1988. Vv.Aa. 20 pintores españoles contemporáneos en la colección del Banco de España, Madrid, Banco de España, 1990. Santiago B. Olmo Campano 1979-1993, Sète, Espace Fortant de France, 1994. Vv.Aa. Colección Banco de España. Catálogo razonado, Madrid, Banco de España, 2019, vol. 2.