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