COPPER MEDAL TFP AWARDS 1995 ANDREU ALFAROID32305279
Andreu Alfaro held his first solo exhibition in 1957, after which moment he would not cease to paint. Alfaro was one of the few artists of his generation who remained in his home town, for he always had its interests very much at heart. In 1958 he took a trip to Brussels where he visited the retrospective exhibition "Fifty Years of Modern Art" which displayed a view of the different European trends.
Influenced particularly by Jorge Oteiza and the Russian constructivists, upon his return to Valencia he created his first wire and tinplate sculptures that bore the mark of his distinctive style: abstract compositions of geometrical shapes formed using constructive methods in which the line clearly predominated. That same year Alfaro participated in the formation of the Parpalló group, a movement for the renovation of Valencian art, the members being brought together by their interest in creating socially responsible work. Space for a fountain in the German School of Valencia, and Cosmos 62, now housed in the IVAM (Valencia's Modern Art Museum), were his first huge works made for outside spaces, a type of sculpture that had always interested this artist.
In 1964 his work underwent a further change of course in which his style would be defined by the use of very streamlined, simple, dynamic shapes that would make him one of the forerunners of Minimal Art in Spain. The most well-known series by the artist are the Generatrices, very dynamic compositions made up of a sequence of tubes that are arranged in space so as to create radial structures. His work was selected to represent Spain in the 23rd Venice Biennale.
In the seventies he embarked on Op Art and experimented with industrial materials, focusing increasingly on sculpture for the large urban space and showing great scenographic flair. A good example of this is the Puerta de la Ilustración (1984-1990), located in Madrid in the avenue of the same name. After the retrospective exhibition of his work that the Ministry of Culture held for him in 1979 in the Palace of Velázquez in Madrid, Alfaro decided on a complete turnaround in his activity. In recognition of his past performance, the artist received the National Visual Arts Award in 1981 and in 1995 he was again chosen to represent Spain at the 46th Biennale of Venice.
| Year | 1995 |
| Diameter (mm) | 60 |
| Metal | Copper |
| Weight (g) | 112 |
| Maximum Mintage (units) | 225 |
Andreu Alfaro (Valencia 1929 - 2012)
Andreu Alfaro held his first solo exhibition in 1957, after which moment he would not cease to paint. Alfaro was one of the few artists of his generation who remained in his home town, for he always had its interests very much at heart. In 1958 he took a trip to Brussels where he visited the retrospective exhibition "Fifty Years of Modern Art" which displayed a view of the different European trends.
Influenced particularly by Jorge Oteiza and the Russian constructivists, upon his return to Valencia he created his first wire and tinplate sculptures that bore the mark of his distinctive style: abstract compositions of geometrical shapes formed using constructive methods in which the line clearly predominated. That same year Alfaro participated in the formation of the Parpalló group, a movement for the renovation of Valencian art, the members being brought together by their interest in creating socially responsible work. Space for a fountain in the German School of Valencia, and Cosmos 62, now housed in the IVAM (Valencia's Modern Art Museum), were his first huge works made for outside spaces, a type of sculpture that had always interested this artist.
In 1964 his work underwent a further change of course in which his style would be defined by the use of very streamlined, simple, dynamic shapes that would make him one of the forerunners of Minimal Art in Spain. The most well-known series by the artist are the Generatrices, very dynamic compositions made up of a sequence of tubes that are arranged in space so as to create radial structures. His work was selected to represent Spain in the 23rd Venice Biennale.
In the seventies he embarked on Op Art and experimented with industrial materials, focusing increasingly on sculpture for the large urban space and showing great scenographic flair. A good example of this is the Puerta de la Ilustración (1984-1990), located in Madrid in the avenue of the same name. After the retrospective exhibition of his work that the Ministry of Culture held for him in 1979 in the Palace of Velázquez in Madrid, Alfaro decided on a complete turnaround in his activity. In recognition of his past performance, the artist received the National Visual Arts Award in 1981 and in 1995 he was again chosen to represent Spain at the 46th Biennale of Venice.