José Pérez Sanleón

JOSÉ PÉREZ SANLEÓN (Catarroja, Valencia, 1953).
Untitled, 1999.
Oil on aluminium.
Provenance: Important Spanish Collection.
Size: 27 x 41 cm.
Over the years, the work of José Pérez has undergone an evolution from lyrical abstraction to conceptual art. In his most recent works, in which we can see a greater intervention of chance, he uses new materials, such as iron sheets. With a style that shows a great predilection for colour and finishes on the support, his expressionist gesture stands out, profuse and rich in material, often applied to figurative themes.
One of the most important abstract artists in the renewal of the Valencian and Spanish art scene in the eighties, José Sanleón began his career in the seventies, and in 1978 and 1979 he was one of the first winners of the Bancaja Painting Prize, in what was then known as the Salón de Primavera (Spring Salon). That same year, 1979, he took part in the exhibition "Perspectiva 80", and in 1986 he was part of the group exhibition "Plástica valenciana contemporánea". That same year he held an outstanding exhibition in Paris, at the Antiope France gallery, and in 1995 he exhibited at the Valencian gallery Parpalló. Mainly a painter but also a sculptor, Sanleón has carried out projects in the latter field, such as the sculptural installation at the main entrance to the Lauria building in Valencia (2008). In 2007 he was the subject of a major retrospective exhibition at the IVAM in Valencia, an institution that will devote another exhibition to him in 2010. Two years later, in 2012, the Bancaja Foundation held an extensive exhibition of his recent work. Sanleón is currently represented in the IVAM in Valencia, the Bancaja Foundation, the Argentaria and other collections, both public and private.