Antonio Ballester Vilaseca

ANTONIO BALLESTER VILASECA, "TONICO BALLESTER", (Valencia, 1970).
"Vicente Blasco Ibáñez", 1970.
In bronze with marble base. Exemplary 48/99.
Signed, dated and justified.
Measurements: 54 x 17 x 11 cm., 59 x 17 x 15 cm. (with base).

Antonio Ballester was an outstanding sculptor born in the bosom of an artistic family, being son of the sculptor Antonio Ballester Aparicio and brother of the artist Manuela Ballester. He trained in his father's workshop and at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Carlos, where he won the "Roig Prize" in 1927. Throughout his career, he combined his passion for music and drawing, standing out as a singer and sculptor.

In 1936, he married and was appointed professor of drawing. During the Civil War, he participated in the Teruel front and in the Propaganda Section of the Levante Army. After the war, he was imprisoned for a year, during which time he organized a sculpture workshop to support his family. After his release, he made works of imagery for several churches.

In 1946, he emigrated to Mexico, where he established himself as an outstanding sculptor in the artistic avant-garde. He received numerous large commissions, especially religious imagery for churches and seminaries. Between 1954 and 1957, he collaborated with architect Felix Candela on the Nuestra Señora de la Medalla Milagrosa church in Mexico City.

In 1960, he moved to Los Angeles, where he created large sculptures and figures for the Movieland Wax Museum. In 1963 he returned to Valencia, where he continued his artistic production, completing international commissions and working on new personal sculptures. In the 1970s, after completing his major projects, he devoted himself mainly to creating works of great quality, especially in bronze.