Antonio Guansé

ANTONIO GUANSÉ BREA (Tortosa, Tarragona, 1926 - Paris, 2008).
"Landscape", 1972.
Lithograph, copy 41/75.
Signed, dated and justified at the bottom.
Measurements: 66 x 48,5 cm.

Painter, sculptor and engraver, Antonio Guansé developed most of his career in France. In 1945 he moved to Cerdanya, and there he dedicated himself to painting landscapes and portraits. After three years there, he moved to Ibiza, where he remained until 1951, dedicated to depicting scenes of local customs, featuring fishermen and peasants. During this period he became interested in Romanesque art, and also in the work of Zurbarán, Rembrandt, Goya and Nonell. In 1953 he arrived in Paris thanks to a French government pension, and there he discovered Van Gogh and Picasso. The following year he settles permanently in the French capital, and makes a trip through Europe that will take him to Holland, Germany and Scotland. In 1955 Guansé held his first exhibition in Paris, at Raymond Suillerot's gallery, where he regularly exhibited his work from then on. During these years he also produced his first lithographs and engravings. At the end of the fifties he reaches the new figuration through the search for a new language, and in 1962 he is awarded the French Critics Prize. Another milestone in his career will be the retrospective exhibition dedicated to him in 1971, touring the Houses of Culture of Bourges, Dole, Annemasse and Thonon-les-Bains. That same year he produced his first sculptures, ceramics and mural decorations. He is currently represented at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, among other important public and private collections.