José Duarte Montilla

JOSÉ DUARTE MONTILLA (Córdoba, 1928- Madrid, 2017).
Untitled, 1977-1978.
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower right corner. Signed, dated on the back and located (Madrid) on the back.
Measurements. 73 x 100 cm; 86 x 130 cm (frame).
José Duarte was formed in the School of Arts and Trades of Cordoba and in the School of Fine Arts of Santa Isabel de Hungría, in Seville. He later traveled to Paris and met Picasso, an encounter that deeply marked Duarte and prompted him to settle in the French capital in 1956. A year later he was a founding member of Equipo 57, with which he held exhibitions in Paris, Copenhagen and Madrid, among other cities. In addition, in 1993 the MNCA Reina Sofia dedicated an important retrospective exhibition to the group. Equipo 57 was dissolved in 1963, and José Duarte rethought his objectives as an artist. He then joined the group of engravers Estampa Popular, and took part in all their exhibitions, held in Spain and abroad. This was the beginning of what would become his clearly figurative line, which he would not abandon for the rest of his career. He will work on social themes until 1980, and at the same time he makes his work known through important exhibitions in Spain and abroad. However, between 1981 and 1989 Duarte went into crisis and stopped exhibiting, until 1991, when he decided to bring to light all the works he had produced during that time. Since then, and already in his current work, Duarte's passion is focused on painting for its own sake. During these years he held important exhibitions in Madrid, the Seville Expo and Cordoba (monographic), among other cities, and the maturity of his new work came to light, which in 1995 earned him the Plastic Arts Award of the Community of Madrid, two years after receiving the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts along with the other members of Equipo 57. José Duarte is currently represented in the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, among other collections, both public and private.