Luis Canelo

Luis Canelo - Untitled. Series B Mandalas

Biography of the Artist: Moraleja, Cáceres (Spain), 1942 Degree in Philosophy and Educational Sciences from the Complutense University of Madrid. Professor of Philosophy of I.B. He received the Juan March Foundation Grant for Research in the Plastic Arts, on Matter and its evolution in 1978. In 1980 he was awarded the National Artistic Heritage Grant for the research of The New Expressive Forms on the painting of matter in its biological aspect. Since his beginnings, Canelo has always focused on the interpretation of Nature from different approaches, but with permanent fidelity to this area of reality. According to different stages, he has been alternating mineral or organic, descriptive or metaphorical approaches, with languages sometimes inspired by biological fluidity or mineral solidity, and others in the geometric structure of the natural order. Likewise, they permanently underlie oscillations between the directly observable landscape and micro-material data that germinally conform it. In front of his works one has the sensation of capturing in different scales natural environments: either wide (landscapes, orographies, aerial perspectives), intermediate (gardens, walls...) or also very restricted (small elements, minerals or cells). And although the geometric structures organize the space rationally, the interest in the larval state of Nature does not disappear, manifesting a certain echo of the pulsation or the aroma of Matter. Canelo has had numerous solo exhibitions since 1969 and in turn has participated in important group exhibitions in institutions such as the Lunds Konstalla in Stockholm, the Royal Palace Museum in Brussels, Belgium. The Juana de Aizpuru Gallery... His works are part of numerous museums and public collections such as the Museum of Contemporary Art of Seville, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Madrid, the Juan March Foundation. MEIAC, Badajoz. IVAM, Valencia or the Bank of Spain Collection, among many others.

 

Luis Canelo's (1942, Cáceres) career of more than 50 years focuses on the interpretation of nature, combining an artistic language that reflects his maturity. In his work, Canelo fuses the spontaneity of nature with geometric structures, using lines and sticks that interact with various materials. His concept of "geometric place" relates mathematical elements and the observation of the landscape, highlighting the more symbolic color of mineral and organic aspects.