GUSTAVO TORNER (Cuenca, 1925).

GUSTAVO TORNER (Cuenca, 1925). "Appearances", 1966-1969. Mixed media on board. Presents label on the back of the Soledad Lorenzo Gallery (Madrid). Size: 69 x 90 cm; 73,5 x 95 cm (frame). Mixed technique on board, in which the author has divided the pictorial surface in two complementary ones in whose ends a tree branch painted on board can be appreciated. This type of experimentation in which Torner used different materials such as earth, roots, or wood, began in the late fifties, when he began his aesthetic research on the transcended matter. Which he subjected to an order that can be seen both in the symmetry of the composition and in the use of color. However, the binary choice of tones indicates that it is a work close to the 70s. It is worth noting the presence of the label of the Soledad Lorenzo Gallery, which was a space designed by the artist himself. Painter and sculptor, member of the so-called "Cuenca school", Gustavo Torner began his training studying engineering at Monte, however he abandoned this facet with the interest of dedicating himself professionally, for which he began a self-taught training. He made his first works in the forties, developing a figurative aesthetic style, however it was not until 1956 when he began to work in a purely abstract language, within the informalist current, and with a clear tendency towards both textuality and lyricism. His work has been characterized by exploration, so throughout his career he has worked with various techniques such as painting, engraving, sculpture, drawing, collage, photography and graphic design. In addition to the fine arts, he has participated in various fields such as scenography, and has also collaborated with the design of such significant spaces as some rooms of the Prado Museum, the Museum of Spanish Abstract Art in Cuenca, some LOEWE stores, and as an advisor in the mounting of exhibitions of the Juan March Foundation. For these reasons Torner has become one of the great artistic references of abstract art both nationally and internationally, an example of this are some of the awards he has received throughout his career such as the Grand Cross of Isabella the Catholic, the commendation and the grand cross of the Civil Order of Alfonso X the Wise, the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts, as well as being a member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando. Currently his work, praised by both critics and the public, is divided in important private collections and public spaces of great artistic interest, as well as in the Patio Herreriano in Valladolid, the MNCARS, the Municipal de Arte Contemporáneo in Madrid, the Museo de Arte Abstracto Español in Cuenca, the Conde Duque cultural center and the Torner space, located in Cuenca and inaugurated in 2005.