EDUARDO ÚRCULO FERNÁNDEZ (Santurce, Vizcaya, 1938 - Madrid, 2003). "Embrace, 1997. Silkscreen on paper, copy 74/75. Signed, dated and justified by hand. Measurements: 76 x 57 cm; 94 x 75 cm (frame). Following his particular aesthetic, Úrculo composes his works through enigmatic objects and indeterminate, anonymous figures, which, distantly inspired by fashion illustrations and art deco posters, evoke a whole range of the contemporary popular imaginary. Painter and sculptor, one of the best exponents of pop art in Spain, Eduardo Úrculo began painting as a child, without any artistic training, and in 1957 he published his first illustrated strips in the Oviedo newspaper "La Nueva España". Shortly after, he moved to Madrid and began taking classes at the Círculo de Bellas Artes. During these years he earned his living as an illustrator and set designer, and cultivated a painting marked by social expressionism. In 1959 he went to Paris, where he furthered his training at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. In the French capital he worked as a graphic designer and met Eduardo Westerdahl, whose influence made his painting evolve towards abstraction. However, four years later he returned to figuration and social criticism. In 1967 he made a trip to Northern Europe, and it was then that he first came into contact with American pop. From then on, Úrculo's work will be marked by a realism based on a very vivid coloring and, well into the seventies, by erotic, satirical and critical themes. In the eighties he lived in New York, where he carried out important projects. In 1992 he returned to Paris. In this last period he added to his repertoire the theme of the traveler confronted with the great modern city, an ironic variant of the figure of the romantic overwhelmed by the landscape. This formal evolution could be seen through the numerous individual exhibitions he held around the world since 1959, as well as in anthologies (Centro Cultural de la Villa de Madrid, 1997, and Museo del Grabado Español Contemporáneo de Marbella, 2000). Úrculo is currently present in numerous museums and collections of modern art, among them the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderno in Rome, the Biblioteca Nacional de Madrid, the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Bogotá, the AENA, Testimoni and Fundesco collections, the Museo del Dibujo Castillo de Larrés, the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Vilafamés and others.