152 - VÍCTOR MIRA (Zaragoza, 1949 – Munich, 2003).

VÍCTOR MIRA (Zaragoza, 1949 – Munich, 2003). “Never Eat Alone,” 1998. Mixed media on panel. Signed and dated in the lower right corner. Signed, dated, and titled on the reverse. Measurements: 120 x 84 cm; 123 x 87 cm (frame). Against a predominantly black background, three elongated, organic forms—outlined in white, yellow, and green—appear to advance or float in an indeterminate space, while two crosses introduce a striking symbolic counterpoint. The composition brings together some of the recurring elements of Mira’s universe: the cross, the body, spirituality, and the confrontation between the sacred and the earthly. The central forms, with an almost anthropomorphic appearance, take on an ambiguous and mysterious dimension, characteristic of the artist’s personal iconography. A sculptor, painter, printmaker, and writer, he was largely self-taught. At the age of eighteen, he held his first solo exhibition at the N’Art Gallery in Zaragoza, which was also the first outdoor sculpture exhibition ever held in that city. Shortly thereafter, he moved to Madrid, where he exhibited in 1973 at the Pol Verdié Gallery. After spending some time splitting his time between Madrid and Germany, he settled in Barcelona in 1977. In 1979, he held his first solo exhibition in Munich at the Tanit Gallery, and the following year he showed his work in the United States at the George Staempfli Gallery in New York. From then on, his international career took off, with exhibitions in Germany, the United States, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Colombia, France, Belgium, and Austria, while he continued to exhibit regularly in Spain. In 2003, shortly before his death, he received the award for best living Spanish artist at the ARCO Art Fair. The most recent retrospective exhibition dedicated to this artist was held in Düsseldorf, Germany, at the Beck & Eggeling Gallery. Works by Mira are held in museums and private collections around the world, notably the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Reina Sofía National Art Center, the MACBA, the Fine Arts Museums of Vitoria and Zaragoza, the Beulas Foundation in Huesca, and the ICO Collections Museum in Madrid.