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

VÍCTOR MIRA (Zaragoza, 1949 – Munich, 2003). “Spinning,” 1999. Mixed media on cardstock. Signed, dated, and titled on the reverse. Measurements: 42 x 30 cm; 53 x 43 cm (frame). A painter, sculptor, 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. During his years in the capital, he attended the Pamplona Encounters, where he met John Cage. Two years later, in 1974, Ana María Canales published her book *Víctor Mira, You Are My Favorite Painter*. In 1975, he traveled to Heidelberg, where he lived for five months, and that same year he published “El libro de las dos hojas.” In 1976, he began working in Germany on his series “Spanische Haltung” and “Manos.” After spending some time splitting her time between Madrid and Germany, she settled in Barcelona in 1977. There she began her series of paintings “Catalan Interiors with Tomatoes,” and in 1979 she published her first book of poems, “The Well-Being of Demons.” That same year, 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 1983, he traveled to the United States for the first time, invited by the Meadows Museum in Dallas, and that same year he worked in the printmaking studios at Southern Methodist University in Dallas and spent five months in New York. Also in 1983, he created his first series of iron sculptures in Barcelona, “Cultura del arco” and “Mediodías.” Over the following years, he continued to hold major exhibitions around the world, in addition to publishing books of poetry, bibliophile editions, graphic works, and more. In 1997, he was invited by Amy Chaiklin to participate in the New York Art Biennale, and six years later, shortly before his death, he received the award for best living Spanish artist at the ARCO 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 in Barcelona, the Fine Arts Museums of Vitoria and Zaragoza, the Beulas Foundation in Huesca, and the ICO Collections Museum in Madrid, among others.