641 - FEITO LÓPEZ, LUIS

FEITO LÓPEZ, LUIS 1929 Madrid–2021 Madrid Title: Cuadro 361. Date: Presumably before 1963. Technique: Oil on canvas. Dimensions: 96.5 x 130 cm. Notation: Titled on the reverse, lower right: 361. Inscribed and dated in the center of the stretcher on the reverse: (illegible) 1963. Additionally, details about the work are noted at the top of the stretcher. Paris customs stamps are present here and on the reverse of the canvas. Frame: Framed. Enclosed with this work is a certificate by Antonio Catedra Hernández. We are grateful to Antonio Catedra Hernández, the artist’s administrator, for his kind scholarly support. Provenance: - Galerie Arnaud, Paris (stamp) - Sotheby’s, London, auction October 17, 1991, lot 33 - Private collection, Southern Germany - Pioneer of Spanish Informel and co-founder of the artist group “El Paso” alongside Antonio Saura, Rafael Canogar, and Manolo Millares - Work characterized by an expressive, impasto-like surface quality - From his significant early creative phase within the European Informel movement Luis Feito López is considered one of the most important representatives of postwar Spanish abstraction. He studied at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid and shifted from figurative to abstract painting in the early 1950s. In 1956, he moved to Paris, where he encountered the contemporary movements of Informel and lyrical abstraction. A year later, Feito became one of the founding members of the Madrid-based artist group “El Paso,” which played a decisive role in the renewal and international recognition of Spanish art until 1960. Feito’s paintings from this period are characterized by a limited color palette and an intense focus on material, surface, and the gestural application of paint. Since the late 1950s, red has increasingly appeared alongside black, white, and earthy tones, evolving into a defining element of his visual language. “Cuadro 361” was created during this pivotal phase of his career. A deep-red background is overlaid by a monumental black form that spreads irregularly across the surface. In the center, the paint condenses into a three-dimensionally structured mass that appears almost corporeal. Here, black and red push against one another, fracture, and form crusts, ridges, and furrows. The contrast between the comparatively calm red surface and the corporeal center creates a tense concentration. Feito treats paint not merely as an optical medium, but as concrete matter: the application, densification, and disruption of the surface become part of the pictorial action. Thus, “Cuadro 361” exemplifies Spanish Informel and, at the same time, Feito’s unique fusion of gestural energy, material presence, and clear compositional order. Its provenance from the Parisian Galerie Arnaud also directly points to Feito’s early roots in the international abstract art scene. Estimated shipping costs for this lot: This lot is not suitable for parcel shipping. Transport is available only through a shipping company after consultation following the auction. Additional shipping insurance Shipping insurance up to a total invoice amount of 25,000 euros: max. 41.65 euros For a total invoice amount exceeding 25,000 Euros: 1.8 per thousand Shipping to the U.S. by individual arrangement after the auction. #Luis Feito López #Abstraction #Spain #Post-War Art #Painting #Abstract #1960s #Oil #Post-War. In accordance with §26 UrhG (German Copyright Act), VAN HAM is obligated to pay a statutory resale royalty on the sale proceeds of all original works of fine art and photography whose authors have not been deceased for 70 years prior to the end of the calendar year of the sale. The buyer shall contribute 1.5% of the hammer price toward this fee.