PRESS RELEASE
Antonio Murado: Mantos
Jan 7 – Feb 11, 2012
Holly Johnson Gallery in Dallas is pleased to announce the opening of Mantos: New Paintings by Antonio Murado. A reception for the artist will be held Saturday, January 7, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. The exhibition continues through Saturday, February 11, 2012.
Antonio Murado's career is steeped in contemporary abstraction, yet his basic principles draw from the past. Characterized by their luminosity and color, the paintings surfaces are seductive and smooth - like plastered walls - and are tinged with veils of green, ochre, turquoise, and plum. An artist fascinated with the alchemy of paint, his technique is derived from an intense investigation of the expressive possibilities of the paint itself, independent of the gesture. His work neither explains nor denies any representation; rather it presents the viewer with an interpretation of something vaguely familiar, with an elegance that stems from a gradual, yet deliberate movement of the brush.
Antonio Murado (b. 1964 in Lugo, Spain) studied Fine Art at the University of Salamanca, Spain and received a B.F.A in 1988. Throughout his career, he has been recognized and honored with many of Spain's highest awards for painting. After finishing his studies he lived in Madrid for several years before moving to New York in 1996, where he currently resides.
Recent solo exhibitions include Michael Schultz Gallery in Berlin (2011), the Von Lintel Gallery in New York (2009/2011), the Lucas Schoormans Gallery in New York (2005/2007), the Douglas Udell Galleries in Canada (1998/2000/2002/2006), the Nusser & Baumgart Contemporary, Munich (2006), and the Global Art Source in Zurich (2002).
In 2002 a monograph was published on Antonio Murado to coincide with an exhibition at the Contemporary Art Center of Galicia. The exhibition and monograph follows the path of the artist's work from 1980-2002. His work is in the permanent collections of Phillip Morris, Ritz-Carlton, Pfizer Inc., AXA, American Express, Chase Manhattan Bank, Shaw Pittman, The Progressive Corporation, and Winston & Strawn. His work is also in numerous museum collections throughout Spain, and also in Venezuela, and Japan.