02/04/2014
The exhibition is on show in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento until 6th May
Following this, there is just one more stop-off in Bilbao between 20th May and 17th July
This travelling exhibition which ahs visited several major arts centres in Spain has now arrived in Valencia City, where it can be viewed in the Plaza del ayuntamiento until 6th May.
This open air exhibition celebrates the work of Henry Moore (1898-1986), one of the great masters of modern sculpture. In the decades following the Second World War Moore earned global fame for the monumental bronzes which are sited in many of the world’s civic and public outdoor spaces.
Selected by Anita Feldman, Head of Collections and Exhibitions of The Henry Moore Foundation, the exhibition includes seven monumental bronzes created by Moore at the peak of his career, between 1960 and 1982. These seven sculptures are representative of key motifs in Moore’s work: the fascination with the reclining figure and the ‘mother and child’ themes; the exploration of the relationship of the human figure with the landscape, both urban and rural; the tension between naturalism and abstraction; the transformation of natural objects into sculptural forms.
The exhibition will allow hundreds of thousands of people to enjoy some of Moore’s best known and most imposing sculptures against the stunning backdrop of five Spanish cities. Moore conceived remarkably few works with a particular site in mind, so one of the most exciting aspects of this project will be the unique opportunity to see the same sculptures displayed in such different but equally beautiful settings.
Henry Moore and Spain
Moore’s only visit to Spain was in the summer of 1934, on a motoring holiday with his wife Irina and their close friends Raymond and Edna ‘Gin’ Coxon. They entered the country from France at Pamplona and took the coastal road to the Altamira caves, which Moore described as the ‘Royal Academy of Cave Painting’. Afterwards, they visited Madrid, Toledo and Vich. Though Moore never returned to Spain, it and its art continued to hold a special significance for him for the rest of his life.
Like many artists of his generation, Moore was horrified by the events befalling Spain so soon after his visit. Never in his career was he more vocal about politics, and his sympathy for the plight of the Spanish people was reinforced by a visit to Pablo Picasso’s studio in 1937, where he saw Guernica in progress. Two years later Moore made his first lithograph, Spanish Prisoner (CGM 3), with a view to selling it in aid of Republican prisoners of war held in French detention camps.
Important exhibitions of Moore’s work were held in Spain in 1981 (Fundación Miró, Barcelona, and Palacio de Velázquez, Madrid) and 2006 (Caixa Forum, Barcelona). Queen Sofia of Spain visited Moore at his home in Perry Green in 1983.
The Henry Moore Foundation maintains the artist’s home, studios and grounds in Hertfordshire, as well as the world’s largest collection of Moore’s sculpture, drawings, graphics, textiles and tapestries. This collection is managed from Perry Green by the curatorial staff who are actively involved in the research, support and curating of Moore’s work worldwide. More information about the artist and how to see his works can be found at www.henry-moore.org
All Text and Images are Subject to Copyright
