Antonio López García, Gran Vía 1 de Agosto, 2022

He began his training with his uncle, the painter Antonio López Torres. In 1949 he traveled to Madrid to prepare to enter the San Fernando School of Fine Arts, where, between 1950 and 1955, he studied painting. In 1955 he obtained a travel grant from the Ministry of National Education with which he traveled to Italy. In 1958 he won the Fine Arts contest in the “Still Life” section of the Rodríguez Acosta Foundation, for which he received a scholarship with which he traveled to Greece, and returned to Italy, where he visited Rome, thanks to another scholarship from the Ministry. of Education.
After finishing his studies, his production includes elements of different artistic currents such as cubism or surrealism, the latter being the most recurrent since they helped him reinforce the narrative character of the works. Starting in the sixties he began to abandon the dreamlike and gradually developed a more objective approach. His motifs are portraits of people around him, interiors, still lifes and urban landscapes, which serve as background for still lifes and scenes with figures.
His sculptural work developed parallel to his painting and drawing, making reliefs in different materials, as well as the first free-standing pieces. Between 1964 and 1969 he taught the Preparatory Chair of Color at the San Fernando School of Fine Arts. Afterwards he has given courses punctually, dedicating himself completely to artistic creation.
He has participated in numerous group exhibitions and has been the protagonist of several individual exhibitions, among which those held at the Staempfli Gallery in New York in 1965 and 1968 and at the Marlborough Gallery (New York and London) in 1986 stand out for their impact. In 1985 he represented Spain at Europalia 85, Brussels, together with the artists Eduardo Chillida and Antoni Tàpies.
In 1990, the film director Víctor Erice filmed the feature film El sol del membrillo, focused on the creative process of Antonio López, which was later awarded the International Critics’ Prize at the 1992 Cannes Festival, as well as the Hugo de Gold for best fiction film at the Chicago International Film Festival and with the Best Film of the Decade Award from the Ontario Cinematheque in 1999.
During his professional career he has received numerous awards and appointments, including: the Gold Medal of Fine Arts (1983), the Pablo Iglesias award (1983); the Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts (1985); Full member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando (1993); Patron of the Prado Museum (1998-2009); Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters in New York (2004); the Ciudad Alcalá de Henares Prize for the Arts (2004); the Medal of Honor (2004) from the Menéndez Pelayo International University of Santander; the Velázquez Prize for Plastic Arts (2006); the Gold Medal for Fine Arts from the Madrid City Council (2010); Honorary Academician by the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Carlos de Valencia (2017).