Antonio González
About Antonio González: The Wild Road
The world we live in is one of nonsense. I have long since come to terms with it. I live in constant contradiction, uncomfortable because I don’t know how to be outside this society of the spectacle that I so much reject. But let it not sound catastrophic, what I want to talk about here is what saves us from all that, from what we call art (the real thing), from what is an end in itself, an endless purpose. The work of Antonio González is one of those, a refuge.
Whenever I try to think, to rationalize my experience with the things that interest me, I find it very difficult to identify what it is that makes something capture my interest and pass through me in some way, bringing new nuances to the outlook on the world that, in my limitation, I manage to have. It is not a matter of thematic affinity, not only of personal interests, but rather of honesty. In a context in which artifice has come to replace any essence, the authentic creative exercise, the one that comes from obeying one’s nature, fascinates those who keep their eyes open without being dazzled by rhetoric. It is in this space where I place Antonio’s work.
Years ago Antonio chose the path of the savage, of the one who sings and dances and spins without being aware of who is watching him, the path of the one who does not let himself be tamed. With a palette of five and simple colors and forms, he has constructed a universe in which the painting thinks to itself without rest. Based on repetitions, insistence, resistance in a reality that demands a productivity to which he does not obey, his search becomes an exercise in radicalism. There is no virtuosity in his work; he has managed to divest himself of the distractions of technical sophistication. His geometries are imperfect, but at the same time they flee from the expression of the self proper to the tradition (phallocentric, on the other hand) of Abstract Expressionism. There is no will to leave his mark, no agitated gesture, only naturalness. The unprejudiced approach to his work becomes a frank conversation, close to that of childhood.
The concern for rhythm, color, form, space, structure, scale and the act of painting guide Antonio’s work. His intellectual and aesthetic references are visible through his works and could be placed in a preeminent place within contemporary abstract painting, but his work resists historical interpretation. He remains faithful to his premise, to his need to paint, oblivious to the announced death and resurrection of abstract painting.
Before his paintings, one might wonder if it is only aesthetic delight that one feels. Everyone recognizes the formal harmony of his works, their beauty. It is even possible to appreciate his decorative qualities. But it is the smart person who identifies in Antonio González’s work the value, that which differentiates the merely attractive in its form from that which transcends. His painting is mystical. His work is an excuse to get rid of the weight of the self, of the strangeness of the being, immersed in an exercise of repetition that never ends. Enjoy, ladies and gentlemen, the painting of the quiet savage.
Maite Muñoz
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
Arpilleras, Alzueta Gallery, Barcelona, Spain (2023)
2017 — 2020, Alzueta Gallery. Barcelona, Spain (2020)
De pintura a ladrillos, Art Nueve Gallery, Murcia, Spain (2019)
Pan y cartón, Con Misha Bies Golas, Espacio transversal de arte ARTNUEVE. Murcia, Spain (2017)
Pan e cartón, Con Misha Bies Golas, Galería Trinta. Santiago de Compostela, Spain (2017)
Cardboar Paintings, Alzueta Gallery, Barcelona, Spain (2017)
El ruido blanco, Galería Art Nueve, Murcia, Spain (2017)
16 pinturas de Antonio González, Après Sky, Barcelona, Spain (2016)
The Apartment (Dense Painting), Galería L21, Mallorca, Spain (2015)
Sin título, Alzueta Gallery, Barcelona, Spain (2014)
Bengalas, Galería L21, Madrid, Spain (2013)
Crash, Galería L21, Palma de Mallorca, Spain (2012)
9×12, Galeria Escala, Valencia, Spain (2011)
Sin centro ni principio, Luis Adelantado Gallery, Valencia, Spain (2005)
Sin título, Luis Adelantado Gallery, Valencia, Spain (2004)
21×21, L’Algepsar, Castellón, Spain (2004)
Sin título, Luis Adelantado Gallery, Valencia, Spain (2003)
Sin título, Punto y Línea Gallery, Oaxaca, Mexico (2003)
El brazo dobla por el codo, Horrach Moyà Gallery, Mallorca, Spain (2003)
Sin título, Ramis Barquet Gallery, Monterrey, Mexico (2003)
Aggredere, Luis Adelantado Gallery, Valencia, Spain (2002)
Sin título, Luis Adelantado Gallery, Valencia, Spain (2001)
Sílabas, Sala de Cultura Carlos III, Universidad Pública de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain (2001)
GROUP EXHIBITION
Bonavista 5, Alzueta Gallery, Barcelona, Spain (2024)
Obra sobre papel, Colección Avelino Marín, Museo Ramón Gaya, Murcia, Spain (2023)
Vende la casa, vende el coche, vende a los niños, Valencia, Spain (2021)
… y ella guarda una piedra de cada lugar que ha visitado, Juan Silió Gallery, Madrid, Spain (2020)
Durante la construcción de la muralla china, Luis Adelantado Gallery, Valencia, Spain (2019)
La hora del vermut, Valencia, Spain (2018)
Drawing Room, Art Nueve Gallery, Madrid, Spain (2017)
La hora del vermut, Valencia, Spain (2016)
An Imaginary Party II, BOILER ROOM, Galería Luis Adelantado, Valencia, Spain (2015)
Los colores de la urraca, Valdeska, Valencia, Spain (2015)
The Apertment (piloto), L21 Gallery, Mallorca, Spain (2014)
27 NEGROS, Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea (CGAC), Spain (2014)
Todo, en parte, Madrid, Spain Publicaciones de artistas en las colecciones del MACBA’ MUSAC’, Castilla y León, Spain (2013)
Ral 9005, Gallery L21, Madrid, Spain (2013)
DIN A33, Galería L21, Palma de Mallorca, Spain (2013)
Feria Swab, Galería MUTT, Barcelona, Spain (2012)
Escultura, Galería L21, Palma de Mallorca, Spain (2011)
8a Bienal Martinez Guerricabeitia Robos, Valencia, Spain, Catálogo (2006)
Negro, Gallery Luis Adelantado. Valencia, Spain (2006)
Villa Serena, Bolonia, En colaboración con ArtBo, Catálogo (2005)
Valencia Ciudad en Movimiento, Bolonia, Italy (2005)
La Tabacalera, San Sebastián, Spain (2005)
Galería Palma XII, Vilafranca del Penedés, Barcelona, Spain (2003)
Muestra 2, Galería Luis Adelantado, Mexico DF (2003)
Muestra 001, Galería Luis Adelantado, Monterrey, México (2002)
Cara a cara Con Joan Hernández Pijuan, Galería Luis Adelantado, Valencia, Spain (2002)
FORO SUR 2001, Galería Luis Adelantado, Cáceres, Spain (2001)
ART FAIRS
Art Madrid, 2021
ART MADRID, 2019
ART PARIS, 2018
ARCO 2015. Galería L21. II Premio Ron Barceló Imperial / ARCOMADRID. A la mejor exposición del 2014. The Apartment (Pilot). Madrid, Spain. (2015)
Feria Justmad 3. Galería L21. Madrid, Spain (2012)
ARCO’06. Galería Luis Adelantado. Madrid, Spain (2006)
FIAC. Galeria Luis Adelantado. Paris, France (2006)
MiArt 2006. Galería Luis Adelantado. Milán, Italy (2006)
Art Basel Miami Beach. Galería Luis Adelantado. Miami, USA (2006)
ARCO’05. Galería Luis Adelantado. Madrid, Spain (2005)
MACO. Galeria Luis Adelantado. México (2005)
ARCO’04. Galería Luis Adelantado. Madrid, Spain (2004)
FIAC Galeria Luis Adelantado. Paris, France (2004)
ArtBasel Miami Beach Galería Luis Adelantado. Miami (2004)
MACO México arte contemporáneo. Mexico (2004)
ARCO’03. Galería Luis Adelantado. Madrid, Spain (2003)
ARTissima. Galería Luis Adelantado. Turín, Italy (2003)
MiArt 2003. Galería Luis Adelantado. Milán, Italy (2003)
FIAC’03. Galería Luis Adelantado. Paris, France (2003)
Art Basel Miami Beach. Galería Luis Adelantado. Miami, USA (2003)
ARCO’02. Galería Luis Adelantado. Madrid, Spain(2002)
Art Miami ‘02. Galería Luis Adelantado. Miami, USA (2002)
Art Chicago ’02. Galería Luis Adelantado. Chicago, USA (2002)
ARTissima. Galería Luis Adelantado. Turín, Italy (2002)
FIAC ’02. Stand Galería Luis Adelantado. París, France (2002)
Art Basel Miami Beach. Galería Luis Adelantado. Miami. USA (2002)
Art Miami 2001. Galería Luis Adelantado. Miami, USA (2001)
ARCO’01. Galería Luis Adelantado. Madrid, Spain (2001)
Art Chicago 2001. Galería Luis Adelantado. Chicago, USA(2001)
ARTissima 01. Galería Luis Adelantado. Turín, Italy (2001)
FIAC 2001. Galería Luis Adelantado. Paris, France (2001)
COLLECTIONS
Obra en colecciones particulares y institucionales: Caja Madrid, Fundación Coca-Cola, Universidad Pamplona