MANUEL RIVERA HERNÁNDEZ (Granada, 1928 - Madrid, 1995)."Cadencia, 35".Mixed media on sackcloth.

MANUEL RIVERA HERNÁNDEZ (Granada, 1928 - Madrid, 1995).
"Cadencia, 35".
Mixed media on sackcloth.
Signed in the lower right corner. Signed and titled on the back.
Size: 81 x 65 cm; 87 x 72 cm (frame).
In this work the author uses an abstract language, based on irregular geometry, with an organic character both in its outline and in the colours. It is an open style, whose basic characteristic is the conception of the pictorial surface as a whole, as an open field, without limits and without hierarchy. Thus, as we see here, the pictorial forms are the result of a thought-out composition and experimentation, with an image of a gestural nature, not limited to a composition, but going beyond it, indicating to the spectator that it is about forms, ideas or suggestions that go beyond the boundaries of the purely pictorial. This work on sackcloth is an example of Rivera's work, in which he explored the material and other elements such as sands. It is likely that the work belongs to an early stage of his career, before his trip to Paris, as this is when he began to work with this material.
Manuel Rivera was a founding member of the influential "El Paso group", and was one of the pioneers and introductory members of the Spanish avant-garde art movement after the Second World War. Rivera began his training as a sculptor in the workshop of Martín Simón and his interests turned towards painting and he trained at the Escuela Superior de Bellas Artes de Sevilla (now part of the University of Seville) where he began his studies in 1945 at the age of 18. His first major exhibition was at the Granada Press Association in 1947. After completing his training, he moved to Madrid in 1951 where he became known as a painter of murals and frescoes in public spaces and churches. This led to commissions as a muralist and fresco artist in cities throughout Spain. Initially his work explored the style of figurative art, although in the 1950s he turned to abstraction. In 1953 he took part in the Congress of Abstract Art in Santander (Congreso de Arte Abstracto). In 1957 he co-founded the El Paso group in Madrid with fellow artists Rafael Canogar, Luis Feito, Juana Francés, Manolo Millares, Pablo Serrano, Antonio Suárez and Antonio Saura. From 1957 to 1960, Rivera and the other artists in this group jointly presented several exhibitions in Spain and abroad which had a profound impact on the development of Spanish art. The final exhibition of the group was at the L'Attico gallery in Rome in 1960. The Marlborough Gallery presented a retrospective exhibition of the group's works in May and June 2004 entitled "El Paso, 1957-1960". In 1967 Rivera began experimenting with artistic techniques and ideas from Asian cultures. In 1981 he was awarded Spain's Gold Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts. He was also awarded the Cross of Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France. He is currently represented at the British Museum in London, the MoMA in New York, the Musée National d'Art Moderne de la Villa in Paris, the Museum of Modern Art in Zurich, the Museum of Abstract Art in Cuenca, the Tate Gallery in London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles and many others.