Museo de Arte Abstracto Español
You are in for a double treat here. Cuenca’s first major contemporary art museum, established by the visionary artist Fernando Zóbel in 1966, occupies two of its casas colgadas (hanging houses). It’s hard to know where to look first—at the details of this extraordinary building, out the windows at the dramatic gorge, or at the unsettling art on the walls.
The setting is entirely appropriate. The permanent collection is based around the work of artists who formed avant-garde groups in the 1950s in response to the stagnating art of Franco’s Spain. Some of them—including Antonio Saura, José Guerrero, and Gustavo Torner—moved into Cuenca’s historic upper quarter which had fallen into decay after the Spanish Civil War. Abstract art has been directly responsible for the regeneration of this remarkable city.
Among many highlights here—as well as first-rate temporary exhibitions—are Torner’s scrap metal landscapes, Guerrero’s matchbook blocks of color, and Saura’s black-and-white snarls, epitomized by grotesque portraits of Felipe II and Brigitte Bardot. We also like the thrusting gestures of Fernando Zóbel (founder of the museum), which mimic the verticality of the Cuenca streets.
You are in for a double treat here. Cuenca’s first major contemporary art museum, established by the visionary artist Fernando Zóbel in 1966, occupies two of its casas colgadas (hanging houses). It’s hard to know where to look first—at the details of this extraordinary building, out the windows at the dramatic gorge, or at the unsettling art on the walls.
The setting is entirely appropriate. The permanent collection is based around the work of artists who formed avant-garde groups in the 1950s in response to the stagnating art of Franco’s Spain. Some of them—including Antonio Saura, José Guerrero, and Gustavo Torner—moved into Cuenca’s historic upper quarter which had fallen into decay after the Spanish Civil War. Abstract art has been directly responsible for the regeneration of this remarkable city.
Among many highlights here—as well as first-rate temporary exhibitions—are Torner’s scrap metal landscapes, Guerrero’s matchbook blocks of color, and Saura’s black-and-white snarls, epitomized by grotesque portraits of Felipe II and Brigitte Bardot. We also like the thrusting gestures of Fernando Zóbel (founder of the museum), which mimic the verticality of the Cuenca streets.
Details
Bookstore
Available as paperback
and as e-book.
