CERCLE 1

A s anabrupt reaction to theever-questionedmeaningof abs- tract art, so common in the 1940s and 1950s, all kinds of polemical ideas cameabout in the1950s in theheart of various professional collectiveson the themeof the interest inabstracti- on, and thedefenseof realism. Insomecases, it turned intodeep andevenviolent radicalisationonboth sides. Simultaneous to this hostile climate ofmutual insensitivity and disdain, interesting and conciliatory artistic avant-gardes arose that solidly overcame fanaticism and arrogance. Thiswas done withamise-en-scène thatwasable tomarryabstractandrealist elementswith both skill and beauty. Thiswas the beginning of what was coming to be called new figuration and, with it, both light and colour regained their splendour in an almost obsessi- ve search for dynamism and expression that transformed rea- lity. This it did on occasionwith delicate, poetic shades, albeit makinguseof techniquesmorecommon to informalism. This current was highly important, to the extent that is was slowly introduced into schools anduniversities, rising up as an interesting way of expressing non-conformity and rebellion in the face of the dogmatics of geometric abstractionism or the obstination of thosewho only saw realism as a valid source of artisticexpression. Despite undergoing some variation throughout its evolution, themovementmaintains its desire to transgress and seek new prototypes,which translated intoadeep creativeeffervescence, withproposalsasvariedas theywerepersonalwhichwenton to flood theartistic scenesof the time. Relying on a renewed expressive freedom, the neo-figuratives depicted surrounded in its crudeness and dramatism, a way of doing that has been faithfully represented by Francis Bacon (1902-92), the autor of an organic oeuvre that has great stren- gthanddeeplysurrealist connotations. He forcesus to look into the internal landscapeof thehumanbeing, into thestateof their soul. Lucien Freud (1922-2011) is one of the most represen- tative figures of English figurative painting and of the London School. Focusses on a return to the everyday, and reality was portrayed with no ambiguity and somoved towards a greater neutrality of gaze that became very popular and prestigious in Spain around1965. Then, it gaveway to a figurative trend from Paris, namednarrative figuration. In themidst of the riseof pop art, agroupof Parisianartists (albeit not all French), decided to sidewith theanecdote, the theme, anduse it foraplucky, critical gaze. Quite different from pop art, they do not appropriate the image, theynarrate it. Around the same time, the so-called Italian trans-avantgardes seemed tobe contentwith a shockingmovement of supporting figuration, and although theywerenot relevant formore than a decade, theywerecrucialwithin thecontextofEuropean figura- tionas theyglorified traditional pictorial values. 21st century figurative painting is still highly preoccupiedwith the concept, which should always over come the format, which is thensubject to themessageof eachartwork. Andhere I’mnot throwingmyweight behind conceptual art as a category, given that essentially there is no artwork lacking in concept. If there were, itwouldbeworthyof studyandconsideration for its rare- ness. Figurativeart, inanyof itshighlyvaried formsof expressi- on, iscreatingmoreandmore linkswith thepublicbyofferinga more accesible reading due to itsmore recognisable form. This I thinknecessary after the difficult digestionof the ‘merely and purely conceptual’, and the popular descrediting contemporary arthas sufferedover the last yearsof the20thcentury.█