The city―Madrid, always Madrid― is a constant theme in Antonio López’s work. In his cityscapes, the artist emphasizes the radical anonymity of the contemporary city, its nondescript expanse, a sea of buildings that disappears into the horizon. The views of Madrid are the product of a lengthy process. Executed out of doors, they depend on natural light and its variations. To capture a certain light, the artist must work at a specific time, for a specific period each day, and for only a few weeks out of the year. Each view of Madrid has developed over the course of many interruptions: leaving the work and returning to it later is, as Antonio explains, “a kind of gymnastics lasting years that is closely tied to the character of my painting.”
The most fascinating view of the city is his most recent, View of Madrid from the Vallecas Fire Tower (1990–2006), in which the city appears like an “immense model, like an enormous sculpture, built by humanity.” The disquieting features of earlier cityscapes are taken here to an extreme, the terrifying vision of an inhuman space..
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- Atocha, 1964. Oil on board. 94 x 104.1 cm. Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, Melvin Blake and Frank Purnell Collection. © Antonio López. VEGAP. Madrid, 2011.
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- Maria standing, 1963. Plaster. 76.5 x 28 x 26.5 cm. Artist’s collection. © Antonio López. VEGAP. Madrid, 2011.
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- María, 1972. Pencil on paper mounted on board. 70 x 53.3 cm. María López collection. © Antonio López. VEGAP. Madrid, 2011.
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- View of Madrid from Torres Blancas, 1974-1982. Oil on board. 156.8 x 244.9 cm. Marlborough International Fine Art. © Antonio López. VEGAP. Madrid, 2011.
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- View of Madrid from Capitán Haya, 1987-1996. Oil on canvas mounted on board. 184 x 245 cm. Madrid, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. © Antonio López. VEGAP. Madrid, 2011.
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- Campo del Moro, 1990-1994. Oil on canvas mounted on board. 190 x 245 cm. Jaume Roures Collection. © Antonio López. VEGAP. Madrid, 2011.