Julio Gonzalez, Drawing in Space

DESSINER DANS L'ESPACE
150 Years Since the Birth of Julio González

An exhibition in collaboration with the Julio González Estate

Julio González was born in Barcelona in 1876 into a family of metalworkers. When he moved to Paris in 1899 to become a painter, he initially earned a living by making buttons and jewelry out of iron and enamel.
His mastery of metal—and specifically the technique of autogenous welding—gave him a unique position among his artist friends. It was in this context that, in 1928, Pablo Picasso turned to his old Catalan friend for help in creating a funerary monument honoring Guillaume Apollinaire—a statue made "of nothing, of void." Between 1928 and 1932, their collaboration sparked a true revolution in sculpture. The planes of Cubism exploded into space; González developed an aesthetic composed of wires, rods, and empty space, shattering the established canons of sculpture.
As the Spanish Civil War loomed, González committed himself to creating far more realistic depictions of screaming women (Montserrat), which became symbols of resistance against fascism.
This return to figuration seemed to proclaim that the political situation no longer allowed for the luxury of the avant-garde—that commitment had to be explicit. The relevance of this motif was further underscored by the outbreak of the Second World War. Right up until the days before his death in 1942, González alternated between creating avant-garde welded-iron sculptures and depictions of Montserrat.
The brutality of the subjects and the material did not preclude a profound poetry, delicacy, and beauty; these qualities inspired many major modern figures—such as David Smith, Mark di Suvero, and Anthony Caro—who recognized him as the pioneer who transformed the face of sculpture

10th October - 17th January
Galerie Bastide