En la noche Manolo Quejido

Manuel Quejido was born in Seville in 1946 and began to paint in Madrid in 1964.

Of the 60 years fully committed to painting, the first 50 are encompassed in the diagram of 2022 titled Condensador de la pintura M.Q. (Condenser of Painting M.Q.), contained within the catalog published on the occasion of his retrospective at the Palacio Velázquez, a show that concluded the three periods that make up his work: La Dificultad, La Pintura y La Resistencia (Hardship, Painting, and Resistance).

Five anthological catalogs are key to understand such an intense and extensive career:

1975 Centro de Arte M 11, (Velázquez’s birthplace) Seville.

1988 Manolo Quejido, de 1974 a 1978. Museo Español de Arte Contemporáneo, Madrid

1997 33 años en resistencia. IVAM. Centro del Carmen, Valencia

2006 Pintura en acción. Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo, Seville

2022-23 Distancia sin medida. Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Palacio de Velázquez, Madrid

After this hermetic introduction, one can only state that out of the 88 works produced after the conclusion of the prior 50 years, which are always accompanied by the painter’s texts, for this exhibition titled En la Noche (In the Night), Quejido has chosen to exhibit 16, along with a list of titles and corresponding technical information.

ROOM I

1. NAKBA 2024, Acrylic on canvas, 178×160 cm
2. NOCHE 2024, Acrylic on canvas, 120X200 cm
3. PALABRA 2016, Acrylic on paper, 3 items de 130×90 cm each
4. DURMIENTE 2017, Acrylic on canvas, 203×150 cm
5. 720 MINUTOS 2017, Acrylic on canvas, 200×100 cm
6. DESNUDEZ 2017, Acrylic on canvas, 180×120 cm
7. ACUCHILLARSE 2016, Acrylic on paper, 150×150 cm

ROOM II

8. TRINAR A 2019, Acrylic on canvas, 100×200 cm
9. TRINAR B 2019, Acrylic on canvas, 100×200 cm
10.  DHYANA 2024, Acrylic on canvas, 45×180 cm
11.  TRINAR C 2019, Acrylic on canvas, 100×200 cm
12.  MOVIDA 2024, Acrylic on canvas, 170×150 cm

ROOM III

13.  ENCUADRES  2024, Acrylic on paper, 3 items, 70×50 cm each
14.  GIRAFRO 2022, Acrylic on canvas, 140×200 cm
15.  RETORNAR 2021, Acrylic on canvas, 64×150 cm
16. SIN FIN  2021, Acrylic on canvas, 130×150 cm

A key figure of the new figuration movement from Madrid, Manolo Quejido’s (Seville, 1946) artistic practice is characterized by his vibrant brushstroke and chromatic liveliness, akin to an ironic and provocative attitude, influenced by the languages of Equipo 57, pop art, and by references such as Andy Warhol and David Hockney.

Quejido uses this pictorial exercise to analyze the relationship between thought and the creative act, understood as a work of art and as an action that allows for a reflection on the very essence of painting.

Galería Helga de Alvear is proud to present En la noche, (In the Night) a selection of works produced between 2016 and 2024; a unique opportunity for the viewer to become acquainted with the artist’s most recent work.