Manuel Rivera, sometimes referred to as Manuel Rivera Hernández, (April 23, 1927– January 2, 1995) was a Spanish painter. He was a founding member of the influential "El Paso group" of Spanish artists in Madrid who were at the forefront of the Spanish avant-garde art movement of the Post-World War II era. His works are part of the permanent collections of several museums, including the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

in New York City and the

J. Paul Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. The Getty Center is located in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles and fea ...

in Los Angeles.

Life and career

Born in Granada, Rivera began his training as a sculptor in the studio of Martín Simón. His interests moved to towards painting and he trained at the Escuela Superior de Bellas Artes de Seville (now part of the

University of Seville The University of Seville (''Universidad de Sevilla'') is a university in Seville, Spain. Founded under the name of ''Colegio Santa María de Jesús'' in 1505, it has a present student body of over 69.200, and is one of the top-ranked universi ...

) where he began his studies in 1945 at the age of 18. His first major exhibition was at the Granada Press Association in 1947. After completing his education, he moved to Madrid in 1951 where he became known as a painter of murals and frescos in public spaces and churches. This led to commissions as a muralist and fresco artist in cities throughout Spain. Initially a painter working in the style of figurative art, Rivera began working in an abstract style in the 1950s. In 1953 he took part in the Congreso de Arte Abstracto de Santander (Congress of Abstract Art). In 1957 he co-founded the El Paso group in Madrid with fellow artists Rafael Canogar,

Luis Feito Luis Feito López (13 October 1929 – 7 February 2021) was a Spanish painter. His work was influenced by cubism and informalism. Feito lived and worked in Madrid until his death from COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Madrid in February 2 ...

, Juana Francés,

Manolo Millares Manolo Millares (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, 17 January 1926 – Madrid, 14 August 1972) was a Spanish painter. Biography Self-taught as an artist, Millares was introduced to Surrealism in 1948. In 1953, he moved to Madri ...

Pablo Serrano Pablo Serrano Aguilar, (8 March 1908, Crivillén, Teruel – 26 November 1985, Madrid) was a Spanish abstract sculptor. Personal life 1920–1925. Pablo Serrano studied as a boarder in the Escuelas Profesionales Salesianas in Sarriá (Barcel ...

, Antonio Suárez, and Antonio Saura. The founding members also included art critics José Ayllón and Manolo Conde. From 1957 through 1960 Rivera and the other artists in this group jointly presented several exhibitions in Spain and abroad which had a profound impact on the development of Spanish Art. The group's final exhibition was at the L'Attico gallery in Rome in 1960. The

Marlborough Gallery Marlborough Fine Art was founded in London in 1946 by Frank Lloyd and Harry Fischer. In 1963, a gallery was opened as Marlborough-Gerson in Manhattan, New York, at the Fuller Building on Madison Avenue and 57th Street, which later relocated in ...

featured a retrospective exhibition of the group's works in May and June 2004 entitled ‘El Paso, 1957-1960’. In 1967 Rivera began experimenting with artistic techniques and ideas from Asian cultures. In 1981 he was awarded Spain's gold medal for Merit in Fine Arts. He was also the recipient of the Chevalier's Cross of l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France.

References

External links

Meteamorphosis at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rivera, Manuel 1927 births 1995 deaths 20th-century Spanish painters 20th-century Spanish male artists Spanish male painters Modern painters Spanish contemporary artists Spanish painters Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres