Background

José Guerrero was born on October 27, 1914 in Granada, Spain. He was a son of Emilio Garcia López Guerrero and Gracia (Padial) Guerrero.

Education

During the period from 1930 to 1934, José attended School of Arts and Crafts in Granada. Some time later, in 1940, he left for Madrid, where he studied at Escuela Superior de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (present-day Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando) until 1945. Graduating from the academy, Guerrero received a grant from the French government to study fresco painting at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He entered the École in 1946 and remained there till 1947. During his time in Paris, José also studied the works of Juan Gris, Joan Miró, Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse.

Career

In 1946, José Guerrero started to travel across Europe. He visited such cities, as Bern, Brussels, London, Paris and Rome. During his time in Rome, the artist befriended Afro (Afro Balsadella) and his brother Mirko (Mirko Balsadella). Also, he met Roxanne Whittier Pollock, an American journalist, who would later become his wife. In 1949, the couple married and settled down in Philadelphia the same year. The following year, they moved to New York City.

In 1950, José made his last figurative work, a self-portrait. It was at that time, when he abandoned figurative style for abstraction. By the mid-1950's, his style became more gestural, expressing a deeper sense of urgency, as he loosened his brushstroke and introduced a controlled dripping technique. In 1954, the artist exhibited his new paintings at an exhibition at Betty Parsons Gallery. Also, during his time in New York City, José got acquainted with many well-known painters of the American avant-garde, including Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline, Robert Motherwell, Mark Rothko and Theodoros Stamos.

In 1962, he was appointed a Professor of Art at New School for Social Research in New York City, a post he held till 1965. Since 1965, Guerrero divided his time between Spain and the United States. While living in Spain, he started to integrate pure colors into his works. His works from that period significantly differed from those predominantly black paintings of the late 1950's. Throughout the 1970's and 1980's, Guerrero produced orderly and rhythmic vertical compositions, followed by increasingly dynamic works, in which brilliant hues took the lead.

During his lifetime, the artist held numerous solo exhibitions at different museums, including those at Smithsonian Institution (1952), Betty Parsons Gallery (1954, 1958), Galería Juana Mordó in Madrid (1964), Museo de Arte Contemporáneo in Seville (1990). Also, in 1994, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía held a major retrospective of Guerrero's works.

Achievements

• José Guerrero was a renowned artist, who received many awards during his lifetime, including the Order of Isabella the Catholic (1948), Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts Grant (1958), the Order of Arts and Letters (1959, 1983) and others.
  
  Also, his works are kept in the collections of different museums, including Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Whitney Museum of American Art, Brooklyn Museum in New York City and others.

Works

More photos

• painting

  • Crossing

  • Rojo Sombrío

  • Aurora Ascendente

  • Frigiliana

  • Composition

  • Cominezo com magenta

  • Black Whims with Yellow

  • Negro con rojo

  • Untitled

  • Untitled

  • Franja roja y amarilla

  • Andalucía aparición

  • Untitled

  • Esquinas

  • Comienzo azul

  • Untitled

  • Litoral

  • Aparición y sombras

  • Untitled

  • Rojo-Morado

  • Red

  • En la casa de Velázquez

  • Untitled

  • Red Composition

  • Fosforencias

  • Intervalos Azules

  • Azul de Prusia

  • Yellow

  • Untitled

  • Comienzo

  • Green Olive

Connections

José Guerrero married Roxane Whittier Pollock, a journalist, on April 25, 1949. Their marriage produced two children — Elisabeth Garcia and José Antonio.

Father:

Emilio Garcia López Guerrero

Mother:

Gracia (Padial) Guerrero

child:

Elisabeth Garcia Guerrero

child:

José Antonio Guerrero

Wife:

Roxane Whittier Pollock

Friend:

Afro Balsadella

Friend:

Mirko Balsadella

Acquaintance:

Willem de Kooning

Acquaintance:

Theodoros Stamos