In Esteban Vicente’s later work, which includes Calma from 1992, the formal settings sometimes dissolve into seas of colour reminiscent of later works by William Turner. This impression results from Vicente’s approach to the painting process: first, he selected a basic colour for each work, which he then juxtaposed with further colour settings. Calma is dominated by an intense blue where its absence is required to allow a glimpse of other hues or broken up by the inclusion of different colours. With his intense, luminous hues and calm compositions, Vicente brought a new elegance to Abstract Expressionist painting.
Esteban Vicente (1903–2001)
Calma, 1992
Currently exhibited: Yes (Gallery: The Beat Goes On)
Material: Oil on canvas
Size: 112 x 157.5 cm
Inv-Nr.: B_337
Keywords:
Previous owner: Berry-Hill Galleries, New York; unknown, 1998
Acquisition: Reinhard Ernst Collection, Sotheby´s, New York, 2015
Solo exhibition:
1993
‘Esteban Vicente at 90: Five Decades of Work’, Berry Hill-Galleries, New York, USA
Esteban Vicente and his wife Harriet moved from Madrid to New York after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936. The Spanish ambassador to the United States appointed him vice-consul in Philadelphia, a position he held for three years, giving him the opportunity to continue his art. He had his first solo exhibition in 1937 at the Kleeman Gallery. In the 1950s he established relationships with members of the nascent New York School (such as Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock and Frank Kline) and participated in their seminal exhibition at the Kootz Gallery in 1950 and the 9th Street Art Exhibition in 1951. He was subsequently represented by the Leo Castelli, André Emmerich, and Berry-Hill galleries in New York City.
Upon entering the American art world, Vicente’s painting began evolving toward luminous colour compositions in which he superimposed individual organic colour forms (compare No. 01 from 1967 in the Reinhard Ernst Collection). His formal compositions become more generous in his later work and often dissolve into seas of colour that are more reminiscent of his early landscape paintings. This impression results from Vicente’s approach to the painting process: first, he selected a basic colour for each work, which he then juxtaposed with further colour settings. Calma is dominated by an intense blue where its absence is required to allow a glimpse of other hues or broken up by the inclusion of different colours. With his intense, luminous hues and calm compositions, Vicente brought a new elegance to Abstract Expressionist painting. He explained, ‘De Kooning’s work is violent, mine is calm. And calm is a Spanish thing. The origin of the culture you come from is forever with you.’ [1]
[1] Interview with Esteban Vicente, in: Esteban Vicente: Portrait of an Artist, directed by Madeline Amgott, Harriet & Esteban Vicente Foundation, MUSE Film & Television, 49 min, URL: https://youtu.be/f2CzhrnbONM [here 19:20–19:40 min].
