Conference: “Sempere. Time in Paris: going, coming, going again” by Rosa Castells, as part of the presentation and opening of the exhibition Sempere in Paris, held on 14 March 2024 at the IVAM Centre Julio González.
On the occasion of the centenary of the birth of Eusebio Sempere (Onil, Alicante, 1923–1985), the IVAM, in collaboration with MACA—Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Alicante, presents an exhibition focused on his time in Paris, spanning from 1948 to January 1960. The Alicante-born artist arrived in the French capital to engage with modernity and participate in the art of his time. He returned twelve years later, perhaps disillusioned and with a sense of personal failure, but carrying a certain aura of success and a solid artistic formation.
During his stay in Paris, Sempere deepened his engagement with geometric abstraction while developing his own artistic vocabulary, reflected in two key series. First, the gouaches on cardboard, known as the Paris gouaches: a quiet, almost secretive body of work that achieved remarkable maturity. Second, the luminous reliefs, a kind of artifact with electrical installation that simulates movement through different illuminated planes where geometric forms are outlined.
In Paris, Sempere built a network of social and artistic relationships that shaped his personality and influenced his character permanently. Among his friends were Eduardo Chillida, Pablo Palazuelo, Salvador Victoria, Lucio Muñoz, Joaquín Ramo, and the Valencians Doro Balaguer and Vicente Castellano. He also engaged with avant-garde artists such as Kandinsky, Braque, and Julio González, the geometric artists of Galerie Denise René—Vasarely, Arp, Delaunay, Schoffer, Soto, Sobrino, Seuphor, etc.—and the Cuban artist Wifredo Arcay, from whom he learned silkscreen techniques.
Rosa Castells, curator and head of collections at MACA, delivered the conference Eusebio Sempere. Time in Paris: going, coming, going again as an introduction to the exhibition opening.
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