The exhibition will show fifteen sculptures chosen by the sculptor, which will be part of the collection of the Martín Chirino Foundation that is due to open to the public next year in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
Martín Chirino is one of the most outstanding Spanish sculptors of the past decades. After training with the sculptor Manuel Ramos and later at the Escuela de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid, he subsequently travelled to Paris – where he came into contact with the work of Julio González – and also to Rome, completing his formative period at the London School of Fine Arts.
He returned to Madrid with Manuel Millares, with whom he formed a group that re-examined the local art of the Canary Islands. 1958 was a decisive year for Chirino, as it is then that he held his first solo exhibition and joined the ‘El Paso’ group along with Saura, Canogar, Feito, Millares, Ayllon, Juana Francés, Serrano, Suarez and Rivera. Starting in 1967, he periodically visited the USA, where he worked on various monumental projects.
Martín Chirino has been awarded many prizes. His work can be seen in countless collections and museums that are among the most important in the world: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; David Bright Foundation, Los Angeles; Joseph H. Hirshhorn Foundation, Smithsonian Institution, Washington; Kresge Art Center Gallery, Michigan State University, Michigan; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid; and Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Barcelona.
Parallel to the exhibition, the Cine Estudio shows the projection Martín Chirino, el escultor del hierro, a documentary about the life of the artist.