ESTEBAN VICENTE

Esteban Vicente was born in 1903 in Turégano and studied at the San Fernando Academy in Madrid. He was a contemporary of the literary Generation of ‘27, maintaining strong relationships with its members, and is thus considered the aesthetic counterpart to this generation of poets.

In 1936, he travelled to New York, where he spent his entire career. A year later, he held his first solo exhibition at the Kleemann Gallery. Vicente established connections with artists of American abstract expressionism, including De Kooning, Rothko, Pollock, and Kline, contributing to the artistic movement known as the New York School and its abstract style.

Vicente experimented extensively with collage, incorporating elements by layering materials and creating visual and textural contrasts. He used coloured paper, cardboard, fabric, and other found materials to construct his compositions.

Collage allowed Vicente to explore the relationships between different elements and textures, and to experiment with composition and visual balance. His works are characterized by a vibrant and expressive sense of colour, embodying pure aesthetic poetry. His work emanates a great sense of freedom, partly due to the improvisation with which Vicente immersed himself in pure abstraction.

Esteban Vicente is considered one of the pioneers in the use of collage in abstract art, and his innovative approach has left a significant mark on the contemporary art world. His work has been recognized and exhibited in museums and galleries worldwide.

Exhibited Work:

“Blue Field”, 1965
Collage, gouache, and charcoal
Cardboard,