Cristino de Vera Foundation Opens 2025 Art Thought Encounter with Bonet Lecture

The Cristino de Vera Foundation-CajaCanarias Cultural Space is opening its 2025 Art Thought Encounter this Tuesday. It begins with a talk titled 'Mark Rothko, Clyfford Still, Antoni Tàpies, Morton Feldman: Four Non-Figurative Beacons for Cristino (and something about his reading of Gonzalo Chillida's work),' given by writer and art critic Juan Manuel Bonet. The event starts at 7:00 PM in the auditorium at the foundation's headquarters (San Agustín, 18, La Laguna). Entry is free, but space is limited.

Bonet will delve into the significant non-figurative influences on Cristino de Vera's career. He will begin by discussing early influences like Zurbarán (shared with his teacher Daniel Vázquez Díaz) and still-life painters such as Giorgio Morandi and Luis Fernández. He will then focus on a crucial point in the Tenerife-born artist's development: 1961, the year Cristino de Vera considered abstraction.

In the catalog for his solo exhibition at Madrid's Sala San Jorge, Cristino de Vera himself named Antoni Tàpies, a key figure in Spanish Informalism, and Mark Rothko, known for his sublime paintings, as guiding lights in his artistic journey. Later, Cristino expressed admiration for the powerful work of Clyfford Still. Musically, he found inspiration in Morton Feldman, who composed the immersive 'Rothko Chapel' and famously said he learned more from his painter friends than from other composers.

Bonet will also discuss Cristino de Vera's connection with Basque artist Gonzalo Chillida. Both artists shared a deep appreciation for repeating certain themes in their work.