Major Néstor Martín Exhibition Opens in Tenerife, Showcasing Canarian Art Icon

TEA Tenerife Espacio de las Artes has unveiled "Néstor Re-Encountered," the first major exhibition on the island dedicated to Néstor Martín-Fernández de la Torre (1887-1938), from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

Opening this Friday at 6:00 p.m., the exhibition is curated by Juan Vicente Aliaga. It features over 200 works, including paintings, drawings, sculptures, books, documents, photographs, and archival materials. These items trace the influential career of this artist, who played a key role in shaping the visual culture of the Canary Islands in the early 20th century.

This Saturday at noon, Aliaga will give a talk about the exhibition. Admission is free, and the exhibition runs until March 1, 2026. It's open Tuesday to Sunday and on holidays, from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

These details were announced yesterday by José Carlos Acha, Tenerife's Councilor of Culture and Museums; Josué Íñiguez, the Councilor of Culture for Las Palmas de Gran Canaria; Amanda de la Garza, the artistic deputy director of the Reina Sofía Museum; Sergio Rubira, the artistic director of TEA; and Juan Vicente Aliaga.

"Néstor Re-Encountered" is a collaboration between TEA, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, and the Museo Néstor of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. A catalog with essays by the curator and other experts will also be available.

Juan Vicente Aliaga explained that the exhibition is divided into nine sections, exploring the artist's different styles and periods. These range from his early symbolist works to his involvement in modernism, mural painting, set design, and design. He noted that Néstor was groundbreaking in his depiction of the human figure, blending masculine and feminine elements in the same body. This was a radical concept at the time.

Aliaga emphasized that Néstor Martín-Fernández de la Torre anticipated the 21st-century's move beyond traditional gender roles, seeking to avoid being limited by conventional ideas of masculinity and femininity. He added that Néstor's homosexuality and his membership in the Freemasons, which aims to overcome opposites, influenced this. Aliaga also stated that Néstor's work is essential for understanding the renewed appreciation of Canarian culture.

He explained that although Néstor associated with the elite in Barcelona, Madrid, Paris, and elsewhere, he always focused on his island and the archipelago, believing that traditional cultures should be valued from a fresh perspective.

Highlights of "Néstor Re-Encountered" include "Austrian Lady" (1909), which hasn't been publicly displayed in the Canary Islands for almost a century, as well as pieces from his major series like "The Poem of the Sea," started in 1913, and his early portraits.

Most of the works come from the Museo Néstor, but also from other institutions such as TEA, the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, the Historical Photography Archive of the Canary Islands, the Juan March Foundation Library, the Tomás Morales House-Museum, and the Museo Canario, as well as from private collections.