Manolo Millares Centenary Exhibition Opens in Gran Canaria

Manolo Millares, a key figure in 20th-century Spanish avant-garde art and a co-founder of the influential El Paso group, is being honored in his home country. This Friday at 8:30 PM, the La Regenta Art Center in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria will open a new exhibition called 'Manolo Millares. Centenary.' It celebrates 100 years since the artist's birth in 1926 in the capital of Gran Canaria. The exhibition features about twenty carefully chosen works and will run until March 14.

The works on display, created from the late 1950s to the early 1970s, show Millares at his creative peak. They include his famous pieces made with burlap, as well as paintings on paper and ink drawings. The exhibition's significance is clear from the origins of these works, which have been loaned by major institutions. These include the City Council of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the Government of the Canary Islands, TEA Tenerife Espacio de las Artes, and the International Museum of Contemporary Art (MIAC) of the Cabildo de Lanzarote.

Millares sadly died young in 1972 in Madrid, but he left behind a truly original artistic legacy. He was groundbreaking in his use of unusual materials, like burlap, which he started incorporating into his art in the mid-1950s. This made him a leading figure in Canarian art and one of the most daring names in Spanish art. His work deeply explored materials and tackled big questions about life and death, destruction and creation. It created a conversation between ancient Canarian traditions, hinted at by the look of aboriginal mummies, and modern avant-garde art.

This important cultural event was officially launched yesterday, Thursday. Attendees included Migdalia Machín, Minister of Universities, Science, Innovation and Culture for the Government of the Canary Islands; Horacio Umpiérrez, regional Vice-Minister of Culture; and Josué Íñiguez, Culture Councillor for the City Council of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.