POST-CONCEPTUAL FIGURATION
NEO-METAPHYSICS

The pictorial phenomenon called neo-metaphysics has its origins in the initiatives proposed by the artist Dis Berlin - Mariano Carrera, supported at first by María Gómez and Antonio Rojas- at the end of the 1980s with the aim of presenting an artistic positioning common in Spain, defending the paint against trends of neo-conceptual cut.

The term neo-metaphysics comes from a historic moment where the development of strategies linked to neo-styles were triggered. The critic Juan Manuel Bonet, resorting to the prefix neo -to name the painting appeared in the historical sample el Retorno del Hijo Pródigo (Return of the Prodigal Son) (1991) noted that the connection was established with the keys of metaphysical painting, not as a formal recipe but as common ground to go to. By claiming the figure of Giorgio de Chirico, Savinio, Carrà and Morandi, these artists question the official account of the history of modern art, supporting the validity of their proposals.

This is a pictorial attitude defended by artists who connected with the renewal of traditional painting that emerged in the nineteenth century with the emergence of Symbolist art, with the representation of images that contradict the visible reality that gets into the surreal image where fantasy, imagination, dream and chance govern. A fruitful dialogue between reality and the surreal, connecting the proposals by Giorgio De Chirico and the Metaphysical painting, as a starting point of the surrealist revolution.

Despite recognizing the connections of his work with these references, and many others of diverse disciplines and backgrounds, including artists under the name neo-metaphysical painters have committed to the development of solo careers. Among the most representative artist of this trend include Dis Berlin, Antoni Domènech, María Gómez, Pelayo Ortega, Antonio Rojas, Manuel Sáez, Andrea Bloise, Damián Flores, Angelica Kaak, Ángel Mateo Charris, Enric Balanzá, Belén Franco, Juan Cuéllar, Paco de la Torre, Marcelo Fuentes, Joël Mestre, Gonzalo Sicre, Pedro Esteban, José Luis Mazarío, Teresa Moro, Jorge Tarazona, Teresa Tomás, Roberto Mollá, Alberto Gálvez, Carlos García-Alix, Chema Peralta, Sara Quintero or Sergio Sanz Villar.

This defense of individualistic positions against attempts of group readings, has not stopped them from forming part of a series of exhibitions which has reflected on this kind of family who share their proposals. The most representative is El Retorno del Hijo Pródigo (The Return of the Prodigal Son), Muelle de Levante (1994), Visiones sin centro (1998-1999), Canción de las figuras (1999), Pieza a Pieza (2003), Figuraciones (1999-2003) y Sur/Sud. La Nueva Figuración en España (2013).

Since the late 1980s the work of these authors has been presented in a series of galleries that have demonstrated a commitment to this current in its exhibition line. They include the Estampa by Manolo and Lucia Cuevas gallery, My Name’s Lolita Art by Ramón García Alcaraz, Siboney by Juan Riancho and Utopia Parkway by Lola Crespo. But also the missing Buades gallery, Caballo de Troya, Muelle 27, Arco Romano, Seíquer, Columela, Sen, Temple or Tercer Espacio. This phenomenon has also achieved a significant critic review, where it is important to highlight the work of Juan Manuel Bonet, Enrique Andrés Ruiz, Guillermo Solana, Nicolás Sánchez Durá, David Pérez, José Manuel Marín Medina, Salvador Albiñana or Raul Eguizábal, among others.