When visiting Lanzarote, it is impossible not to come across a space designed, created or inspired by the work of the artist from Lanzarote with international impact: César Manrique. On the day of César Manrique's death, a multidisciplinary artist, environmental activist died and a legend was born that "taught us to see the value of beauty", of art or nature.
The professor of Art History at the University of La Laguna (ULL), Francisco Galante, knows his story well. He is also a professor and academic consultant at the Khatolieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium and attends us on the occasion of the publication of his latest work: 'César Manrique and Haría. The artist and the beauty of the place'.
Francisco Galante and César Manrique were great friends from the 70s, and were very close. Professor Galante's professional career has made him one of the great experts in the figure of the artist and his work, with a life dedicated to spreading the figure of Manrique in local areas and on the European continent. It was the artist himself who appointed him as a member of the advisory committee of the Foundation that bears his name. In addition, he is currently director of the César Manrique Chair in honor of the artist that was created at the University of La Laguna at the express request of the César Manrique Foundation.
Although Manrique called himself a painter, his work transcended the barriers of painting. “The concept of artist means much more than that of painter. The artist knows how to see and look better than others. He possesses unique qualities. He has the possibility of changing the world through his mental structures. In this way, his art reaches a social dimension,” says Galante.
César Manrique is the international artist who placed Lanzarote in the culture debate. “After traveling to Paris, one of the cities that monopolized the artistic avant-garde, and living in Madrid for some years, his art experienced twists updated to his times, towards the value of the form of the material substance, towards abstraction,” says the professor.
These trips helped the artist to get to know the cradle of the world artistic movement, but perhaps much more importantly, to recognize himself in his longings.
César resided in Madrid from 1952. From the capital he took the opportunity to travel and get to know other corners of the world. Curiously, he was also able to rediscover in the distance his island roots, the passage of time and the cultural memory of Lanzarote's past. This personal growth was reflected in his art.
