Amable ARIAS (1927–1984) - Lot 17

Amable ARIAS (1927–1984) 654, verso, 1962 Mixed media on cardboard, signed twice. 41 x 52 cm Provenance: Artist’s collection, by bequest. Exhibition: - Gaur, 1966 - Basque Art in Resistance, Basque Museum and History Museum of Bayonne, Bayonne, June 30–November 4, 2018. Bibliography: - M.d.C. ALONSO-PIMENTEL, Amable Arias, San Sebastián, University of Deusto - San Sebastián, 1997, no. 107. - EGIAR Aldizkaria 2, Bilbao, Egiar, 2017, reproduced on p. 25. - Gaur, 1966 - Basque Art in Resistance, Bayonne, Basque Museum and Museum of the History of Bayonne, 2018, reproduced on p. 85. An early work by the artist, it explores the characteristics of Arte Povera. While this movement focuses on the aesthetics of poverty, Arias seems to focus on the poverty of the medium used to create a work of art. Created in Bembibre, her hometown known for its mining industry, these works were made on packing cardboard using the materials available to the artist at the time: charcoal and carbon black mixed with oil.