During the last quarter of the 20th century, the work of Adolfo Schlosser (Leitersdorf, Austria, 1939 - Madrid, 2004) becomes highly important to the Spanish art scene. Although born in Austria, Schlosser settles in Spain in the mid-sixties, where he lives until his death. He is fully involved in a generation that represents a shift in plastic arts in Spain, with his contribution to the wave of new approaches in the field of sculpture particularly relevant - he receives official recognition from the Premio Nacional de Artes plásticas (National Prize for the Plastic Arts) in 1991.
The son of a ceramicist, Schlosser's career is defined by his education in painting at the Graz School, and sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. During this period his interests move back and forth between the plastic arts and literature as throughout his life he also produces numerous literary texts. At 19 years of age he travels to Iceland, where he lives for four years, an experience that influences his subsequent artistic development; the references to Nordic culture and the world of high seas fishing frequently feature in his work. In 1996 he settles in Spain, where he starts to channel all of his concerns into artistic expression.
Following early forays into geometric language, Schlosser puts forward his own vocabulary with a profound connection to nature. The most salient aspect of this period is the recovery of sculpture as his main form of expression. His growing interest in space and tension leads him to experiment with materials such as plastics, methacrylate, rope and rubber bands; however, in the years that follow he moves towards divergent forms and materials as he begins to experiment with organic materials directly extracted from nature. He uses them to build simple, direct, fragile and tangible pieces in which the dichotomy between nature and culture is formed through the interplay of tensions.
This exhibition examines the artist's evolution and displays his sculptural work, together with his work on paper, early tapestries, installations and photographic material, recreating some of the activities he takes centre stage in. It also includes his literary output, displayed via an edition of unpublished poems and radio scripts.
Exhibition´s details
Collection artworks included in the exhibition
