GERARDO RUEDA

In 1942, aged 17, Gerardo Rueda wrote in one of his excercise books: "Painting is one of my greatest passions". The quote comes from an essay on Goya which Rueda was inspired to write by Manuel Sánchesz Camargo, the art critic who taught at the Lycée Francais. In 1966, Rueda wrote that to be able to paint had been one of his childhood dreams that was to accompany him through life.

Gerardo Rueda was born in Madrid in 1926. In the early 1940´s he studied painting and music. His earliest - Cubist inspired - collages date from that period.

1949 saw his first public exhibition, at the Revista del Occidente Gallery in Madrid. During the 1950´s, he was a dedicated visitor to exhibitions in Paris (in 1957 he showed numerous works at the Galerie La Roue in Paris). This was followed by an exhibition of his works influenced by Staël at the Ateneo in Madrid. In 1960, he particiated in the XXX Biennale in Venice. In the early 1960´s, Jean Cassou, an expert on Spain, emphasised the importance of Rueda´s work. 1954 Rueda met Fernando Zóbel. Their friendship undoubtedly influenced the artist´s development. In 1966, the Museum of Spanish Abstract Art in Cuenca, whose collections Rueda had helped to assemble, was openend to the public. Since the 1960, Rueda exhibited regularly at the major galleries in Madrid (Biosca, Juana Modró and Theo). Apart from his work as an artist, Rueda has also curated exhibitions, for example the 1993 show "Goya: Masterpieces in Madrid Collections" held at the Prado.

In 1985, Rueda exhibited a selection of his works in an exhibition supported by the Junta de Andalucia and shown at Granada, Córdoba, and Seville; it was curated by José Ramón Danvila. In 1989, he showed works in an exhibition organised by Alfonso de la Torre at the "Sala de las Alhajas" of the Madrid Saving Bank.

In 1992, Rueda was commissioned to create two monumental doors for the Spanish pavillion at the Seville World Exposition. These doors are an homage to Paul Klee. During the 1990´s he also designed the windows in the nave of the cathedral of Cuenca which depict "From the Earth to Paradise".

In 1993, the Bilbao Museum of Fine Arts published a catalogue of his graphic oeuvre. In 1994, "Poligrafa y Cercle d´Art" published a monograph written by Juan Manuel Bonet. In the same year, Rueda curated a large retrospective of his own work called "Trayectos" which was shown at the most important national museums in South America. North American museums began to contact Rueda; following this, some of them, for example, the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art, the Armand Hammer Museum of Art of the UCLA, or the Medows Museum, received paintings by Rueda.

In 1995, Rueda became a member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando. In the following year, a comprehensive survey of Rueda´s work, curated by Serge Fauchereau, was shown at the "Centro Julio González" of the "Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno" (IVAM).

He died on May 25, 1996. In 1997, his "collages" were shown at the "Museo Nacional Centro Reina Sofia" (curated by José Ramón Danvila); the exhibition then moved to various museums in Europe and America. In 2000 and 2001, exhibitions of his works were held in various Italian cities.

This exhibition is the artist´s first retrospective held at a Spanish National Museum. It includes several hundred works on loan from museums and private collections - paintings, drawings, and collages created between 1946 to 1996.