Luis Fraile (Albacete, February 7, 1947 - Madrid, January 5, 2016), was a Spanish artist with an extensive career path, who developed his activity mainly in Madrid. He embraced various trends and styles throughout his prolific artistic life, developing a style of his own around

surrealism Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

, reflecting a

subconscious In psychology, the subconscious is the part of the mind that is not currently of focal awareness. The term was already popularized in the early 20th century in areas ranging from psychology, religion and spirituality. The concept was heavily popu ...

and dreamlike world.

Biographical review

He was born in Albacete (February 7, 1947), in a humble family, the first of the two children of Valentín Martínez Flores, master builder and former political prisoner after the Spanish Civil War, and Julia Fraile Montalbán, factory worker and self-sacrificing housewife. During his childhood he combines studies with several jobs, amongst others as an employee in the mythical Casino Primitivo of the city, laboural and vital experiences that helped him to forge a very critical and mature view of the environment from a very early age. At the age of 20 he became Draftsman and Urban Planning Designer at the City Council of his hometown. He worked for the Cadastre and with the renowned architect Julio Carrilero Prat, designing amongst others, the Nautical Club of Torrevieja. Being Painting his true vocation, he decides to undertake several travels abroad in order to improve his technique and to learn new methods. He studied Altarpiece and Polychromy in the Massana School of Barcelona, Ceramic ( Barcelona Arts and Crafts School), as well as Engraving and Lithography, not only in the Catalan metropolis, but also in Paris (Atelier Hayter) and Toronto (North Toronto Collegiate), where he also made his living creating stained glass artworks. During his Parisian stay, it is also possible to review his studies of Plastic Arts ( Université de Vincennes) and History of the Art (

École du Louvre The École du Louvre () is a selective institution of higher education and prestigious ''grande école'' located in the Aile de Flore of the Louvre Palace in Paris, France. It is dedicated to the study of archaeology, art history, anthropology ...

). In the same way, his intellectual concerns and his extensive self-taught formation extended to multitude of subjects, will lead him to create a work in endless transformation. He was featured in important Spanish publications of the time (''Diario ABC'', ''Casa & Jardín'', ''El Punto de las Artes'', ''Revista de Artes Plásticas Cyan'', ''La Brocha'', ''Tribuna'', ''Formas Plásticas'', etc.), and was already awarded in its beginnings by the Güell Painting Foundation ( Barcelona, 1974 ) and finalist in the 7th Cleveland International Drawing Biennial in the United Kingdom. In the mid-1970s he even achieved representation with the veteran gallery owner

Juana Mordó Juana Mordó (April 26, 1899 – March 12, 1984) was born in Thessaloniki, Ottoman Empire (now Greece) and was an art dealer and gallery director in Madrid, Spain. Early years Juana Naar Scialom was born in Thessaloniki, Salonica, then part ...

, but for various reasons he returned to Paris. For several decades, he exhibited locally and internationally. At the end of the 1980s, he settled permanently in Madrid with his family, where he created most of his paintings, being represented by the now extinct Novart Gallery. After a long illness that kept him away from painting, Luis Fraile passed away on January 5, 2016. His artistic legacy consists of more than 3,000 works of great originality and vitality.

Style

" The figurative world of Luis Fraile is complex, full of intentions that evolve over time, discovering new ideas. It is a reflective painting that offers a panorama of oppositions, the playful faced with the limitations turning in a measured whirlwind." " He offers a dynamic of drawing, shapes and colors in a tension of encounters, dialogues and looks. In the rigid, hieratic and almost sacred figures of this painter there is frequently a man-woman dialogue; an energy and quarrel of the sexes; a magma open to the eye and the mind."

Main individual exhibitions

1974: ''Real Círculo Artístico''. Barcelona 1974: ''Galería Toison''. Madrid 1975: ''Galerie Poisson d'Or''. Paris 1978: ''Galerie Marigny''. Paris 1979: ''Galerie Marigny''. Paris 1982: ''De Cortez Gallery''. Toronto 1983: ''De Cortez Gallery''. Toronto 1987: ''Galería Novart''. Madrid 1987: ''Galería Enebro''. Segovia 1988: ''Galería Berruguete''. Valladolid 1988: ''Museo de Calahorra''. La Rioja 1988: ''Galería Arlanzón''. Burgos 1988: ''Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Vilafamés''. Castellón 1988: ''InterArte 88''. Valencia 1988: ''Museo de Arte Contemporáneo''. Albacete 1989: ''Museo de La Rioja''. Logroño 1989: ''Galería Novart''. Madrid 1989: ''Obra Social y Cultural - Fundación de la Caja de Ahorros de Asturias''. Gijón 1991: ''Heller Gallery''. New York 1991: ''Galería Novart''. Madrid 1991: ''Museo de Ciudad Real.'' Castilla-La Mancha 1993: ''Montserrat Contemporary Art Gallery''. New York

Public Collections

''Fundación Güell -'' Barcelona ''

Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (RABASF; ), located on the Calle de Alcalá in the centre of Madrid, currently functions as a museum and gallery. A public law corporation, it is integrated together with other Spanish royal aca ...

'' - Madrid ''Museo Internacional de Arte Contemporáneo -'' Guinea Ecuatorial ''Museo de Calahorra -'' La Rioja ''Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Vilafamés -'' Castellón ''Fundación Caja Asturias -'' Gijón ''Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Albacete'' - Castilla La Mancha ''Museo Riojano de Arte Contemporáneo -'' Logroño

Bibliography

* Soledad Villalba. ''"Gestos de Luis Fraile"''. ''Revista Cyan de Artes Plásticas''. Madrid: Editorial ''Cyan'', Nº16 1990 * J.M.C. ''"Luis Fraile"''. ''ABC'' Newspaper. Madrid: April 16, 1987 * Rosa Martínez de La Hidalga. ''El Punto de las Artes'' Weekly Magazine. Madrid: Editorial ''Arte y Patrimonio'', 24–30 April 1987 * Rosa Martínez de La Hidalga. ''"Luis Fraile, incógnitas y sueños". Tribuna Médica'' Weekly Magazine. Madrid: April 1988 * Flavio Puviani. ''Dizionario Enciclopedico D'Arte Contemporanea''. Ferrara: ''Casa Editrice Alba'', 1995 * Eva Cañas. ''"Luis Fraile, pintura expresionista dentro de un hacer figurativo". La Tribuna'' Newspaper. Albacete: Promecal, December 8, 1988 * Javier Leon Herrera. ''"Luis Fraile, pintor". La Verdad'' Newspaper. Murcia: ''Grupo Correo'', December 8, 1988 * Rosa Martínez de La Hidalga. ''"Luis Fraile, toda una conjunción de elementos". El Punto de las Artes Weekly Magazine.'' Madrid: May 28, 1989 * Fernando Fernán-Gómez. ''Directorio de Arte España y Portugal''. Madrid: Editorial ''Arteguía'', 1998 * María José Rodríguez. ''Revista mensual de las artes plásticas''. Madrid: ''Correo del Arte'', December 1989

External links

Website of the artist
(in English)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraile, Luis 1947 births 2016 deaths Spanish surrealist artists Spanish artists Modern artists