Studied: Privately under various painters, including Daniel Vázquez Díaz Took drawing classes at the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid. Canogar painted briefly in the style of Vázquez Díaz. But in the early 1950s he became interested in the work of major modernists such as Picasso, Braque and Miró. After the failure of his first commercial show, held in 1954 at the Galería Altamira in Madrid, he established contact with other painters, many of them trained by Vázquez Díaz, In 1957 this group came together as “El Paso.“ Stylistically closest to the American Action Painters, Canogar at age 22, was the youngest member of this group which included Antonio Saura, Luis Feito, Manuel Creek, Mountain Pablo (Pablo Serrano), Juana Frances and Antonio Suárez Their initiative led to the establishment of Spain’s influential movement Art informel. By now most of Canogar’s paintings, like those of his colleagues, were abstract. Painting No. 41, 1959, in the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Madrid, is typical. It exhibits a sombre palette and violent, impulsive brushwork. In 1960 Canogar participated in the important exhibition of New Spanish Painting and Sculpture of the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York But shortly he abandoned the informalist technique in order to more closely approach and describe reality. Like Pop Artists of the era he began to incorporate the pervasive influence of the mass media in his work. Thus Canogar evolved from the almost exclusive use of oil on canvas to the use of polyester, acrylic, wood and fiberglass. Ultimately he created works that are half sculpture and half painting. These figures have no specific identity. Rather they reflect the anonymity of the masses. His work “Life Is a Brief Journey,” 1969, is an important example. Literature: “CANOGAR, RAFAEL -- MADRID, MUSEO NACIONAL REINA SOFIA. -- Cincuenta anos de pintura.” Catalog. Madrid 2001. 122 ilkustrations including 19 color plates; bibliography and chronology.

 

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