Miguel Ángel Campano facts for kids

Miguel Ángel Campano Mendaza (born February 11, 1948 – died August 5, 2018) was a famous Spanish painter. He was known for being part of a group of artists who brought new ideas to Spanish painting. In 1996, he won the important National Award for Plastic Arts.

The Life of a Painter

Miguel Ángel Campano was born in Madrid, Spain. He was one of five brothers. He studied Fine Arts in Valencia and later Architecture in Madrid.

His art career began in 1969. He had his first solo art show in Bilbao. In 1971, he showed his art in other Spanish cities like Pamplona and Santander. That same year, he met Fernando Zóbel. Zóbel was an abstract painter and helped start the Spanish Museum of Abstract Art.

Campano continued to show his paintings in Madrid and Seville. He became friends with the painter José Guerrero. Guerrero's work greatly influenced Campano's art.

In 1976, Campano moved to Paris, France. He also spent a lot of time in Sóller in Mallorca, Spain. Living in France helped him discover artists like Cezanne and Delacroix. These artists inspired his own work.

In the 1980s, Campano took part in big art shows. These shows featured young Spanish artists like Miquel Barceló and José Manuel Broto. His art was shown in Spain, France, and the United States. He also had solo shows in many places, from Navarre to Granada in Spain, and in Paris and Nimes in France. He also exhibited in Brussels, Belgium.

Campano's Art Style

Miguel Ángel Campano's art was always about trying new things. His work explored different art styles. These included automatism, which is about drawing without thinking. He also used geometric abstraction, which uses shapes and lines. Another style he explored was informalism, which focuses on materials and textures.

A special part of his art was how he reinterpreted famous French paintings. He looked at works by Cezanne and Poussin, among others. He also explored cubism, an art style that uses geometric shapes.

From 1994 to 1996, Campano visited India. This trip made him very interested in using color in new ways. Even after a serious stroke in 1996, he continued to paint.

Two of his most important art shows were held in Spain. One was in Valencia at the IVAM in 1990-1991. The other was in Madrid at the Palacio de Velázquez in 1999.

Awards and Legacy

In 1996, Miguel Ángel Campano received the National Prize for Visual Arts in Spain. He won this award for his important role in new Spanish painting. The judges praised his "rigor and courage" in combining structure and expression in his art.

You can find Campano's paintings in many famous museums. These include the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid and the Abstract Art Museum in Cuenca. His art is also at the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum and the ARTIUM Centre-Basque Museum of Contemporary Art. Outside Spain, his work is in the Georges Pompidou Centre in Paris and the Hastings Foundation collection in New York.

Miguel Ángel Campano passed away on August 5, 2018, in Cercedilla, Spain.

See also

In Spanish: Miguel Ángel Campano para niños