Rafael Canogar (1935- )

Rafael Canogar was born in Toledo in 1935. He studied with the painter Daniel Vázquez Díaz between 1949 and 1954 and was a founding member of the abstract-influenced group El Paso, to which he remained connected between 1957 and 1960. In 1958, he was selected for the international exhibition in Pittsburgh and for the Alexandria Biennial. In 1965, he was invited by Mills College in Oakland to hold various artistic workshops. Beginning in 1976, he returned to abstraction, yet distinct from the movement in the 50's. In 1987, Canogar organised two large exhibitions of his work in Germany and Paris. In 2001, the Reina Sofía National Art Museum held a broad retrospective of his work. His most recent pictorial expressions abandon figures in favour of colour.

More information on Rafael Canogar is available on his website www.rafaelcanogar.com