About
Juan Antonio Guirado
Juan Antonio Guirado (1932-2010) was a distinguished Spanish painter from Jaén, Andalucía, known for his innovative artistic vision. He was discovered by an American couple who helped launch his international career bringing him to New York in 1956 with his first exhibition at the famous Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami. Following this, he immigrated to Australia as part of Operation Kangaroo in 1959, where his art career flourished in Sydney. He became a major contributor and founding member of the Spanish Club, helping to establish the city’s cosmopolitan vibe during that era of European immigration. It was here in Sydney that he developed his distinctive style, which was influenced by spirituality, the Veda, and the concept of the 'third eye,' reflecting a deep exploration of consciousness.
After a decade of successful exhibitions in Sydney, Guirado returned to Spain, achieving significant acclaim. He exhibited extensively across Europe, including in Paris, Switzerland, and London, as well as in the US in New York and Chicago during the 1970s, earning critical recognition from the press. By the mid-1970s, he had won the prestigious 'El Grollo' gold medal at the Venice Biennale in 1976. Critics referred to him as 'The 21st Century Artist' for his pioneering work addressing environmental issues, spirituality, and political commentary as early as 1974.
Throughout his lifetime, Guirado held over 50 exhibitions, with his works included in prestigious collections such as the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid. He is celebrated as a master of the Intrarealism school, which emphasizes the inner realms of human experience.
In recent years, Guirado’s legacy has experienced a revival as galleries and museums rediscover his contributions. The Guirado Estate, established after his passing, is dedicated to preserving and promoting his artistic legacy through collaborations with various institutions, ensuring that future generations can appreciate his profound work and its enduring relevance.
The Guirado Art Estate
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The Estate of Juan Antonio Guirado was originally founded in 2013, by the artist's daughter Catalina Guirado.
With works in the permanent collection of the Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid, The Museum of Malta, Museo Gilabert, Arboles, ES amongst others, over 50 solo shows over his career and 20 group shows, winner of the gold medal of the Grolla D'rollo art competition in 1975, Venice and with a string of successful exhibitions following Juan Antonio Guirado's passing in 2010, the Guirado Estate's most recent Museum & University shows in 2018 at the Coral Gables Museum, Miami (alongside Carlos Cruz-Diez), and at the University of Jaén have proven Guirado to continue to be an artist of international acclaim and interest.
With Juan Antonio Guirado being included in a new UNED Mooc university course for Spanish-speaking students successfully launched in 2017, the interest in the artist proves that the themes of his paintings, Spirituality, environmental issues, and politics, resonate with a fresh contemporary audience.
Having recently been curated into the Cesario Rodriguez- Aguilera Foundation, belonging to the University of Jaén, Guirado was curated alongside Spanish masters Picasso, Miro, Tapies amongst a whose who of Spanish art. The exhibition 'Parallel Visionaries' was curated by Laura Revuelta, Art Critic, Curator, and Editor in Chief of ABC Culture, as part of an education program on Guirado and his historical relevance in Spanish art.
Art Critic, Curator, and Editor in Chief of ABC Culture, Laura Revuelta commented: "In ‘Parallel Visionaries’ we see a dialogue between Juan Antonio Guirado and the great artists of Twentieth-Century Spanish art - Picasso, Miró, Saura, and Tàpies - which revolves around the dominant issues and conflicts of the twentieth century through to the present day. Visions and parallel discourses of differing pictorial personalities that reflect on the world and its eternal conflicts: crises, wars, famines, nature, and its desolate landscapes. Art implicated with reality. Expressions and parallel visions incriminated by man, with art at the forefront of creation and humanity. "
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My father was a painter influenced by Eastern philosophy whose work tries to reflect the anger, hunger, and desperation in mankind. His visionary work seems to align with the prophecies of 2012. He was mainly concerned with the end of a cycle in the history of civilization. Like most essentialists, his painting was subjected to a radical purification and he succeeded in crossing the frontier between realism and visionary realism. Much of his work revolved around a tunnel of white light, of immaculate purity and infinite length, with rows of people heading towards that final mystery. It is the tantra that inspired him to be honest with himself whilst relating to the past and present to forecast the future. It is for this reason that his work contains the mysteries and doubts that all human beings carry inside them. In summary, my father was a fusion of both the Renaissance and the Surrealist world.
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Catalina Guirado, 2011.
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