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OSCAR ESTRUGA
Established painter and sculptor from Spain

Oscar Estruga

Oscar Estruga (b. 1933, Spain) is an established painter and sculptor from Spain. Although he started his career in design of agricultural machinery, his passion for illustration and painting led him to start his artistic training with the Catalan artist Salvador Masana i Mercadé.

 

In 1957, Estruga exhibited for the first time in Barcelona and a year later, at the age of 25, he decided to move to Madrid, to continue his studies at the School of Arts and Crafts. Although he is now based in Madrid, his work will always set his sights on Catalonia and especially on the Mediterranean, witness to all the cultures that have been approaching its coasts and settling on its shores for centuries. After a trip to Paris in 1964, Oscar Estruga became interested in sculpture, going on to create sculptural works where a permanent imprint of his drawings can be seen.

In 1966, he received the prestigious scholarship from the Juan March Foundation and made several urban sculptures such as the Monument to the Mechanization of the Field (University City of Madrid, 1969), and the wonderful Pasifae, which became, for its originality and beauty, an icon of his hometown (Vilanova i la Geltru). Estruga can be defined as an artist who recreates and reinvents Ancient Worlds, taking inspiration from the mythology of Greek and Cycladic cultures while creating stories of his own. His paintings and illustrations reflect a calligraphic form of his imagination; series such as “Erotica” and “Mystica” depict scenes that reimagine the way in which Ancient cultures viewed eroticism, among other subjects. The heavy borrowing from such historical periods shines through his ‘forbid to forbid’ approach. At the age of 87, Estruga is still tirelessly searching for the essence of art through his work. ​ Throughout his lifelong career as an artist, he has received countless prizes, awards, and recognition, such as: first prize in illustration, Concursos Nacionales (1974), Premio Correo del Arte for the best exhibition (1987), and Premio Pámpana de Oro (1992). Oscar Estruga has exhibited in solo and group shows at institutions such as the Reina Sofia Museum (Madrid), the Smithsonian (Washington DC), Museo de Arte Contemporáneo (Ibiza), Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Managua (Nicaragua), and the BBVA Collection, among others.

Selected Prizes:​

1992 Pámpana de Oro Prize in Valdepeñas 1987 Correo del Arte Prize for the best exhibition 1974 First prize for illustration in the Concursos Nacionales 1965 Gold medal for a stand project in Madrid 1966 Juan March Foundation Scholarship 1964 Premio Codex for illustrating a part of the Quixote

Highlighted Exhibitions:​

Museo Extremeño e Iberoiamericano de Arte Contemporáneo (Badajoz) Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia (Madrid) Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Ibiza Smithsonian Institution (USA) Museo de Arte Contemporáneo (Madrid) Museo de Arte Figurativo (Toledo) Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Villafamés (Castellón) Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Managua (Nicaragua) Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Guinea Ecuatorial Museo del Dibujo de Castillo de Larres (Sabiñánigo) Fundación Florencio de la Fuente Fundación Beulas. Huesca Fundación Aena Biblioteca Nacional, etchings collection Banco Hispano Collection BBVA Collection Museo de Arte Contemporánea Costa da Morte (Coruña)

AVAILABLE ARTWORKS

Contact us about all available Oscar Estruga works

Oscar Estruga
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