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Nemesio Antúnez was a Chilean painter, printmaker and architect. He belongs among a small group of Latin American artists who became part of the New York artistic circle during the fertile decade of the 1940s. Much like his friends Roberto Matta, Mario Carreño, and Enrique Zañartu, Antúnez adopted a transnational visual language influenced by surrealism and abstraction. During this period, he joined the workshop of Stanley William Hayter, a British engraver who founded Atelier 17. After a short stay in Paris, Antúnez returned to Chile in the early 1950s, and in 1955 he founded Taller 99, an engraving workshop that promoted contemporary printmaking practices throughout the Americas. In this lithograph from c. 1970, the artist explores the relationship between mankind and modern architecture. The role of human beings within urban spaces preoccupies much of Antúnez’s work. The geometric plane and muted colors of "City Observatory" convey isolation and spatial distance. The observatory—an architectural structure—appears amidst a ghostly atmosphere, while the receding lines keep viewers at distance, as if under observation. Through a masterful combination of textures and controlled line work, the artist recreates a murky urban landscape to convey a frightful vision of modernity.

This text was created in collaboration with the University of Maryland Department of Art History & Archaeology and written by Patricia Ortega-Miranda.

Details

  • Title: City Observatory
  • Creator: Nemesio Antúnez
  • Location: Chile
  • Physical Dimensions: w22 x h29 in.
  • Rights: All rights reserved
  • Medium: lithograph

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