Antonio Lopez Garcia

If there is one type of artist who I have an issue with, it's the serial achiever.  Antonio Lopez Garcia fits that description perfectly.  Born in 1936 in Tomelloso, Spain he is regarded as the most prominent of the Spanish Realists.  He is criticized in some circles for his dry, academic realism but I can still admire his technical ability.

Atocha, 1964, Oil on Wood

He is credited with an extremely subtle use of light and a delicate drawing ability.

Sink and Mirror, 1967, Oil on Wood

Perhaps he is following in the footsteps of the great baroque masters of the past.

Portrait Of Maria, 1972, Pencil

Atocha, 2008, Bronze Installation

How To Handle Criticism

The Vatican went ballistic in 1990 when German artist Martin Kippenberger unveiled his 4 foot sculpture of a frog on a crucifix.  Kippenberger claimed the sculpture was a self portrait of the artist in a state of angst.  In 2008 Pope Benedict condemned the sculpture as blasphemous when it was exhibited at a gallery in Bolzano in Italy.  What , I wonder, would Kippenberger (who died in 1997) have made of the child sex scandal currently embroiling the Catholic church?

Throughout his frenetic career, Kippenberger was constantly pushing the boundaries of taste and embarrassment.  And he received much adverse criticism including indulging in "drunken cynicism".  His response was the work below called "Martin, Into the Corner, You Should Be Ashamed Of Yourself".