The exhibition, open to the public until October 4, is the first to be comprehensively dedicated to María Moreno, who passed away in 2020 and was a key figure of the 'Madrid Realists' group. The show includes 50 paintings and 19 drawings by Moreno, complemented by nine paintings, a drawing, two sculptures, and an installation by Antonio López.
The display is spread across several halls of the Murec, including the mudéjar coffered ceiling area, hall seven, the lower part of Juan de Orea's staircase, and the 'Pharmacy' room, the latter featuring works by Antonio López focused on the couple's home. The collaboration between the Provincial Council of Almería, the Ibáñez Cosentino Art Foundation, and the López Moreno family has made it possible to gather these 82 pieces from 36 different collections, both private and institutional, from Spain, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
The exhibition is considered "unique and pioneering," aiming to vindicate María Moreno's fundamental role in the renewal of contemporary Spanish realism. Artist Antonio López emphasized that his wife's work "was born from herself" and that "everything stemmed from her life," expressing his emotion at seeing the completed exhibition and calling it "a marvel."
Organized into four sections, the exhibition traces Moreno's output from the 1950s to the early 21st century. The sections are: 'Intimate Affections. María and Antonio,' focusing on her early works and dialogue with Antonio López; 'Lived Spaces,' dedicated to domestic interiors; 'The Mystery of Light,' exploring landscapes and exteriors; and 'From Light to Object,' centered on still lifes and everyday floral motifs.
The president of the Provincial Council of Almería, José Antonio García Alcaina, praised Moreno's "enormous sensitivity" and "privileged gaze" for capturing the "intimate and everyday," highlighting her significant role, often "forgotten and silenced," in vindicating female creative capacity.
Andrés García Ibáñez, a trustee of the Ibáñez Cosentino Art Foundation, confessed the significant personal and financial effort dedicated to the exhibition, managing to bring together "practically all of her work." The exhibition is scheduled to travel to Granada and Valencia.
