The Ayuntamiento Viejo Cultural Space, in Candelaria, will host until October 27 a commemorative exhibition of the sculpture group Los Menceyes Guanches, which celebrates 30 years since the sculptor José Abad created them.
The nine sculptures represent the menceyatos or reigns into which the island of Tenerife was divided upon the arrival of the Castilians at the beginning of the 15th century.
This set of Menceyes Guanches was made by the artist on behalf of the Pro Menceyes Guanches Foundation, Plaza de la Patrona de Canarias, after the deterioration of the primitive sculptures that the painter Alfredo Reyes Darias had executed in artificial stone in the sixties, details the Candelaria City Council in a note.
For its realization, Abad carried out exhaustive research work in the historical archives and collections of the Archaeological Museum of Tenerife, and traveled to Italy and Greece to incorporate technical solutions in the execution of the proportions and in the modeling of the musculature as well as of the characters’ features.
Each of the Guanches has a specific physiognomy, complexion and posture.
For this reason, the artist incorporated tools and attributes from found objects, elements of popular iconography and material from the ancient inhabitants of the Canary Islands.
This exhibition compiles some preparatory works and objects belonging to the artist’s collection during the project creation process.
José Abad (La Laguna, 1942) has been considered a pioneer of abstract and public sculpture in Spain, after a personal development in which initially self-taught training and extensive knowledge of the work of old masters through his travels have prevailed. abroad.
“Between history and legend, reality, imagination and myth, the sculptural figures of the ancient inhabitants of the island of Tenerife created by José Abad have become an iconic emblem of the island’s past and, today, of the collective imagination”, highlights the mayoress of Candelaria, Mari Brito.
The exhibition can be visited from Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. EFE
