Exhibitions
Gallardo's first sketches come back to light at MORERA
An exhibition recovers 24 unpublished drawings by the creator of Makoki made when he was only sixteen years old, in his first show at the Domingo's store in Lleida in 1972.
The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Lleida, MORERA, presents until September 29 a unique exhibition dedicated to the creative origins of Miguel Gallardo. The show brings together 24 original drawings that were part of the first solo exhibition that the artist from Lleida inaugurated on July 5, 1972 in the now-defunct Domingo's store, when he was only sixteen years old.
This selection allows us to discover a teenage Gallardo, still far from becoming one of the most influential figures in Spanish comics, but already possessing a visual universe of his own. The works exhibited reveal an imagination populated by grotesque characters, disturbing scenes and a black humor that anticipates some of the distinctive features that would mark his artistic career.
Miguel Ángel Gallardo Paredes (Lleida, 1955 – Barcelona, 2022), known artistically as Miguel Gallardo, is especially remembered for having created Makoki, one of the most emblematic characters of the Spanish counterculture of the 1970s and 1980s. Born in 1977 and popularized through publications such as Disco Exprés , Makoki became an icon of a generation that was looking for new expressive languages after the end of Francoism.
The exhibition also highlights Gallardo's connection with his hometown. In an interview published in La Vanguardia , the author acknowledged that "my sense of humor has a lot to do with all that learning in Lleida", a statement that helps us understand the importance of these early works in shaping his creative universe.
The artist and illustrator Karin du Croo, the artist's widow, has expressed her surprise at some pieces she was unfamiliar with. According to her, the drawings show a young Gallardo fascinated by grotesque, monstrous and ironic images, with an overflowing imagination that was already showing signs of talent despite his youth.
The works on display are part of a set of 82 drawings, sketches and notes that appeared two years ago at an auction in Barcelona. Given the heritage interest of the lot, the Generalitat de Catalunya exercised the right of first refusal to acquire it. Subsequently, the set was deposited in the MORERA, where Gallardo already occupies a prominent place within the museum's collections.
This legacy is added to the important donation that the artist made to MORERA shortly before his death, consisting of nearly 200 originals including drawings, posters, sketches and magazines that document more than four decades of his professional career.
Beyond Makoki, Gallardo developed a rich and diverse career. From the nineties he oriented his work towards more personal and autobiographical stories, with works such as Un llarg silenci . International recognition would come to him especially with Maria i jo (2007), a sensitive and innovative work about the relationship with his autistic daughter, continued years later with Maria fa vinto anis . He also worked as an illustrator for reference media such as The New Yorker , La Vanguardia or Público .
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