Grupo de personas en un atrio o alegoría del arte y la vida o del presente y el futuro (Group of People in an Atrium or Allegory of Art and Life or of the Present and the Future)

Grupo de personas en un atrio o alegoría del arte y la vida o del presente y el futuro (Group of People in an Atrium or Allegory of Art and Life or of the Present and the Future) depicts the generation of artists, critics and gallery operators associated with the phenomenon known as Nueva figuración madrileña (Madrid’s new figuration), that emerged in the Spanish capital city in the 1970s and was comprised of individuals from different parts of the country. Each of the figures, including the self-portrait that Guillermo Pérez Villalta adds to the scene, is defined through his or her position, gestures, attitude and a few symbolic references, in the style of other group scenes in the history of art, such as The School of Athens and Parnassus by Raphael or At the Rendezvous of Friends by Max Ernst. This group brought a change to the Spanish art scene, as it defended the value of painting conceived from a free, subjective and depolitised vision, as opposed to the Conceptual practices that prevailed during the 1970s. Grupo de personas en un atrio [...] belongs to Pérez Villalta’s first stage and it is, because of its historical significance, one of the most important paintings in all of his production, and it already reflects characteristics inherent to his work: a classical style with contrasting colours, allegorical universe, autobiographical dimension, analysis of spatial articulation and an eclectic accumulation of references that allude both to the tradition of painting and to popular culture.