Bea, Manuel

BIOGRAPHY OF MANUEL BEA
Barcelona 1934 - Switzerland 1997

Bea begins her apprenticeship at the Escuela de Artes Aplicadas y Oficios Artísticos in Barcelona. In 1958, he took up residence in Switzerland, where he came into contact with post-surrealist groups. He remained in Zurich until 1962, when Bea returned to Barcelona, where he became part of the Barcelona art scene with a work halfway between informalism and the new figuration. His canvases intermingle the heritage of the Bretonian movement with a material treatment in the manner of Fautrier and Dubuffet; not in vain, he is related in his beginnings with Dau al Set.

From 1965 onwards, and during the 1970s, his style evolves towards a broader figuration, defined by the appearance of surrealist motifs floating in a diffuse space. The work of Max Ernst, an artist Bea admired since his time in Switzerland, has a decisive influence on his work. In 1979, Bea moved to the Costa Brava, where, from 1982, he worked on three-dimensional works with polyester, technological materials and waste objects, such as his Experiencias con metacrilato (Experiences with methacrylate, 1983). All this without ever abandoning the graphic aspect, which she began at the age of fourteen when she joined an illustration workshop, which is reflected in several portfolios of engravings and lithographs.