Opera Gallery is pleased to present Regards sur l’art espagnol, 1945–2025, a curated selection of works tracing the evolution of Spanish art from the postwar period to today. Spanning 80 years—from paintings and drawings by Pablo Picasso to Pedro Almodóvar’s photography—the exhibition offers a nuanced reflection on the continuities and ruptures shaping modern and contemporary Spanish art.

Beginning with Pablo Picasso’s Femme assise dans un fauteuil (1945), the exhibition foregrounds the Málaga-born artist’s enduring influence. It continues with a work on paper by Catalan luminary Joan Miró, followed by key post-war figures Antonio Saura, Antoni Tàpies, and Rafael Canogar. These artists were each, to different degrees, engaged with and influenced by the Informalism movement in Spain—using material and gestural practices to articulate the tensions of the Francoist era, which lasted until 1975. Juan Genovés’ politically charged works extend this inquiry through explicit figuration, examining the individual and the crowd as sites of tension.

Influenced by Pop Art and situated at the boundary between figuration and abstraction, works by Luis Gordillo embody an experimental and introspective approach that anticipated the transformations that were to come in contemporary Spanish art. Juan Navarro Baldeweg, working at the intersection of architecture, painting, and installation, explores space, light, and perception. Manolo Valdés, a co-founder of the influential Equipo Crónica collective, bridges past and present through reinterpretations of canonical works— including Velázquez’s Las meninas (1656)—demonstrating how contemporary practice recontextualises art history.

Internationally renowned as a filmmaker, Pedro Almodóvar was a seminal figure in the La movida madrileña countercultural movement spanning the late 1970’s and 80s. In this exhibition, his photographic practice is explored as an extension of his cinematic universe— exploring recurring themes of identity, desire, and the theatricality of everyday life. In his collaboration with Jorge Galindo, photography is placed in dialogue with painting, introducing a tension between control and spontaneity.

The exhibition concludes with works by contemporary artists—including Xevi Solà, Cristina Babiloni, David Magán, Adrián Navarro, and Miguel Sainz Ojeda—whose diverse, experimental practices underscore Spain’s position as a globally engaged art scene.

“Rather than presenting a fixed narrative, this exhibition invites a more open and intuitive reading of Spanish art history—one shaped by memory, material, and transformation,” says Marion Petitdidier. “It reflects both the depth of this artistic heritage and the vitality of its contemporary expressions.” Drawing on the gallery’s growing presence in Spain—notably the opening of its Madrid space three years ago—Regards sur l’art espagnol, 1945-2025 presents a cross-generational dialogue and a concise yet compelling portrait of Spanish art as a site of resilience, reinvention, and ongoing critical inquiry.