Antonio Bernad. Humanity, humour and Surrealism

Antonio Bernad. Humanity, humour and Surrealism

Estudi General Exhibition Room - La Nau
 

From 2 October to 11 January 2009

From Tuesday to Saturday, from 10 to 13.30 and from 16 20 h.to

Sunday, from 10 to 14 h.

In cooperation with Elx Council

Curator: Francisco Agramunt

The Valencian Antonio Bernad Gonzálvez  (Elx, 1917)  is an extraordinary artist, a draftsman and a caricaturist but for the audiences in general, the media  and the art critics he is a marginalised stranger, possibly due to the fact that he was on the loosing side of the Civil War, his political exile and... why not? due to his peculiar humbleness, his introverted personality and the fact that is not precisely a media lover.

His works are most abundant, interesting and everlasting in what can be defined as the history of Spanish Surrealism in the American exile. He was a key member in the group of Avant-garde Republican artists who exiled in the Dominican Republic after a long oceanic journey and a stay in French concentration camps at the end of the war.

Organised by Universitat de València in liaison with the Council of Elx and curated by the art specialist Francisco Agramunt Lacruz, the exhibition “Antonio Bernad. Humanity, humour and Surrealism” marks the effort to recover one of the great Valencian artists from the Republican exile period, a great figure of Surrealism in Central America in the 1940s. 

It is indeed the final and total discovery of a Republican artist who, given his personal circumstances and his introverted personality- was never a prophet in his own land in spite of the fact that his personal and artistic development makes him one of the great Surrealist creators in exile, one comparable to Eugenio Granell, with whom he shared friendship and vicissitudes in the Dominican Republic following the Republican defeat and their stay in French concentration camps.

His works cannot be found in any museum. His name is not well-known and if you met him by chance in the street he would go unnoticed, a senior citizen of over 90 years of age. 

The thin line between the man and the artist in Toni's case –he likes being called Toni- must be constantly trespassed. It is simply impossible to get to know his drawings without understanding his life.

Born in Elx in 1917, he spent his childhood and adolescence in Albacete. He showed his artistic talent from an early age, publishing his first caricatures in the newspapers. But it was later on, already in exile, when his creative personality bloomed. 

After the vicissitudes of the Civil War, in line with his deep Republican principles, Toni decided to exile. Santo Domingo was the gate to America not only for the Spanish refugees but also to many Europeans trying to escape the plight of World War II.

There he met artists like Bretón, Eugenio Granell or Vela Zanetti, with whom he forged friendship for life. The Surrealist influence, together with his previous artistic experience, marked his personal style. Without a doubt, Toni Bernad is the top representative of Dominican caricature in the 20^th century. 

His collaboration with the newspaper “La Nación” made him popular all over the island and he is even remembered to this day. He met and married Esperanza in the Dominican Republic. She was with him during his exile and his return to Spain.

Bernad tried to move to Puerto Rico but due to problems with the paperwork he was not able to stay there, and so he decided to go to Mexico. In Mexico city, Toni drew for the publishing house UTHEA and he was a regular in the gatherings at the “Papagayo” café, with other Spanish exiled artists. There he met Joseph Renau, the painter Enrique Climent, the Vilalta brothers and the caricaturist Guasp, who offered him to work for the magazine “El Torito”. 

Despite a sound financial situation and the good cultural and professional atmosphere, he decided to return to Spain in 1953 but, back in his country, he found obstacles to continue drawing and had to take a job as a sales representative to keep his family. Even so, he sporadically continued deploying his artistic talent.

In recent years, documentary research and critical reflection have clarified the history of Spanish art culture in the first half of the 20^th century. In turn, more has been known about its players, Bernard among them, and those fascinating moments deliberately consigned to oblivion after the victory of the Fascists and their subsequent dictatorial regime.

Although those who have not yet been historically recovered are now very few, there are still artists whose in-depth study and valorisation are still pending, as is the case with Toni Bernad.

For all such reasons, Universitat de València decided to bring back one of the greatest Valencian exiled artists, this being most significant in recovering and disseminating one more chapter in our cultural history. The ultimate aim of this exhibition is to present the works of a great draftsman and caricaturist who should be included the long list of Spanish Surrealist artists so that people can get to know him.