Nadir Afonso

Nadir Afonso, is a geometric abstractionist painter. Formally trained in architecture, which he practiced early in his career with Le Corbusier and Oscar Niemeyer, Nadir Afonso later studied painting in Paris and became one of the pioneers in Kinetic art, working alongside Victor Vasarely, Fernand Léger, Auguste Herbin, and André Bloc.

As a theorist of his own geometry-based aesthetics, published in several books, Nadir Afonso defends that art is purely objective and ruled by laws that treat art not as an act of imagination but of observation, perception, and form manipulation.

Nadir Afonso achieved international recognition early on in his career and currently holds many of his works in museums. His most famous works are the Cities series, which depict places all around the world. As of 2007 he is still actively painting.

Nadir Afonso Rodrigues was born in the rural, remote town of Chaves, Portugal, on December 4, 1920. His parents were Palmira Rodrigues Afonso and poet Artur Maria Afonso.

By the age of four, he made his first "painting" on a wall at home: a perfect red circle, which anticipated his life as under the signs of rhythm and geometric precision. His teen years were dedicated to painting, earning him his first national prize at age 17.

Settled in Porto, he started to design houses and industrial buildings, while at the same time painting the city around him under his other surname, Rodrigues. His oil A Ribeira was purchased by the Contemporary Art Museum of Lisbon in 1944, when he was only 24 years old.

In 1946, Nadir Afonso left Porto for Paris with a number of unfinished works from his iris period, and changed his signature with the surname Afonso.

In 1974, he makes a solo exhibition at the Selected Artists Galleries, in New York. U.S. critics acclaim him as "one of the first proponents of geometric abstraction in Portugal and one of the new generation European artists."

Living in reclusion, Nadir Afonso defined himself in 2006 as "Portuguese and a son of the inner country. I learned from tradition to be humble, to praise the masters, and to live these eighty-six years with the simplicity that my lowly status has always guaranteed me. To do a balance of my existence and of my work now is absurd." He has spent the last three decades painting, exhibiting, and writing with regular and growing comfort. He is twice married, with five children, born between 1948 and 1989.

Nadir Afonso has produced mainly paintings and serigraphs. His current preferred materials are acrylic paint on canvas (bigger works), and gouache on paper (smaller works, often studies for bigger works). His best-known and most distinctive work is the Cities series, each painting usually representing a city from anywhere in the world.

Lietuviškai:

Nadir Afonso dailininkas, kurio stilius geometrinis abstrakcionizmas. Pradžioje nusprendė mokytis architekturos, kuria ir užsiemė savo karjeros pradžioje su Le Corbusier ir Oscar Niemeyer. Nadir Afonso vėliau studijavo dailę Paryžiuje ir tapo vienu iš pradininkų kinetinio meno, dirbdamas su Victor Vasarely, Fernand Léger, Auguste Herbin ir André Bloc.

Jis sukūrė savo geometrija paremtą estetiką ir išleido keleta knygų šia tem. Nadir Afonso mano, kad menas yra grynai objektyvus ir supaistytas taisyklių, kurios teigia, kad menas nėra vaizduotė, bet stebėjimo, formų manipuliacija.

Nadir Afonso pasiekė tarptautinį pripažinimą karjeros pradžioje ir dabar daug jo paveikslų priklauso muziejams. Jo žinomiausi darbai yra iš serijos “Miestai”, kurie atspindi vietas iš viso pasaulio. Dabar, nors būdamas garbaus amžiaus, jis ir tiliau aktyviai dirba.

Nadir Afonso Rodrigues gimė kaimo vietovėje, nutolusioje nuo miesto Chaves, Portugalijoje gruodžio mėnesio ketvirtą dieną 1920 metais, Palmiros Rodrigues Afonso ir poeto Artur Maria Afonso šeimoje.

Būdamas ketverių, jis nutapė savo pirmąjį paveikslą ant namų sienos: tobulą raudoną apskritimą, kuris atspindėjo jo gyvenimą įtakojamą ritmo ir geometrijos. Pauglystėje jis buvo atsidavęs tapybai ir laimėjo pirmąjį nacionalinį prizą būdamas septyniolikos metų.

Įsikūręs Porto mieste, jis pradėjo projektuoti gyvenamuosius ir industrinius pastatus, tuo pačiu metu tapydamas miestą ir pasirašydamas Rodrigues pavarde. Aliejiniais dažais tapyta “A Ribeira” drobė buvo pristatyta Šiuolaikinio meno muziejuje Lisabonoje 1944 metais, kai jam buvo tik 24 metai.

1946 metais Nadir Afonso paliko Porto miesta ir išsikėlė į Paryžių.

1974 metais jis pristatė savo parodą Išrinktųjų Dailininkų Galerijoje New York mieste Amerikoje. Kritikai laikė vienu pirmuoju geometrijos abstrakcijos šalininku Portugalijoje ir naujosios kartos dailininku Europoje.

Nadir Afonso save apibūdina kaip portugalą ir sūnų iš svetimos šalies. Kaip jis pats sako: balansuoti tarp jo egzistencijos ir jo darbo yra absurdas.