The Museum of Contemporary Spanish Realism in Almería, MUREC, the first of its kind in the country, will be officially inaugurated on Friday 15 March at a solemn ceremony attended by the president of the Andalusian Regional Government, Juanma Moreno, and the painter and sculptor Antonio López, whose most significant works will be on display in this new cultural space.
This was announced on the opening day of FITUR by the President of the Provincial Council of Almeria, Javier A. García, who highlighted the importance of this project which «is going to turn Almería capital and the rest of the province into an essential enclave for art and culture in Spain. All the people and institutions involved in this project are very excited and we hope that as soon as possible the people of Almería and all visitors to the province will be able to enjoy this new space».
In this sense, García thanked the Andalusian president for his commitment to Almeria and this initiative that shows «Juanma Moreno’s interest in those proposals that represent a qualitative and quantitative leap for the culture of the Community. Andalusia and the destination ‘Costa de Almería’ gain a world-class cultural and touristic revulsive with the MUREC».
Similarly, the president has highlighted the important work of heritage restoration undertaken by the Provincial Council of Almeria in the old Provincial Hospital, the headquarters of MUREC, which was delivered to the institution in a dilapidated state and that after a comprehensive remodeling respecting its essence as it was built, and its adaptation as a museum space, will again be enjoyed by the public.
MUREC will be managed by the Ibáñez Cosentino Art Foundation and its permanent exhibition will be made up of more than 200 pieces that have been ceded to the Provincial Council, including paintings, sculptures, drawings and engravings by a group of Spanish realist artists active between 1900 and the present day. These works will be distributed among 12 galleries, while another two will be destined for temporary collections.
Among the illustrious names of the authors of the works to be exhibited are Sorolla, Zuloaga, Romero de Torres, Benlliure, Gutiérrez Solana, or those more immediate to the present day and linked to the Madrid realist movement, such as Francisco López, Amalia Avia, Isabel Quintanilla or Antonio López himself, among many others.