He does not appear in history every year, nor every decade, yet Eusebio Sempere stands as a transcendent artistic figure. Celebrating his existence annually, organizing events around his life and work, should become a global tradition that brings his influence into sharper focus. Today marks the 100th anniversary of Eusebio Sempere’s birth in Onil, a moment worthy of notice and commemoration. And preparations are underway.
This centennial is recognized by the Generalitat Valenciana through the Consell General Assembly, which declared 2023 the Year of Eusebio Sempere. The proclamation was made at a gathering on January 27 at the artist’s reference space, the Alicante Museum of Contemporary Art MACA, to honor the centenary of his birth. To steer the anniversary’s activities, a Commemoration Commission was formed: an open program inviting all who admire the artist’s work to join in celebration. Public and private institutions, museums and cultural centers, universities, foundations, galleries, artists, researchers, teachers, schoolchildren, musicians, poets and dancers are encouraged to participate. The aim is to advance knowledge of Sempere and his lasting impact on art history and Spanish culture.
The Year 2023 programming for Sempere should engage diverse audiences at varying levels of familiarity and utilize multiple distribution platforms. Proposals should share a common thread or scenario that builds knowledge, research, and dissemination about Sempere’s work and personality. The intent is to move beyond mere centennial celebrations and foster enduring initiatives that shape future research. One long-term objective is to see the city’s train station renamed Alicante-Eusebio Sempere.
Artist
Eusebio Sempere is regarded as one of the most influential Spanish artists of the latter half of the 20th century and remains Alicante’s most internationally acclaimed figure. His practice centers on geometric abstraction, occasionally venturing into optical effects and kinetic possibilities, while at other times adopting a landscape sensibility. The result is a disciplined study of geometric forms, optical illusion, and movement that yields a distinctive lyricism and formal elegance.
Born in 1923 in Onil, a small industrial town in Alicante Province, Sempere grew up in a modest artisanal family. He studied at the San Carlos School of Fine Arts in Valencia, where the curriculum bridged modern art with a strong influence from Sorolla. He nevertheless received a robust craft education evident in the refined technique that characterizes his early and later works.
In 1948 he relocated to Paris on a scholarship and remained there for twelve years, seeking distance from the restrictive climate of Franco’s Spain. He shared spaces with Spanish artists such as Eduardo Chillida, Salvador Victoria, Pablo Palazuelo, and Lucio Muñoz, forging meaningful friendships. There he encountered avant-garde figures like Georges Braque and Jean Arp, whom he had long admired. Although linked to optical-kinetic circles, Sempere absorbed the foundations of modern art through Kandinsky, Mondrian, and Klee, while engaging with contemporary voices like Vasarely, Soto, Schöffer, Le Parc, and Sobrino. In Paris he chose to move away from figuration and embraced geometric abstraction in two bodies of work, gouache on cardboard and bright pieces, creating an alphabet of simple shapes that became more complex in motion and volume. His wooden reliefs feature planes illuminated by moving lights thanks to small motors.
In 1960 Sempere returned to Madrid and collaborated closely with Abel Martín (1931-1993), a life-long partner. Spain at that time favored gestural, material approaches and realism, while Sempere explored gouaches on wood and geometry drawn with a pen on matte backgrounds, painting atmospheric memories across the Castilian landscape. He joined the Cuenca group led by Fernando Zóbel and contributed to the founding of the Spanish Museum of Abstract Art. After learning screen printing in Paris, he and Martín promoted graphic prints in Spain, helping disseminate this medium and expanding the reach of modern art in a way that had been uncommon until then.
Sempere participated in major biennials and numerous group and solo exhibitions, winning a scholarship to the United States where he showed at MOMA and with galleries in New York. He gained recognition at the Juana Mordó gallery in Madrid, and from the late 1960s began a more experimental phase. His interests turned toward engineering and industrial design and related sciences, attending electroacoustic music labs and seminars on the analysis and generation of automated forms at the Center for Computing in Madrid. The shift reflected a broader curiosity with technology and computation that influenced his later works.
Years of sustained effort defined Sempere. His paintings feature fine lines etched into wood, producing subtle grooves and a vibrant color spectrum that expands into increasingly abstract forms. His sculptures, though he did not consider himself a sculptor, remain significant. They use painted iron bars, bases, and hanging chrome steel, designed to move and invite viewer interaction. Rods mounted on bases or axes create spatial volume and capture light, inviting observers to engage with gravity and balance in space.
In 1977, amid a creative surge, Sempere donated his collection to the city of Alicante to establish the Museo de la Asegurada. This bold act brought together 177 works and formed the nucleus of the Alicante Museum of Contemporary Art, a lasting cultural landmark. It stands as a testament to his generosity and to the belief that art belongs to the public.
From 1981 until his death in 1985, Sempere faced a degenerative illness that gradually limited his painting but opened doors to more spiritual explorations. He wrote mystical poems that informed his compositions and later appeared in serigraphs, exploring insecurity and spiritual intensity. In the late 70s his paintings became baroque, with intricate compositions, rich color ranges, and subtle luminous effects, always pushing toward intense light and contrast—arguably among his finest works.
Quiet Revolutionary
Sempere challenged expectations. People often picture him seated at a desk with drafting tools, pencils, rulers, and multicolored gouache. Yet he was a quiet revolutionary who moved at the forefront of experimental projects and collaborative endeavors—one of the early pioneers of contemporary art. He cultivated friendships with architects, musicians, engineers, philosophers, writers, and scientists who believed in art’s integrative power and pursued aesthetic experiments that harmonize different disciplines. His work connected poetry, experimental literature, architecture, engineering, and music, contributing to modernity in a country still finding its place in it. He embraced openness rather than stubborn resistance to change.
Sempere also supported broad access to artistic culture, participating in initiatives such as the Spanish Museum of Abstract Art in Cuenca and the Open Air Sculpture Museum. His influence extended to the Open Air projects at Paseo de la Castellana in Madrid and the La Asegurada Museum, realized through his extensive collection for Alicante. The centennial invites a reckoning with art history that often elevates certain discourses while sidelining innovators like Sempere. He should be remembered not merely for his precise lines but for his broader contributions and public projects across Spain and beyond.
Sempere’s impact extended far beyond the canvas. He helped set early cultural policies, participated in major exhibitions, and contributed to urban and public art—railings, benches, and public sculptures in Madrid, Tenerife, Valencia, Elche, Onil, Alcoi, and Alicante, among others. He was part of the first cultural percent program in 1979, a pioneering effort to promote conservation, heritage, and artistic production. His legacy encompasses diverse artistic activities, including design and manufacturing collaborations, artistic governance, and teaching.
The Sempere legacy invites renewed exploration of his work across different art forms. It remains a call to revisit Eusebio Sempere through multiple disciplines and to bring his visionary approach into future generations. Delicate yet intense, Sempere remains a generous and influential figure in the story of Spanish modern art, as Chillida once noted.