Bores Francisco

He began his studies at a free academy in Madrid and at the same time worked at the Prado, primarily copying the works of Titian, Velasquez and Goya. He linked himself to the avant garde groups in Madrid and worked for many newspapers as an illustrator. Until that period his works were presented frequently at the various salons and were rather conventional. In 1925 twenty of his works were included in an important exhibition in Madrid called “Iberian Artists”, which for the first time presented the work of non-academic painters. Immediately after that, he settled in Paris and associated himself with various Spanish painters among whom were Picasso, Miro and Picabia. He became friends with Matisse, Derain and Juan Gris.

In Paris he participated in many group exhibitions, such as the Salon of True Independents and the Salon des Tuileries, to which he was invited to participate. He also took regular part in the Salon des Superindependants, as well as in the exhibition of the School of Paris which was held in Bern in 1946.

His first solo exhibition was held at the Percier Gallery in Paris and presented works inspired by cubist collage.

He subsequently had many solo exhibitions, not only n Paris but also in Madrid, Zurich, Brussels, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.

During the early Thirties his style drew closer to Expressionism, mainly because of his sinewy and intense brushstroke and his drawing done straight n the canvas. Later, he turned toward strictly intellectual compositions, using his themes as a pretext for stylistic experiments. The influence of Cubism was particularly strong, something which would appear to have been unavoidable for a young painter in the Paris of that period. He belonged to a group of artists for whom Cubism offered a new way of working which supplied an answer to their need to organize the work of art in a strick manner.

His Cubism was characterized as “Cubism with curves”. In his work can be recognized the influences of Picasso, Gris, Matisse and Braque.

He gradually simplified his painting, frequently achieving near abstraction. His work is characterized by an acuteness of color and the complex use of space, and is imbued with mysticism, creating an atmosphere all its own.