Between petals and brushes: Antonio López’s most personal roses

“The flower and the naked body share the same seduction, the same mystery. They live, reproduce, and die just like us.” – Antonio López

Antonio López’s work stands out for its astonishing, almost photographic precision and for his deep sensitivity toward everyday life. His paintings capture the light, time, and atmosphere of urban and domestic landscapes, transforming the ordinary into an artistic experience. López manages to turn what seems commonplace into an invitation to contemplation and silence.

In addition to his celebrated urban scenes, Antonio López has shown a constant fascination with the natural world, especially flowers. Throughout his career, he has painted them time and again, pausing to observe their evolution and the way time leaves its mark on their petals. Among all of them, roses occupy a privileged place. “And I paint very different flowers, mostly roses. I return to roses because they have such a range of tones—the rose is still the rose, but the white rose is not the same as the pink rose, or the red rose, or the yellow rose. They are all very different. They evoke very different sensations.” (Interview with Antonio López, exclusively for the Landscapes edition). But what is it about roses that so deeply fascinated the artist?

The portrait of an instant

For the artist, the human body and flowers share a profound connection: both are living organisms that are born, grow, and eventually die, thus revealing the fragility and fullness of existence. This analogy has inspired in him a constant fascination with the fleeting beauty, mystery, and seduction that dwell in nature.

Antonio López sculpting Mari.

In his paintings, López has sensitively explored the passage of time and its imprint on the human body, on landscapes, and —most significantly— on flowers. Roses, in particular, become a symbol of transformation, a reflection of the life cycle that the artist observes and admires with great care. López does not seek only the perfection of the moment, but also the poetry of change—the slow metamorphosis of the flower, from its splendor to its inevitable withering.

Left sup. Rosas de invierno (Winter Roses), 2015. Oil on canvas, 24 × 33 cm.

Left inf. Rosas de invierno I (Winter Roses I), 2015. Oil on canvas, 44 × 50 cm.

Right sup. Rosas de invierno II (Winter Roses II), 2015. Oil on canvas, 45 × 51 cm.

Right sup. Rosas de invierno III (Winter Roses III), 2016. Oil on canvas, 45,3 × 51 cm.

In Bodies and flowers, the first edition the artist created in collaboration with ARTIKA in 2017—now sold out—he delves into the relationship between the two beings and his tireless devotion to observing them. The work gathers dozens of the artist’s pieces, many reproduced in actual size, offering an intimate and poetic glimpse into Antonio López’s dialogue with nature, time, and the human figure.

In this new edition, titled Landscapes, a highly valuable artistic element is included: a giclée print from a limited and numbered edition of a painting created exclusively for ARTIKA. This print is yet another example of his mastery in portraying flowers. The giclée technique, also known as “modern lithography,” achieves extraordinary color accuracy and detail thanks to the micro-spraying of 10 inks that blend before reaching the paper.

Lámina giclée de la obra Rosas de Ávila VIII, (Giclée print of Roses of Ávila VIII, 2014).

This print is a gift from the artist himself, reflecting his enduring fascination with the beauty of flowers. As he stated in his exclusive interview with ARTIKA: “It’s a subject I’ve never stopped painting. These were pink roses, like flesh. They were very fleshy. I painted everything in search of that physical quality they had.”

Landscapes: the corners Antonio López made eternal

– Limited edition of 2,998 copies, numbered and hand-signed by Antonio López.

– The piece consists of an Art Book and a giclée print, both protected and displayed within an elegant case designed exclusively for this edition.

– The Art Book begins chronologically with the paintings of his uncle, Antonio López Torres. Later, his wife, María Moreno, together with Antonio López himself, become the central figures of the artist’s most intimate and personal work.

– The giclée print, Roses (2021–2022), has been printed on cotton paper and bears the artist’s digital signature.