When we think of Spanish realism, there is one name that immediately springs to mind: Antonio López García, one of the most important contemporary artists in the history of Spanish art. ARTIKA is presenting Bodies and flowers, the first and only artist’s book on the great painter, in a limited edition of 2,998 numbered copies, all individually signed by the artist himself.

This is a large-format Art Book, in a bilingual edition (Spanish-English), which features his most emblematic works, from his earliest endeavours to his most recent pieces: paintings, sketches, works in progress and sculptures, all reproduced in actual size or in detailed images.

The high quality of printing in the book allows readers to enjoy various details that are characteristic of the work of Antonio López, such as the superimposition of other materials as part of the studies the painter carries out during his creative process, which is sometimes endless.

The painstaking work involved in the publishing of this volume includes a text written for the occasion by Rafael Argullol, Professor of Aesthetics at Barcelona’s Pompeu Fabra University, a dialogue between Antonio López and Julio Vaquero, one of the contemporary artists who best knows and most admires the work of the painter from La Mancha, and finally, a piece written by Antonio López himself in which he reveals his feelings as an artist.

The front cover features a detail from his oil painting Espaldas (1965), while the back cover shows another detail from the famous work Adrián y Miriam (2014). The cover design represents a nod by the artist to the passing of time, in what is an allusion to the past and the present of his art. A unique edition in which Antonio López has participated in all the processes of creating and designing the book.

Bodies and flowers also includes an item of great artistic value that reveals to us the most private side of his painting: a limited, numbered edition of a giclée plate of his painting Rosas de Ávila. This plate, which was selected personally by Antonio López, can also be displayed as a separate piece.

The Art Book and the giclée plate are presented in a spectacular case, which features a detail from one of the sketches the artist made for his sculpture La mujer de Coslada. The case has been made using entirely manual processes. The specialist woodworkers produced the piece by working painstakingly on each detail. A spectacular work of art, with infinite possibilities that are revealed by combining the image on the glass cover of the case with the covers of the book.

The limited edition of Bodies and flowers takes us on an enchanting journey, featuring human figures and flowers, through the life and work of one of the best-known, most highly-prized painters and sculptors in the world of Spanish art.