Collection: Gregorio de Ybarra

An architect by profession, he was always familiar with the art world, as his grandfather, a painter by vocation, belonged to the Association of Basque Artists and was President of the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum. Furthermore, while working as an architect for the Ministry of Education's delegation in the province of Cuenca, he had the opportunity to become friends with Fernando Zóbel and the group of painters that emerged around the Museum of Abstract Art in the Hanging Houses.

He began painting after his retirement in Antonio Escobar's studio. His compositions reveal an unusual perspective, brushstrokes that capture spaces with a magical, almost expressionistic quality; and they also betray the influence of Basque painting, which throughout the 20th century interpreted avant-garde echoes in its own way.

Even as an architect, he confesses to being a lover of unspoiled nature, which he seeks to capture in his works: “How lucky the Impressionists were, because urban development hadn't stolen their landscapes,” he says. Although he has worked in all kinds of formats, in recent years Gregorio has focused his efforts on transferring different corners of Spain to small-format canvas panels. Light and color combine to transport us to easily recognizable landscapes, but only an observant eye and a skillful hand can render them with such ingenuity.

He has participated in various collective and individual exhibitions: at the Casa de Cantabria in Madrid (2011); at the Fundación Prójimo Próximo in the College of Civil Engineers (2010 and 2012); at the Galería La Revuelta (2015); at the Sociedad Bilbaína (2013); at the Hotel Club Marítimo de Sotogrande (2014); and at the Galería Haurie in Seville (2017).