Saülo Mercader is a Spanish painter, sculptor and essayist. He was born on September 13, 1944, in San Vicente del Raspeig (Alicante, Spain). He has lived in Paris since 1975.
He has created art in a variety of different mediums, such as ceramics, high-warp tapestries, engravings, drawings, terracotta and lithographies.
His works are not linked with current trends in visual arts, but are inspired by the events that take place in society and in his life.
Biography Saülo Mercader started modelling and drawing when he was six years old. He learnt the different techniques of modelling in the « Fallas » workshops in Alicante. He was an apprentice in the sculptor Serrano's workshops, which allowed him to learn the different steps in the making of bronze sculptures, from moulding to different processes of casting.
In 1964 he arrived in Bilbao (the Basque country where his professional career started. He made himself known through a series of collective and individual exhibitions. As a disciple of the sculptor Lucarini,Alberto Lopez Etchevarrieta : " Discipulo de Lucarini, Saulo un pintor independiente " – Diario Pueblo – 22 Novembre de 1970 he carved stone and worked on bronze, completing a series of remarkable busts" El marques de Lozoya ha posado para el pintor Saulo " – El Adelantado de Segovia – 14 Agosto de 1973 as well as painted portraits, such as that of the Marquis de Lozoya in Segovia.Alberto Lopez Echevarrieta : " Me compra un cuadro el Museo de Bellas-Artes de Madrid para una exposicion nacional itinerante " – Pueblo, 26 Junio de 1972 One of his paintings : Peras en Primavera was acquired by the Fine Arts Museum in Madrid." Fueron entregados 20 premios meritos a la vocacion " – Diario femenino – 4 Abril de 1973, p.15 Mercader received the Spanish Vocation Fund Prize 1972." Saulo, premio de la Fundacion espanola de la Vocacion " – Hierro, 24 Abril 1973" Entrega de los premios Mérito a La Vocacion 1972 " – La Vanguardia espanola – 3 Abril de 1973 He went to Rome through a scholarship given by the Castellblanch Catalan company." Esperanza artistica para Bilbao " – La Hoja del Lunes – 5 Abril de 1971Alberto Lopez Echevarrieta : " pensionado por el Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores-Saülo, a los paises bajos " – Pueblo, 4 Septembre 1974 In Italy, he studied great masters, mainly Raphaël and Leonardo da Vinci, for whom he described feeling a connection.
Because of deadly floods in Bilbao that destroyed his studio, he lost a large part of his works, as well as personal effects like books, letters, and photos." 150 cuadros de Saulo afectados por la inundacion " – El Correo Espanol n°23.027, 26 Julio de 1983, page 1Alberto Lopez Etchevarrieta : " Saülo Mercader, becado por el Gobierno Frances " – Pueblo, 1974
In 1974, he received a grant from the French government, which allowed him to stay in Paris and develop his art." Una insolita muestra del pintor bilbaino Saülo Mercader en Nueva-York " – La Hoja del Lunes, 20 Septiembre de 1982– n°2699 He lived at the Cité internationale des arts for five years and met artists from around the world, like: painters, sculptors, comedians, musicians, ballet-dancers, writers. These encounters enlarged his vision of art. He participated in elite art shows in the capital : Salon de Mai, Salon d’Automne, Grands et Jeunes d’Aujourd’hui, Jeune Sculpture, Salon des Artistes Français, Contradiction, and Outre-Couleur. In the Cité Internationale des Arts’ workshops, he started weaving high-warp tapestries, guided by Jagoda Buic and Nora Music, and met weaver Marin Varbanov. Mercader followed S. W Hayter's courses in carving, as well as Matthey's courses in painting at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
Through his 1978 exhibition at the International Contemporary Art Fair (FIAC) in Paris, Mercader gained more recognition.
In 1981, he received an American Fulbright grant and went to New York City, where he worked for a couple of years. He lived on the Columbia University campus, and followed Professors Mahoney's and Maxwell's courses on lithography and Professor Schorr's courses on painting at Teachers' College, where he realized a series of ceramics with Panay Reyes. He isolated himself for a while to paint a few large paintings on the theme of American football whose exhibitions called the attention of some New York media." Saülo Mercader at Intar gallery in New-York " – The Village Voice-the weekly Newspaper n° 39 – 28 Septembre 1982Miguel Perez and Carlos Velez : " Qué pasa ? " The Daily News, New-York- 9 Octobre 1982Expositions- France-Amérique – Le Courrier des Etats-Unis n°503 – 14–20 Janvier 1982Marjorie Harris Beshers : " Saülo Mercader at Macy gallery in New-York " – T.C Advocate – Art Review n°4- Février 1982Gentes " Saülo Mercader en Noticias del Mundo " – Noticias del Mundo-New-York n° 578- 6 y 7 Febrero de 1982Marjorie Harris Beshers : " Saülo Mercader an internationally-known artist paints at Teachers’College, an artist hailed by the European press and critics " Annual Magazine 1982 – page 14, February 1982 At the same time, he painted five extra-large paintings on the theme of "the tree," later exhibited at the Biennial of Alexandria.
He received a Master of Arts and Education degree at Teachers' College, Columbia University." Saülo Mercader, Master of Art por la universidad norteamericana de Columbia, New-York " El Correo Espanol-El Pueblo Vasco n° 23.012 – 10 Julio de 1983 Later, he met Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Niki de Saint Phalle, which Saülo Mercader described in numerous illustrated notebooks and graphic works. By 1986 he had returned to Paris to earn a doctoral degree in visual arts Cum laude at Paris VIII University in 1986. He meets Tapies, Semprun and Camilo José Cela. He exhibited regularly in the capital and travelled mainly to Spain, where he became acquainted with Irish figurative painter Francis Bacon in Madrid.
Greece, particularly the mythology of Crete, inspired a large fresco (720 × 420 cm) entitled L’Attente du Minotaure, which belongs to the Tzovaridis's art collection in Athens.Article de la rédaction : " Saülo Mercader acaba la restauracion de su mural La espera del Minotauro en Atenas " – Informacion-Alicante, 20 Septiembre 2007 During trips to the Naxos island in the Cyclads, he drew a series of works inspired by the Cycladic art. In Turkey and Cyprus, Saülo Mercader interacted with Eastern cultures, architecture, and art. He exhibits a few paintings in the Istanbul Biennial; then in Bodrum, in Nicosia where the encounters with Turkish and Cypriot artists such as Aylin Örek, Habib Gerez, Feti Arda nourish and inspire his creations.Mehmet Zaimoviç : " Saülo Mercader in Resim leri " – Milliyet-Sanat Sergisi, Juillet 1984J.Habib Gerez : " saülo Mercader ", Eflâtun-Sanat, Kültür-Juillet/août 1984Cevdet Cagdas : " Atatürk Kültür Merkezinde, Saülo Mercader sergisi " – Bozkurt, 9 Août 1984 In Germany, his palette of colours get brighter and his subjects get more daring; he manages to secure exhibits in Düsseldorf and Köln. In Brussels and Ostende, he paints misty landscapes. He also exhibits in Utrecht, and was inspired by its romantic canals.
The city of Figeac (in the Lot region, South of France) welcomes two exhibitions in 1995 and 2000 on the Minotaur theme : Les Hurlements du Taureau. In 2000, he paints one of his major works : la Bachannale des Minotaures.Alain le Blanc : "Saülo Mercader au Rire Bleu, les Hurlements du Taureau" – La Dépêche du Lot, July 17, 1995, page 8Denis Delestrac : " Exposition Saülo Mercader à Figeac -Rébellion picturale " – La Dépêche, August 19, 1995 This very large painting is shown along with a series of minotaurs at the Palacio del Infantado in GuadalajaraLydia Martinez : " Saülo Mercader con sus minotauros elige Guadalajara para volver a Espana " – la Tribuna, Jan 26, 2000 and in Alicante (Spain).
Saülo Mercader has always been interested in transmitting his knowledge. He was often invited to animate classes among young pupils. He participates in a program : L’Art à l’Ecole with exhibitions and conferences sponsored by The Ministry of Youth and Sports." El arte en la escuela " – El Punto-Internacional – Madrid, Jan 25–31, 1991, p 17 Saülo Mercader often travels to his native country. His exhibition : El Euro y Los Minotauros (2002–2003) at the Lonja del Pescado in Alicante is sponsored by Alicante Townhall, the consortium of museums and the Generalitat of Valencia.J.A.Gimenez : " Saülo Mercader vuelve a exponer en Alicante despues de trece anos " -Informacion, 17 de Agosto de 2002, page 46Carlos Javier Vega : " El pintor alicantino Saülo Mercader expone por primera vez en su ciudad " – El Periodico, October 20, 2002, p36Angeles Caceres : " Minotauros en la orilla " – Informacion, 14 de December 2002, p66 He regularly exhibits in the French provinces. His exhibition : Les hologénies de l’Etron at the Cervantes Cultural Institute in Toulouse (South of France) surprises by the originality of its theme." Saülo Mercader à l’Institut Cervantes " – La Dépêche du Midi, November 21, 2002, p21" Les hologénies de Saülo Mercader " – La Gazette de Toulouse, December 6–12, 2002
A few years later, he has the honour to represent the Spanish artists living in Paris during a reception given at the Spanish Embassy where he met former King of Spain Juan Carlos I." El alicantino Saülo Mercader representa a los artistas espanoles ante el Rey en Paris " – Informacion, March 28, 2006
In 2012, he was officially invited by the French Embassy in Astana (Kazakhstan) where he exhibited his paintings on the occasion of the French National Feast (July 14).From the russian traduction : " The most beautiful colours in the heart of the steppe " – Astana evening newspaper – " Opening show ", July 26, 2012, page 12, n°88Lev Lushin : " Steppe themes in Saulo's works " – Kazakhstanskaya Pravda( The Pravda in Kazakhstan), July 14, 2012, n°225–226Originally in Russian : Tokjan Gani : " Saulo-Abaï 's brother " – Vremya (The Time newspaper – Astana), July 14, 2012, page 12The French Embassy in Kazakhstan-magazine of the Kazakhstan Press : " Exhibition of the painter and sculptor Saülo Mercader in Astana " – Kazakhstanskaya Pravda, Vremya, July 16, 2012
During his stay in Kazakhstan and Ouzbekistan, he visited places such as the Tangaly Petroglyphs, ancient monuments on the Silk Road, Mongol and Asian architecture, Edouard Kazarian's workshop in Almaty, and historic museums.
He often goes to Spain to do public works, stone or bronze busts, painted portraits and to exhibit. He participated at the Fallas in Alicante in 2007 by making a bull with diverse materials in the pure tradition of the Ninots." Saülo Mercader colabora con la hoguera Explanada " – Informacion, May 19, 2007
Distinctions Saülo Mercader received the Prize of the Vocation Fund (Barcelone – Spain), and received a grant from the French government. In 1981, he was awarded the Fulbright Grant.
He is Commander in the Order of the Arts and Letters (French Ministry of CultureRedaccion : " Saülo Mercader recibe el titulo de Comendador de las Artes de Francia " – Informacion, July 2012). He was awarded the Vermeil Medal of the City of Paris.
Works
Paintings There are different periods in his creations according to the places he has lived. The Catalan period inspired him tormented landscapes and subjects with symbolic elements : keys, candlesticks, twilights, the moon, portraits and self-portraits. In Paris he paints what he calls « the Green series » featuring unique characters and urban landscapes. Later on, the tauromachia scenes and a series of minotaurs include themes that denounce censure, injustices, solitude, wars. He painted a very large painting entitled : La Bacchanale des Minotaures, exhibited in Figeac, an exhibition sponsored by the Direction Régionale d’Art Contemporain (DRAC), by the Conseil Régional du Lot, and by the Spanish Embassy.