Miguel Ángel Campano Mendaza was a renowned painter associated by critics with the “generation of the renewal of Spanish painting,” and was awarded, among other distinctions, the National Prize for Fine Arts in 1996. The entirety of his work has been considered a space of experimentation and transgression.

He has been linked to automatism in his early stages, as well as to geometric abstraction and informalism. His production is notable for the reinterpretation, across several series, of French painting by Cézanne and Poussin, among others, as well as of Cubism.

His stays in India in 1994, 1995, and 1996 resulted in a renewed interest in color in his subsequent work, and he continued working despite suffering a serious stroke in 1996 and subsequent health complications. His two most significant exhibitions were those held in Valencia by IVAM at the Centre del Carmen (1990–1991) and at the Palacio de Velázquez in Madrid (June–September 1999).

In 1996, he was awarded the National Prize for Fine Arts in Spain for “his decisive contribution to the debate on new Spanish painting” and for “the rigor and courage with which he has developed a body of work in which construction and expressiveness are exemplary combined.” His works are held in museums such as the Reina Sofía in Madrid, the Museum of Abstract Art in Cuenca, the Museum of Fine Arts of Bilbao, ARTIUM, the Institut Valencià d’Art Modern, the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, and the Hastings Foundation collection in New York.

Campano’s work is characterized by broad gestures, a richness of color—intense and enigmatic—and large formats. His interest in classical tradition led him to reinterpret great masters, creating series based on works by Cézanne (for which he traveled through Provence and the surroundings of Mont Sainte-Victoire), Delacroix, and Poussin. He worked for many years on “d’après” works, meaning “based on,” in which he reinterpreted the creations of other artists in a very free manner, ultimately producing entirely new works. This approach gave rise to the exhibition title “Acentos y diferencia,” reflecting his focus on selecting specific artistic elements to create something new and distinct.