Biography and Works of José Gracenea

Irun, Guipuzcoa 1927

He is one of the most important and significant landscape architects in the Basque Country. His landscape is becoming more and more essential, more musical, more ethereal, more abstract. And above all loaded with spirituality and transcendence. The oldest of the founding members of the Ur Group (San Sebastian, 1965).

In 1942 he was a student of Faraldo and from 1946 to 1951 (both inclusive) of Montes Iturrioz. But unlike Menchu Gal (the student painter of Montes Iturrioz more famous without being of the master's blood) José always lives in the vicinity of the Bidasoa, either in Fuenterrabia, and always paints where he lives or nearby: Pasajes, Oiartzun, Donostia... although before the age of 40 I had traveled to many more places than people used to travel at that time.

His work is in the collections; in the Museum of Wiesbaden and the Ministry of Culture of Wiesbaden (Germany), Museum of San Telmo (San Sebastian), City Council of San Sebastian and Irun, Provincial Council of Guipuzcoa, Municipal Savings Bank of San Sebastian, Municipal Savings Bank of Vitoria, Box of Guipuzcoa to San Sebastian, Savings Bank of Valladolid among others.