Córdoba, Spain. 1929-2020.

Juan Serrano Muñoz, architect, painter, sculptor and designer, developed an important research work within these disciplines. He studied at the School of Architecture in Madrid and also graduated in Veterinary Medicine at the Faculty of Cordoba.

Together with José Duarte, Luis Aguilera Bernier and Francisco Aguilera Amate he formed the group Espacio, for the realization of decorative works. This group was contacted by Rafael de la Hoz, who commissioned some works and put them in contact with Jorge Oteiza, when he visited Cordoba in 1955. The following year, Serrano traveled to Paris with José Duarte. There they visited Picasso and met Agustín Ibarrola. They then began to hang around the Rond Point café in Paris, where, in May 1957, the Equipo 57 art group was born, active until 1962 and of which he was co-founder.

Equipo 57 was made up of young artists and architects concerned with conceptual forms. Influenced by informal art, they cultivated an abstract geometric style and used a very intense chromaticism. During the early years, Equipo 57 held exhibitions in Paris, Copenhagen, Zurich, Bilbao and Madrid, among other cities. The group disbanded in 1962.

From that time on, Juan Serrano’s work focused on architecture, with a position as a municipal architect in Cordoba, without ceasing to work on his plastic research. This work, or rather the conclusions of the same, leads him, especially in recent years, to produce his ideas in an absolutely free way, but with great rigor. This, which a priori may seem contradictory, gives him an extraordinary solidity, as if the current of his thoughts nested in the work.