José Mari Uzelai

José Mari Uzelai Uriarte, better known as José María Ucelay (1 November 1903 – 24 December 1979), was a Spanish painter, illustrator, and decorator.

Early life and education Born in Bermeo on 1 November 1903, Ucelay moved with his family to Bilbao, where he received his education from 1909 onwards. creating the ballet Eresoinka, for which Ucelay designed costumes and stage sets.

In 1938, he settled in Great Britain, where he held several exhibitions and created mural paintings, returning to Spain only in 1949, from which time he alternated between Busturia and Madrid. In 1969 he permanently secluded himself in the old family home in Chirapozu in Busturia, where he continued his creative work (especially portraits) and exhibitions. In the 1960s, he was part of the Emen group of Vizcaya, an attempt to unify the artists of the Basque School. He died there on 24 December 1979, at the age of 76.

Style Ucelay's compositions were meticulously crafted and brightly coloured, showing a clear predominance of line and drawing. Close to some of the assumptions of magical realism and metaphysical painting, they also show the influence of Japanese art. In the 1930s, the study of colour and atmospheric effects occupied a prominent place in these works, which during his exile, included an iconographic repertoire of marine themes. At the end of his career, Ucelay preferred to work with easel painting, often retouching during this period, with varying success, some of the works from his youth.

His painting, with a personal realism, focuses on the representation of landscapes and characters from his land, carried out with great technical perfection and a characteristic style of stylized forms.