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Alfredo Roldan was born in Madrid in 1965. He started to paint as a child, intending to dedicate his life to art. At the age of 22, having no formal artistic training, Roldan started selling his work in street markets whilst at the same time presenting his work at major competitions of which he won several. It was on winning the award granted by the City Council of Madrid in 1994 that he was discovered by a major gallery (Sammer Gallery). His winning painting now hangs in the Museum of Modern Art of Rome.
The Priory Church of St. Bartholomew the Great, West Smithfield, the oldest church in London, founded in 1123, commissioned Roldán to paint an altar piece of the Madonna and Child. In February 1999 it was unveiled in the Lady Chapel. The altar piece was dedicated by the Lord Bishop of London and lessons read by Simon Callow (Four Weddings and a Funeral) and by his Excellency the Spanish Ambassador.
Roldan’swork embodies natural themes based on figures, still life and objects set in recognizable surroundings. He aspires to embrace those major avant garde moments of the early 20th Century (Fauvism, and Cubism), which has defined his understanding of colour and shaped his application of form and composition. Without apology he acknowledges the influence of Matisse and Picasso and also Modigliani for his elongated portrayal of the female nude. And yet, like all genuine and honest painters who recognize the importance and significance of those historic revolutionary styles, Roldan has assimilated each derivative influence to create his own personal and very distinctive style of painting.
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