A commitment to the new art Journeys of the avant-garde in Catalonia through the Rafael and María Teresa Santos Torroella collection Temporary exhibition

The exploitation by the Franco regime of the Biennials and other international competitions as an image-building campaign generated opposition from various artistic sectors, both within the country and, fundamentally, abroad, in the circles of exiled creators in France, Mexico and other South American countries.

This movement of dissidence gave rise to the so-called anti-biennials, such as the one promoted by Picasso in Paris (1951), the one in Caracas (1951) or the one promoted by Rivera, Siqueiros and Tamayo in Mexico (1952).

Over time, and as the regime's grip weakened, some of these exiled artists rejoined their native art scene. A feeling of nostalgia and an advocacy of Spanish culture, monopolised and manipulated by the Franco regime, encroached upon the work done by many of them, as is the case of Ramón Gaya, Esteban Francés or Antoni Clavé, which paid homage to the great Hispanic masters from Velazquez to Picasso.

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