THE SECRET CABINET OF DOCTOR AMBROSIUS
Doctor Ambrosius was one of those exquisite personages of the old school, educated in prestigious European academies, perhaps in Vienna or Prague. He dedicated his life to the investigation of the meaning of beauty, studying its various manifestations in literature and music, in painting, sculpture, and photography. His inquiries took him to travel the world, where in the most unexpected corners he encountered people dedicated to the creation of art. He met painters and musicians, poets and dancers, and many others who taught him of the beauty inherent in the creative process. But Doctor Ambrosius longed for more. He began to collect examples of all that that interested him and wandered the world accumulating pictures, books, musical scores, and antiquities, until he filled his house with wonderful and precious works of art. Then, he filled a warehouse, and another one, and yet another, which, given the hermetic secrecy of his distinguished personality, were kept under lock and key, like a secret cabinet.
I met him many years later, when he was already a well-known collector and was an assiduous visitor to the gallery. One day we were studying a woodcut by Kirchner that he was enthusiastic about, when he asked me if I knew what, more than anything, he longed to obtain before he died. Imagining that he was referring to some unattainable treasure, a Holy Grail that he had not been able to acquire during his wanderings, I remained quiet, expecting to hear of an opportunity lost, of the one that got away. After a few moments, without taking his eyes off the woodcut, he replied: “what I want more than anything is to learn how to see.”
THE GALLERY
The Michael Dunev Gallery was founded in San Francisco, California in 1982 with the dream of promoting an international art of conscience with profound emotional content and lasting aesthetic value that transcended fashions, trends or regional politics. In 1999 we relocated to Spain, opening a centre for contemporary art in a seventeenth century house in the mediaeval village of Torroella de Montgrí. As Dunev Art Projects, the gallery earned a lasting reputation for showing outstanding works by mid-career and established artists, both Spanish and international, while offering, as well, a comprehensive art advisory service.
In September 2017, after thirty-five years of mounting exhibitions, I closed the gallery, ending thus, an extraordinary journey. The chance to work at doing what I love best has been enriching beyond description and I am glad to have made a modest contribution to the cultural tapestry of our community. It has been an honour to count amongst my closest friends many of those artists with whom I’ve worked during all these years and I owe a debt of gratitude to those passionate collectors whose acquisitions have kept the gallery going and whose friendship I shall forever cherish.
ARTISTS EXHIBITED
(partial list)
Sergi AGUILAR
Fernando ALDAY
Jaume AMIGÓ
Eduard ARBÓS
Charles ARNOLDI
Milton AVERY
Miquel BARCELÓ
Ernst BARLACH
Mary BATES
Max BECKMANN
Joan BENNÀSSAR
Stanley BOXER
José Manuel BROTO
Christopher BROWN
Hans BURKHARDT
José Manuel CIRIA
Carmen CALVO
Miguel Ángel CAMPANO
Ramon CANET
Miguel CASTRO LEÑERO
Marc CHAGALL
Joaquim CHANCHO
Antoni CLAVÉ
Raquel COHEN
Miguel CONDÉ
Lovis CORINTH
José Pedro CROFT
José Luis CUEVAS
Carol DALTON
Aristides DEMETRIOS
Richard DIEBENKORN
Barbara DIETHELM
Guy DILL
Jim DINE
Friedl DZUBAS
Mark EANES
Josef EBNÖTHER
Ramon ENRICH
Xavier ESCRIBÀ
Adolfo ESTRADA
Bella FELDMAN
Donald FELS
Conrad FELIXMÜLLER
Eric FISCHL
Judith FOOSANER
Sam FRANCIS
Helen FRANKENTHALER
Ferran FREIXA
Rachel FRIEDBERG
Flor GARDUÑO
Regina GIMÉNEZ
Xavier GRAU
Georg GROSZ
José GUERRERO
José Mª GUERRERO MEDINA
Hardy HANSON
Grace HARTIGAN
Erich HECKEL
Sam HERNÁNDEZ
Joan HERNÁNDEZ PIJUAN
Wade HOEFER
Friedensreich HUNDERTWASSER
Frank HYDER
Jasper JOHNS
Kurt KEMP
Michael KENNA
Ernst Ludwig KIRCHNER
Kathe KÖLLWITZ
Menchu LAMAS
Terence LA NOUE
Emilio LEKUONA
Lluís LLEÓ
Miguel MACAYA
Jordi MARTORANNO
Ricardo MAZAL
Douglas McCLELLAN
Joan MIRÓ
Richard MOQUIN
Robert MOTHERWELL
Martin MULL
Natalia NESTEROVA
Alessandro NOCENTINI
Kenneth NOLAND
Emil NOLDE
Bob NUGENT
Nathan OLIVEIRA
Antón PATIÑO
Max PECHSTEIN
Mark PERLMAN
Jean PFAFF
Pablo PICASSO
Jaume PLENSA
Alejandro QUINCOCES
Albert RÀFOLS CASAMADA
Sam RICHARDSON
Gustavo RAMOS RIVERA
Alek RAPOPORT
RIERA I ARAGÓ
Margaret RINKOVSKY
Curtis RIPLEY
Bernardi ROIG
Susan ROTHENBERG
Gino RUBERT
Francesc RUESTES
Carme SANGLAS
Dominica SÁNCHEZ
Karl SCHMIDT-ROTTLUFF
Emil SCHUMACHER
Sean SCULLY
Anna SIEMS
Hans SIEVERDING
Steven SORMAN
Manuel SOLÀ
Frank STELLA
Juan SUAREZ
Antoni TÀPIES
Rufino TAMAYO
Sinen THALHEIMER
Wayne THIEBAUD
Jordi TEIXIDOR
Manu vb TINTORÉ
Larry THOMAS
Josep UCLÉS
Lluís VILÀ
Manfred VOGEL
Jean WEINBAUM
Audrey T. WELCH
Terry WINTERS