The Garcigrande exhibition hall, owned by Unicaja, hosts in Salamanca until next 30 May a pictorial exhibition organized by Fundación Vargas-Zúñiga y Pérez-Lucas with part of its artistic funds. A total of 57 paintings of a great variety of authors are hung, some of them belonging to the so-called School of Paris, as well as other recognized local and regional painters of the last half of the 20th century. The opening ceremony took place yesterday afternoon, with the presence of important figures of the institutions and culture of Salamanca.
The work now on display in the Garcigrande hall, at the headquarters of Unicaja in Salamanca, is a selection of 57 works, of different sizes, belonging to the private collection that the couple Vargas Zúñiga and Pérez-Lucas, a great lover of art and culture, hung in their private residence and that was gathered throughout their life.
Among other artists, paintings by Benjamín Palencia, Celso Lagar, Pancho Cossío, Martínez Novillo, Díaz Caneja, Carmen Laffón, Zacarías González, Isabel Villar, Luis de Horna and González Arenal, to name but a few, are on display. Small works attributed to the School of Goya and various panels from Flanders are also on display to the public.
José María Vargas-Zúñiga (1921-2010) was a renowned businessman from Salamanca who participated in politics during the Transition and presided over Caja Salamanca from 1978 to 1991. He was later appointed honorary president of Caja Duero, which is now part of Unicaja. Under his leadership, the institution developed an important economic, social and cultural work in the regions where it operated. His wife, María Dolores Pérez-Lucas Alba (1924-2015), was a renowned writer who mainly cultivated children's and young people's literature.
Fundación Vargas-Zúñiga y Pérez-Lucas was created in 2000 by the couple that gives it its name, and focuses its activities on assisting people in need, providing scholarships for students, professors and research work, promoting the publication of books and awarding studies that favor the economic development of Salamanca, among others.
The exhibition will be open to the public until 30 May, during the following hours: Tuesdays to Saturdays, from 18:00 to 21:00; Sundays, from 11:00 to 14:00.