In this new edition of the Great Masters exhibition, we have brought together a selection of works that trace the development of Spanish contemporary art from the 1940s to the present day, with a particular focus on Asturian artists.

The central theme of the exhibition is the impact of the Civil War, the post-war period and the Transition, as experienced by those who not only witnessed these events but also shaped decades of artistic production.

The exhibition begins with two leading figures from Asturias. Nicanor Piñole portrayed domestic life during the conflict through pastels and watercolours that appear serene, yet are rich in context. Joaquín Vaquero Palacios, who combined architecture and the visual arts, was more direct in his critique: his synthesised landscapes speak of humanity’s impact on nature with a sobriety that is striking.

Informalism takes centre stage in the exhibition. Orlando Pelayo, in exile since 1939, is represented by a work that bridges his famous *Cartographies of Absence* with his later period. From the El Paso group, we present works by Antonio Suárez and Martín Chirino, representatives of a generation that turned material abstraction into an ideological response. Rafael Canogar, also a member of the group, shows a later evolution with his series Urbana and Cabezas, where the issue is no longer the regime, but the loss of the individual in the masses.

The exhibition is rounded off by Joaquín Rubio Camín and his sculptural explorations.