Julio Gonzalez

A mentor of Picasso and, paradoxically, an inheritor of that artist's influences, Catalonian sculptor Julio González (1876-1942) also cultivated a formidable reputation as the progenitor of contemporary iron sculpture and linear sculptures. His method involved using a welding torch to develop a standard "language of sculpture" that he would then systematically reduce to fundamental elements. In this biographical documentary, director Barrie Gavin journeys from Paris to the Riviera through Barcelona Spain, following the same path as González himself and engendering fresh insights into the artist's life and work. He also includes interviews with figures including art expert Margit Rowell and González friend Hans Hartung.