The Portal of Remembrance, a work as imposing as it is impressive, is erected in the Parc de la Voie Maritime. Made of solid steel, this spectacular monument, whose appearance defies the fashions of time, measures nearly 3 meters in height and weighs more than 9 tons. It was multidisciplinary artist Kieff Antonio Grediaga who imagined this work, inspired by Frederico Garcia Lorca, the great Spanish poet whom dictator Franco had shot during the European Civil War. In retrospect, Kieff dedicated his masterpiece to the Quebec poet Émile Nelligan: the Quebec equivalent, in his vision, of his beloved Spanish poet who had tragically passed away.
The Artist
On May 28, 1836, during the Spanish Civil War, Antonio Grediaga Kieff was born in Madrid, Spain. At a young age, this aspiring sculptor began his apprenticeship as a cabinetmaker, restoring church furniture alongside his father. During his school career, he gravitated toward the visual arts and took courses in industrial design and architecture.
Grediaga then continued his studies in architecture at the Cantos Irigoyen school, where he created his first two sculptures. In Madrid, he opened his own cabinetmaking and decoration workshop. In the late 1950s, he decided to move to Sao Paulo, Brazil, to begin his studies in aerodynamic engineering. It was in Buenos Aires, Argentina, that he opted to study drama, singing, and piano. He then moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he worked as a cabinetmaker. At the same time, he began studying drama, singing, and piano, eventually returning to his native country to continue his musical studies. While the visual arts have always held an important place in his life, music is just as much a part of it.
In 1963, he learned to make guitars and violins from German luthiers and, a few years later, gave several concerts in Spain as a tenor soloist. It was in Vienna, where he was to perfect his studies in music and voice, that he met his wife, the Canadian soprano Nicole Lorange. The couple later settled in Montreal and two children were born from this union. Kieff’s works are remarkable for their elegance and brilliance. Some, such as Totem with Empty Space or Gipsy Dancer, combine the golden patina with a brownish or greenish patina obtained by a nitrate process. Although Kieff masters bronze, the artist has created several sculptures in black granite that are equally impressive. Furthermore, these works have also graced nearly a hundred exhibitions around the world: in Canada, the United States, Cuba, England, Germany, Japan, Israel, Taiwan, and of course, Spain and Montreal.
