Miguel Durán-Loriga

Durán-Loriga’s mid-century masterpiece, the fountain in the Plaza de la Glorieta in Elche, Spain. Image: Universidad Miguel Hernández
Miguel Durán-Loriga in front of his mid-century masterpiece, the fountain in the Plaza de la Glorieta in Elche, Spain (1970). Image: Universidad Miguel Hernández

In 1952, Miguel Durán-Loriga y Rodrigáñez founded the Cerámica Artística Alfaraz (Alfaraz Pottery) in the town of Alcala de Henares, just north of Madrid. Durán-Loriga was a noted mid-20th century Spanish ceramicist, designer, architect and professor.

Alfaraz plate, c1960s.
Alfaraz plate, c1960s. Image: @ArtGirlinLA

The factory had two rather disparate production lines. One produced small decorative items, gift boxes, vases, and imaginative figures of Spanish people and animals. These mid-century avant-garde designs are truly remarkable.

Alfaraz horse figure, 1960s. Image: Anthony Meyers
Alfaraz horse figure, 1960s. Image: Anthony Meyers
Alfaraz head
Alfaraz head. Image: Surfing Cowboys

The other line produced architectural ceramic murals where Durán-Loriga’s artistry was fully expressed. He called his mural projects “paramentos”, which can be translated as “adornments” or “vestments.” Eventually he lost interest in the pottery and created a cooperative owned by the workers.

Alfaraz mosaic wall. Image: Anthony Meyers
Alfaraz mosaic wall. Image: Anthony Meyers

Durán-Loriga was the designer and architect of a revolutionary mid-century masterpiece, the fountain in the Plaza de la Glorieta in Elche, Spain (built in the late 1960s). Unhappily it was torn down; but, happily, the town recently rebuilt an exact replica of the fountain in the Parc Municipal.

The history of the European mid-century ceramics could not be written without a chapter to honor Durán-Loriga. Durán-Loriga defined his ethic in this way: “The precursor of the industrial designer is a craftsman.”

Durán-Loriga’s mid-century masterpiece, the fountain in the Plaza de la Glorieta in Elche, Spain.
The fountain in the Plaza de la Glorieta in Elche, Spain. Image: Universidad Miguel Hernández
Fountain, Eiche, Spain
An exact replica of the fountain in the Parc Municipal, Eiche. Image: Kevin Rendall

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