A MAJOR EXHIBITION at Valencia's Centre del Carme Cultura Contemporània (CCCC) is resurrecting the legacy of José Segrelles (1885 to 1969).
Running from September 25, 2026, to January 10, 2027, "José Segrelles. El ilustrador fantástico" features 155 original masterpieces, including 60 never-before-seen works.
This monumental showcase marks a true homecoming for a visionary artist who split his time between international metropolitan capitals and his self-designed, historic home-studio in Albaida, Valencia.
Operating fluently across fantasy, Orientalism, symbolism, early science fiction, and Art Deco poster design, Segrelles defied the traditional realism of his peers to paint the impossible.
He masterfully fused the dark romanticism of Goya with a luminous watercolor palette so distinct that American critics officially named the shade "The Segrelles Blue."
His terrifying, majestic visions attracted famous literary patrons like author Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, who commissioned him to illustrate his iconic novels, and his work continues to serve as the direct visual blueprint for modern filmmakers like Guillermo del Toro.
Segrelles' trajectory plays out as a classic tragedy of timing, defined by a meteoric global fame and a sudden historical fall.
In the late 1920s and 1930s, he was a superstar illustrator in New York and London, commanding massive spreads in Cosmopolitan and ranking alongside masters like Gustave Doré for his depictions of Don Quixote and H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds.
However, the Great Depression forced his return to Spain, just as the country plunged into a brutal civil war and decades of cultural isolation under the Francoist regime.
As the international art world moved toward modern abstraction, the pioneer of dark fantasy faded into a regional whisper, until now.
DETAILS
• Address: Centre del Carme Cultura Contemporània (CCCC), Calle Museo 2, 46003 València
• Price: Free admission
• Hours: Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 20:00 (Closed on Monday
s)
