Walter Finch
THE body of a Spanish artist from Malaga was pulled from the River Thames in London on Monday evening.
Gonzalo Fuentes, 34, was spotted floating in the river near Thamesmead at around 6.30pm by a member of the public who immediately alerted emergency services.
The painter, originally from Teba in Malaga province, was rescued by the London Fire Brigade and rushed to hospital but died later that night despite doctors’ efforts to save him.
Fuentes had been living in the British capital since January 2019, working as an administrative assistant at an elderly care home in Woolwich while pursuing his artistic projects in his spare time.
The promising artist graduated with a Fine Arts degree from the University of Malaga and went on to complete a Master’s in Art Research and Creation at Madrid’s Complutense University.
His first solo exhibition, titled ‘Construction Games’, was held at Malaga’s Faculty of Fine Arts in 2014. According to his blog, his projects were based on ‘the conception of painting as a compositional game through resources and references to architectural elements’.
Fuentes had built an impressive portfolio, participating in exhibitions at Malaga’s Contemporary Art Centre (CAC) and winning recognition in several prestigious competitions.
These included the 30th BMW Painting Prize, the XVII Young Complutense Prize, the Malaga Crea Visual Arts Show in 2015, NordArt 2015, the University of Malaga Painting Prize in 2013 and the Griffin Art Prize in 2014.
He moved to London for work opportunities and to continue his artistic development, settling in the residential area of Thamesmead where he was found.
British authorities are still investigating the circumstances surrounding his death.
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