DAMIÁN GARRIDO. MADRID, 1931 - 2002
As a boy, Damián Garrido excelled in draughtsmanship and modelling, which led him to begin training in the field of orfèvrerie and sculpture. Having advanced his apprenticeship, at the age of seventeen he sat an official examination to become a skilled worker, showing a preference for working with silverware.
He completed his training at the School of Arts and Crafts in Madrid, and by nineteen had become a master in his field. Countless hours would be spent from then onwards to the study of works from past centuries, which would soon inspire intricate works of his own.
During the sixties Damián began to travel in order to broaden his knowledge of his profession, visiting art museums and galleries of countries with a long-standing silverware tradition such as England, France, Portugal and Italy, admiring the creations of the artists Paul Storr, François Thomas Germain, Jean-Baptiste Claude Odiot and Henri Auguste.
Upon his return to Spain he would begin to produce replicas of antique designs, ranging from wash-basins and soup tureens to jugs and centrepieces, the most outstanding of them all being his copy of Paul Storr’s soup tureen, to which he would devote six years.
During the seventies and following in the footsteps of great Spanish silversmiths like the eighteenth-century master Antonio Martínez, Garrido decided to expand his workshop and execute different versions of traditional pieces such as candlesticks, pitchers and inkstands.
As a result of his son and daughter, Juan and Paloma, joining the firm in 1985, Damián introduced a new line of work based on original designs.
This change of direction favoured and inspired by his descendants as marked by traditional custom would grant his artistic trajectory its definitive impulse, giving rise to the novel contemporary collection, which would occupy the artist during the last years of his life. Since then, Juan and Paloma have gradually enhanced this collection with new high-quality pieces of decorative art.
At present their designs can be admired at the most prestigious jewellers, art galleries and silverware collections, both in Spain and abroad, as well as in those of numerous private and public institutions.
PRIZES
Best Traditional Madrid Artisan. Awarded on the 9th of December 1981 by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Madrid.
Silver Prize in the Iberjoya Fair, 1986.
Diploma to a Master Craftsman. Awarded by the Guild of Artisans of Madrid on the 28th of June 1989.
European Economic Community Diploma. Awarded on the 29th of March of 1994 through the European Academy of the Arts.
Honorary Mention for the export of Quality Goods. Awarded by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Madrid on the 23rd of July of 1997.
