Diseño para La Vía Láctea (Design for The Milky Way)

Montxo Algora is a multifaceted creator, a key figure in the Madrid Movida’s visual construction, as well as a pioneer in digital art experimentation. In 1979, the bar La Vía Láctea opened its doors on Calle Velarde, turned from an old coal merchant’s into the epicentre of the Movida. Algora, together with Carlos Greus, was responsible for its visual identity: from the emblematic retro-futuristic ‘pin-up’ on its façade to the coasters, including the Fomalhaut series, a set of airbrushed illustrations that appear on the decorative televisions inside, inspired by the aesthetics of Moebius’ comics in the French magazine Métal Hurlant.

After this commission, he moved to New York to study at the School of Visual Arts, beginning collaborations as a designer for magazines and record labels. In 1982, one of the partners of La Vía Láctea contacted him to work with the group La Mode. Algora would be the cover artist for most of their albums, including El eterno femenino, on which he broke with the traditional vinyl design scheme by including eight independent images created using different techniques. He also collaborated with Aviador Dro, contributing a visual aesthetic consistent with the sound universe of these pioneers of Spanish electronic pop.

Raúl Martínez Arranz