Last night we went to the opening night of a new exhibition.
Red Burdell by Luis Angulo at the Galeria ICPNA in Miraflores.
A quick warning. If you are not a fan of paintings of naked ladies then don’t look at the next picture or the last one!
We had been invited by one of the musicians from ‘In Planet Stereo‘ (see picture above) who was providing the music for the opening night. He was actually hidden away, but his music was played out via speakers through the gallery space. Very chilled and relaxed but upbeat too.
I was not sure what to expect from his paintings as I was not familiar with his work, but I actually loved it.
To understand the art I read the explanation in the leaflet written by an art critic. From what I could gather, the exhibition is a collection of paintings depicting the chaos, violence, destruction of life and the loneliness of man, that have come from a world without limitations. The women in the paintings are there to invoke feelings from us; some are mystical and seductive, and some sad. They are there to show us how lonely we are, but also to help us reflect on the human condition. ( I hope my Spanish & a little Google has translated the meaning correctly!)
The colours he uses are stunning together and the overlaying of chaotic brush strokes make for a fascinating texture.
Reds, blues and greens dominate but there is also one dedicated to silver-y hues.
Overall there are 10 large canvases on all walls of the room.
A few have splashes of different colours but no bodies are shown. I was told by one of the artist’s friends that these depict the conversations between women in a metro station.
(This one above in red and black was one of my favourites.)
However, others depict the women themselves (this is only part of the painting)
Some are reminiscent of Manga illustrations from Japan, and others are very explicit and intimate. I know that some of the inspiration for these paintings came from Asia; mainly China and Hong Kong and this is very clear when you see the women.
One of my favourites (above) I was told depicted a woodland in the background, but then there is a face in gold sprayed over the top. It took me a long time to see the face, especially looking at the painting close up, but once I stood back and saw the whole painting it was all I could see! It jumps right out.
I didn’t take pictures of all of the paintings, because you should definitely go and visit for yourselves. Some of the more intimate ones didn’t make it onto my camera, but the paintings are all beautifully done and are really interesting to read about. My photos do not do his paintings justice at all. Go and see the vibrant colours and incredible textures on each of the canvases up close.
Entrance is free and the exhibition is open until the 29th March.
ICPNA (Instituto Cultural Peruano Norteamericano) – Av. Angamos Oeste 120, Miraflores
