Year of Residency: 2019

Education

• 2016 – Master’s Degree in Art History at China Academy of Art.
• 2010 – Graduated from Universidad de Chile, majoring Oil Painting

Exhibitions / Other Activities

• August 2015     “Saturar” Solo exhibition at Bridge Art Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand
• July – Oct 2012  Artistic Residence at Shangyuan Museum Individual, Beijing, China

   

• July 2012         “The 5th Biennial exhibition of the international college of China Academy of Art” Group Exhibition, Hangzhou, China

   

• July 2011        “Young Artists contest exhibition” Group exhibition at Quinta Normal Contemporary Art Museum, Santiago, Chile

   

• August 2010   “Intemperancia” Group exhibition at Balmaceda Arte Joven of Valparaíso

   

• July 2010       “Jardín de las delicias” Group exhibition at Balmaceda Arte Joven Gallery, Santiago

   

• June 2010       “Infatuación”  Solo exhibition at Sala Isidora Zegers, Universidad de Chile

   

• May 2010       “No nos conoce nadie” group exhibition at the Cultural Center Perrera Arte.

   

• April 2010       “Infatuación”  Solo exhibition at  Espacio Matraz, Santiago

Artist statement

My work, mostly, have been on oil painting, and basically, involves human figure and another topics, using vivid and brilliant colors as a main feature. I use to make compositions with false perspectives, and decorative elements. I like to work with pop culture symbols, sometimes taking some aspects of Latin American aesthetic, or another cultures, and sometimes I can get a sensation of exoticism. I try to make some visual reflections about relationships between gender, sexuality, marginality and beauty.
To summarize in single words the ideas that recently are in my work are: dark skin, third world, non-western cultures, folk, dangerous, repulsive, weird and queer.
I think many of my life circumstances have influenced in a great way my work. For example, being gay in one of the most conservative provinces in Chile, full of evangelical churches, and also being mapuche, which is a native ethnicity in Chile, very stigmatized as lazy, ignorant, and terrorist even. So I grown up with the conscious of not belonging the mainstream culture, I was a very repressed teenager. This made me very sensitive to vulgarity, marginalized groups, and gender ambiguity. When i was student I portrayed drag-queens from the oldest gay club in Santiago. I went every Sunday to see their show and I started to involve with their aesthetic. Currently I’m researching about the concept of masculinity and its fragility, and I have been portraiting male characters, in different attitudes, and my last exhibition “Morenos”, in Spain, was about that, adding an ethnic component.
But besides the topics I paint, for me the most important element is color. My main visual message is through strong and fresh colors, I like get the sensation of life and passion, and enjoy myself with the vibrance of colors. Since very young I started to love the bright colors of late Middle Age masters, like Van Eyck, Van Der Weyden, Memling, Cranach. I got very inspired by the sharp modeling of their figures, their primitive but beautiful sense of space composition. And also their gorgeous way they painted drappery. Even until now, every time I paint a drappery, a flemish painting is in my mind.
My trips also have gave a lot of inspiration. My life in Chile and my trips to Easter Island, Peru, Thailand, Philipines, left me a lot of images of banana trees, beaches, cloudy skies, tan skin bodies, and elements that evoque pleasure, and enrich my visual imagery.

Project

I see Belgrade Art Studio Residency as a great opportunity, because being in residency is the only way I can focus and make art in a proper environment, where people understand art is a serious occupation, and not just a hobby. So i think a residency is the right place for an artist to be, is good to share with more people who has a similar life style, and appreciate artist labor.
I can add that I have been living in China for 7 years already. I got Master’s degree in Art History, focused on Chinese Art, but now stay in Shanghai teaching Spanish part time. I decided to stay in this situation of instability because I want to keep my freedom in order to be able to participate in residencies. Specially if grants are offered because that is a big relief when I’m not getting an income. If I had a fix job, with contract duties could be so hard arrange time and going somewhere else. I decided that I want to live as an artist, and in this moment of my life I’m just taking the risks and going ahead.

Articles and Reviews

Pablo’s website – Visit.