Prudencio Irazabal
22 Sep - 19 Nov 2009
PRUDENCIO IRAZABAL
September 22nd 2009 - November 19th 2009
Opening hours: 11:00 - 14:00 and 16:30 - 20:30.
Exhibition opening: Tuesday September 22nd 2009, 20:00.
In his second exhibition at Galeria Helga de Alvear, Prudencio Irazabal presents work produced in last two years. Born in Puentelarrá, Álava, in 1954, his
professional career has been marked by American painting, following his moving to the States during the mid-1980's. He regularly exhibits in his city of residence, New York, in Los Angeles or in San Francisco.
His work focuses on the specific characteristics of abstract painting, paying close attention to the developments of the past few decades. This doesn't imply he is following some kind of official canon, but, rather, in some aspects, his work actually goes against the grain of these axioms. Nevertheless, he always starts off from a very clear and meditated decision, which originates in a deep knowledge of these same theories.
Without doubt, the most defining and also most easily recognizable aspect of Prudencio Irazabal's work is the importance and treatment of colour. This is the main motif of his work and its absolute protagonist. A deep analysis of perception allows the artist to masterfully execute the transition from one to the other, which happens in an almost imperceptible, but definitive manner. It is an aesthetic which sheds form as symbol and which has been often related to the aesthetic derived from the use of new technologies.
Another fundamental issue is the value assigned to the surface of the painting; it is endowed with a misleading depth which is articulated or hidden, depending on the point of view. The layers of paint don't create any kind of relief, they are not "non-painterly" paintings in the traditional sense of Informalism, but, rather, it is a case of the artist actually reaffirming the flatness of the painted surface. Irazabal resolutely sheds the three-dimensionality of the canvas, both in its illusionistic and in its real connotations. In this very sense, one should point out the importance of finish in his work, which further emphasises flatness while at the same time turning the canvas into an exquisite object. This, in turn, relates to the artist's understanding of painting: as a celebration of the act of painting and of contemplating.
The new pieces in the exhibition reveal a greater presence of drawing, which affects colour in a configuration described by Irazabal as "sculptural": "Now the final layers reveal their borders and constitute a reference to the mediated nature of perception. This seeing through, which has always been an essential concept in my work, is made evident through the singling-out of some of the final layers. The latter effect a trajectory which only apparently takes place on the surface, since, through a balanced play of resonances, the colours of these layers are inserted in the lower spaces, where they generate other colours and trigger a continuous backwards and forwards movement of the gaze."
Prudencio Irazabal has exhibited at the CRAC Alsace Centre, at ARTIUM, Vitoria, and at the Marco Museum in Vigo. His work is present in the collections of the Bilbao Guggenheim Museum, the Bank of Spain collection, or the Patio Herreriano Museum in Valladolid. Among his forthcoming projects are the production of the mural paintings in a church designed by Rafael Moneo in San Sebastian.
September 22nd 2009 - November 19th 2009
Opening hours: 11:00 - 14:00 and 16:30 - 20:30.
Exhibition opening: Tuesday September 22nd 2009, 20:00.
In his second exhibition at Galeria Helga de Alvear, Prudencio Irazabal presents work produced in last two years. Born in Puentelarrá, Álava, in 1954, his
professional career has been marked by American painting, following his moving to the States during the mid-1980's. He regularly exhibits in his city of residence, New York, in Los Angeles or in San Francisco.
His work focuses on the specific characteristics of abstract painting, paying close attention to the developments of the past few decades. This doesn't imply he is following some kind of official canon, but, rather, in some aspects, his work actually goes against the grain of these axioms. Nevertheless, he always starts off from a very clear and meditated decision, which originates in a deep knowledge of these same theories.
Without doubt, the most defining and also most easily recognizable aspect of Prudencio Irazabal's work is the importance and treatment of colour. This is the main motif of his work and its absolute protagonist. A deep analysis of perception allows the artist to masterfully execute the transition from one to the other, which happens in an almost imperceptible, but definitive manner. It is an aesthetic which sheds form as symbol and which has been often related to the aesthetic derived from the use of new technologies.
Another fundamental issue is the value assigned to the surface of the painting; it is endowed with a misleading depth which is articulated or hidden, depending on the point of view. The layers of paint don't create any kind of relief, they are not "non-painterly" paintings in the traditional sense of Informalism, but, rather, it is a case of the artist actually reaffirming the flatness of the painted surface. Irazabal resolutely sheds the three-dimensionality of the canvas, both in its illusionistic and in its real connotations. In this very sense, one should point out the importance of finish in his work, which further emphasises flatness while at the same time turning the canvas into an exquisite object. This, in turn, relates to the artist's understanding of painting: as a celebration of the act of painting and of contemplating.
The new pieces in the exhibition reveal a greater presence of drawing, which affects colour in a configuration described by Irazabal as "sculptural": "Now the final layers reveal their borders and constitute a reference to the mediated nature of perception. This seeing through, which has always been an essential concept in my work, is made evident through the singling-out of some of the final layers. The latter effect a trajectory which only apparently takes place on the surface, since, through a balanced play of resonances, the colours of these layers are inserted in the lower spaces, where they generate other colours and trigger a continuous backwards and forwards movement of the gaze."
Prudencio Irazabal has exhibited at the CRAC Alsace Centre, at ARTIUM, Vitoria, and at the Marco Museum in Vigo. His work is present in the collections of the Bilbao Guggenheim Museum, the Bank of Spain collection, or the Patio Herreriano Museum in Valladolid. Among his forthcoming projects are the production of the mural paintings in a church designed by Rafael Moneo in San Sebastian.