COMING SOON
COMING SOON
LIO MALCA PRESENTED:
RAFA MACARRON IN LA SALINAS NAVE
10th July - 29th October 2021
In July 2021, Lio Malca inaugurates an exhibition open to the public, based on their private collection by the artist Rafa Macarrón.
The exhibition El Bañista is the first dedicated to the work of a Spanish artist. Rafa Macarrón is a young talent who is making a place for himself on the international art scene.
THE EXHIBITION
Two bronze sculptures of approximately 200kg each, are located on the outside. They are the representation of two dogs that welcome visitors and seem to guard the entrance to the exhibition.
The room is organized on two levels, the pit and the balcony, where a series of paintings of various formats are distributed that have been commissioned in 2021 and created especially for this exhibition space. They are figurative paintings, portraits, landscapes and everyday scenes created from mixed techniques such as collage, the use of Chinese calligraphic paper, oil, spray, acrylic, marker or wax.
THE WORKS
On the one hand, characters portrayed on a monochrome background are depicted, and on the other, the artist paints diverse landscapes and scenes.
While it is true that his portraits are based on figures that commonly populate the so-called "munditos" (little worlds) of his previous and current paintings, he had never before dared to represent them isolated in their individuality, and to increase them considerably in scale. This decision marks a very important evolution in his work since it has allowed him to build more complex characters that in turn relate and question the viewer in a more complex way.
The landscapes that we find on the largest wall of the moat, serve as a background for the representation of an abundant collection of everyday scenes. They are overcrowded beaches with figures absorbed in their own activity and their own existence. Despite the crowd, they are shown as solitary individualities that barely interrelate. Macarrón gives full rein to his imagination in the recreation of these magical-realistic "munditos" configuring what we can call the "Macarrón universe".
"I was excited about Rafa's work from the beginning. His images seemed to me to be born from the universe of constellations of Joan Miró and the optimistic landscapes of Manuel H. Mompó. I knew that Rafa was heir to an important tradition of Spanish painting that I personally admire, and I have the firm intuition that he will do a lot of justice to his artistic relay. I imagined very quickly the work of Rafa among the pine trees and the Mediterranean Sea that surround La Nave Salinas, being an organic and integral part of the landscape of Ibiza, celebrating the paintings also with his presence, the sunrise, the life of its beaches and people and, the warm sunsets that we have in summer in the natural park that surrounds the space. I am convinced that Rafa and La Nave Salinas de Ibiza are going to get along really well". Lio Malca, founder of La Nave Salinas.
Making of El bañista
THE ARTIST
“"Everything is centered around the wonder and amazement that can be found within daily life. From there, I build my work. I am interested in all of my characters being unique and alive. They each have their own souls".
Rafa Macarrón
Rafa Macarrón (Madrid, January 1, 1981) self-taught artist and ex-cyclist.
Macarrón is obsessed with the solitude of man standing before the expanse of the universe. In his paintings, he creates unique characters that claim the lead role in each of his works. His characters embody both the universal and the specific. He paints everyday situations that are taken out of context and altered by the beings he creates, which are abstracted yet exude tenderness and kindness.
Macarrón’s works often play between two and three-dimensional spaces, as he adds architectural elements and plays with volume.
Macarrón is a benchmark for painting in our time. He is Influenced by the comic, the Spanish painting of the 50s and 60s, the work of Fraile, Matta, and Quirós. As the winner of the first BMW painting prize in 2011, his work has been shown in various countries and he has participated in numerous fairs such as Context Art Miami, ARCOmadrid, Zona Maco, ArtBo, Art Miami and Art Moscow.
More Information: www.rafamacarron.com
@rafamacarron