Thoughts of a painter.

"A good drawing does not in any way compare unfavourably with a good painting. It is more the case that beneath every picture is an essential underlying drawing that sustains it, a skeleton that mobilises it and gives it form. Any painting lacking this base crumbles and appears flimsy.”

"Everybody asks themselves what art is. I think that art is any human creation that is able to lift the spirit to a higher plain of emotion and wonderment."

“…being a painter, a writer, a sculptor or a musician does not put one at a higher rank than any other profession. There are a lot of professions that, when carried out to the extreme, without a doubt achieve a higher level than that of the majority of artists. For instance, a wonderful craftsman, a maker of Manila shawls, can go further than a mediocre sculptor; the work can be superior. Or a great soccer player can raise greater passion than most of us, painters. To be an “artist” does not guarantee anything. However, sometimes a genius is born in a way that distinguishes the great arts, along with science, philosophy or politics, from any other endeavor. We cannot compare Michael Angelo’s Sixteen Chapel or Newton’s Law of Gravitation with the most amazing soccer goal. Art with capital letters is easy to detect; its light continues to shine through time.”
 

“ I am not a vanguard artist.  My art is contemporary, literally speaking: a product of its times.  Vanguard, on the contrary, represents the most innovative – neither better nor worse; like the sharp point of a spear which opens up new paths.  However, that sharp point needs all the power and weight of the rest of the spear, the weight of Art History.  Without all this History, there is no push to open up new ways.  Vanguard Art represents freshness, novelty, surprise, the truth and the fake, a risky and fascinating bet.  However, what intrigues me is to draw from the classic and contemporary traditions, to deepen into the walked path, and to remain vigilant – like many other artists – to provide vanguard artists with a solid foundation.  Much in the same way as an older brother holds his youngest brother’s hand with fascination as the intrepid child peeks, with wonderful daring and no fear, into the abyss.  I need to keep an eye on the Vanguard Movement because it keeps me young as an artist, it cleanses me, it clears up my spirit so that my view doesn’t sour.  I am a part of the body of the spear and, from that vantage point, I observe with fascination the young sharp art poking at the same time as I draw from the magnificent work of the masters of all times, the powerful legacy that sustains us.  I am not part of the sparkles – sometimes ephemeris – of the spearhead.  Each one of us has his role, and mine, nowadays, is not in the vanguard."

JOSÉ MANUEL MERELLO.

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