Thoughts about art and painting.

Art and the economical crisis (2012)

Art, as any commercial product, is noticing the same or more, since it is not an essential item, the consequences of the current economic situation. However, as in all times of change and redirection of political, economic and social paradigms, art can come out, enriched and even strengthened, of a situation like this.

In the Art world, particularly in the interpretation, actors and actresses tell that certain levels of anxiety and stress are able to awake in them the ability to concentrate and a transmission talent which they do not have in normal situations. And, what is the present time but a continuous state of turmoil and excitement? The art has been, fortunately or unfortunately, nurtured by many or all of the major episodes of human seizure; signs of this are the Picasso's Guernica or the  Fusilamientos del 2 de Mayo from Goya.

Would then be currently expected to flourish great works of art or even a new art movement? Movement that could result in two very different topics, one that would focus on criticism and look to the past aiming on the events and behaviors that have led us to the current economic crisis, and another that would extoll all that nourishes and gives the human a second opportunity to reorient their economic, social and political processes, as intelligence and generosity.  ©P.M. Giménez

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"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.© José Manuel Merello

"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." © José Manuel Merello

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.© José Manuel Merello
 

"Spanish painting has, throughout the centuries, maintained a serene and melancholic regard: tragic but never violent. There is no such thing as violent Spanish painting. Even the most ferocious Goya or the most horrifying Picasso never lose the composure and class inherent in the brushwork."© José Manuel Merello

I plead for humility in painting. Painting does not need so much fanfare or intellectual pretension. It must come from a persons clean soul, from the clear and pure eye of the painter, even if only a simple apple is being painted. It is for this reason that I admire Morandi so much.© José Manuel Merello
 

2006 January

Abstract Painting and Surrealist Painting, apart from being essential and marvelous in themselves, also fulfill an invaluable pedagogical function these days for any artist. They have now become part of Classical Art and are the Artistic Heritage for Spiritual Learning and Artistic technique. They are like gymnastics for the unaware and for the eye, providing places where almost all feelings and spiritual emotions can be hatched to finally lead to building this immeasurable and grandiose thing we call THE ART of PAINTING." © José Manuel Merello

I detest a large part of the minimalism that is practiced today across all the arts. I fear that within this alleged synthesis there is an excess of rubbish and uselessness floating around that serve only to confuse the audience, which at times may be ignorant but blameless, although, more frequently, intolerably pedantic, void of any understanding or knowledge.© José Manuel Merello

A frame to a good painting is like a dress to a beautiful naked woman. It is not essential but serves to celebrate and give charm to the work.© José Manuel Merello
 

2006 JUNE

"To me, a painting is a combination of mistakes and successes. a mistake on a beautiful success. A success on a tender mistake.  Because a painting is something complete, the right balance between beauty und ugliness; black on white, white on black. and that is why one trembles when facing an empty canvas, when facing the nothing. I am a painter from the moment in which I can paint on failures and wastes, on seams and stitches. like a shoemaker who mends shoes. (2004)© José Manuel Merello

2006 OCTOBER 

        "Art History is the emotional and spiritual History of humankind.  It is a retelling of its most sublime feelings materialized in works of art that transcend time.  Altamira and Lascaux are primitive examples of this human desire of expressing its emotions.  In my opinion, there is not one artistic era superior to another one in its initial impetus to create material proof of an emotion or a spiritual pleasure.  On the other hand, I do believe there have been art eras superior to others since the human being improved its technique.   In the same way that scientific progress always goes up, artistic progress, which needs technology to advance, grows in an upwards line.  However, this line is not continuous, since it depends on two factors: technique and spiritual emotion.  Art is not just a feeling.  Art is the feeling being materialized, incarnated, sculpted, written with skill and technique.  Cavemen had only a few tools at their reach; consequently their art is more primitive than Baroque Art, to give an example.  The problem stems from the fact that technique and emotion do not always move along parallel lines.  As a result, we can sometimes find art periods with a greater and purer emotional and spiritual impulse, even though they relied on an inferior technique.  On the other hand, we sometimes find other periods with better mediums, in which art is weaker due to the human soul being soured, repressed, or manipulated.   When the human spirit undergoes a sublime and free period, accompanied by a superior technique, then we will refer to this period as a Golden Art Age."© José Manuel Merello

      January 2007


Present day Modern Art exudes a breath of fresh air and freedom never before imaginable. Up till now Art History has never had such an array of possible techniques for artists to choose from or such a variety of artistic languages for artists to fully express themselves. All the different Art schools and tendencies, favoritisms aside (even though they have always been there) enjoy a great open field that promises fabulous creations in the coming years.
Surrealism, which was born in the twentieth century as an art movement perfectly defined, is nowadays a tendency impacted by Expressionism, Figuratism, Abstract and many other schools of Art, which enrich it without diluting it or enlarge it without voiding it. I am of the opinion that the borders in art tend to vanish. It is still very complex to reflect upon this phenomenon since we find ourselves currently in this Art multimovement in search of the one Art. But beware, never should the one Art be an imposition or an absolute movement. Art is free by nature and it will always slip away, like water through our fingers, from the premonitions and the horizons that we try to impose on it.© José Manuel Merello

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 brothers 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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"Horses and children. Fat women, beautiful women and old ladies. The magicians and poets. Dogs and cats sleeping. The Spanish bulls and bullfighters. The processions of Seville and Malaga. The crucified Christs full of blood and prayers. And the saints. A Virgin for each village. The sun and the rain of Biscay. The sea, passion, love and art of the Mediterranean. The painting and ancient architecture. And the most modern. The dances and dances of the villages lost. The Spanish literature issued by the world. Deep red, purple, black and olive. The balance between the sun, moon and stars: this is the Spanish art. "© José Manuel Merello
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DECEMBER 2010

How will be art in 2011 and in the near future? Freedom defines contemporary art. International art fairs are fun and intriguing, are challenges for thought and human emotions. Walking through a contemporary art fair ARCO in Madrid, is now a mental release. You may think that what we are seeing is not "art", you may think that some artistic creations are not moral and deduced that are not art. But you are wrong. Art never depend on morality. No work of art owes nothing to any form of thought or ideology. The human spirit is free. The art is free. The art is beyond good and evil. The need is to prevent some forms of art that are violent, dangerous dictatorships. Stop because we need rules for coexistence or because it is ethically unacceptable. For example, we can turn the Amazon into an empty garden, naked, with only a tree. Surely he could be a work of conceptual art. But it would be really stupid. The barbarism and brutality can be handled with great skill. It would not be moral, it might be art, but should not be allowed.
Another common mistake for many visitors of ARCO is to think that there can be only paint. No. The painting is a very important part of art, but only a part. Many artists complain that there is very little painting in contemporary art fairs. They have a point, perhaps art galleries painting should be more exposed there. Modern painting or classical paintings are wonderful, a very advanced form of art ... but it is not necessary for him. Of course, many current creations are just ephemeral art, art to think and meditate for a few minutes. And that really is a very very interesting difference.© José Manuel Merello