ALBERTO RAFAEL DE BURGOS MARTÍNEZ – Sevilla
Nace en Sevilla el 26 de abril de 1995, en plena Feria sevillana.
Con 3 años, ingresó en un Colegio de Teresianas de Puertollano (Ciudad Real). De ese mismo año data una escolar acuarela en papel y formato apropiado (A3: una ballena negra y enormemente infantil, junto a un barquito rojo pequeño, en un pastoso mar verde azulado), lamentablemente destruida por él mismo, adolescente, por “carecer” de los atributos y categorías que iba descubriendo en el arte.
Hasta los 16 años, en todo el periodo escolar, desarrolló una sencilla y lúdica competencia, no tanto en la asignatura de Dibujo, como en caricaturizar a compañeros y profesores, recibiendo considerables “premios” (impactantes) y “menciones” (normalmente a familiares próximos), al ser descubiertas sus habilidades.
En la Universidad Hispalense, estudió Historia del Arte desde los 17 años (con más vocación por ver y admirar el Gran Arte, que por ejercitarlo). Formó un interesante equipo de trabajo con dos preciosas ecijanas, Isabel y Maruja. Al desarrollarse todas las clases de Arte con proyección de diapositivas, y estando los exámenes basados en la identificación de las mismas, se dedicó a tomar rápidos y sistemáticos apuntes de las imágenes proyectadas, mientras las ecijanas anotaban las referencias y comentarios correspondientes, resultando una coordinación muy productiva y recomendable.
Pero, realmente, donde se forja su vocación artística, conquistando un estilo personal e inimitable, será durante el periodo militar, en la Legión (Tercio “Don Juan de Austria”, con sede en Fuerteventura). Se pasó los 14 meses de servicio dibujando, con bolígrafo, Ches Guevaras, emblemas legionarios, “palomas dándose el pico”, desnudos femeninos, rosas y un repertorio inagotable de temas “de buen gusto”, inmortalizados, en forma de tatuajes, sobre espaldas, brazos y pantorrillas de legionarios. Este periodo ha de considerarse definitivo en su filosofía artística.
Su consagración vendrá más tarde, en el 92, al conocer al grupo de pirad… comprometidos artistas que forman la Agrupación de Acuarelistas de Andalucía.
Estos son los pilares de su arte. De aquí nace su entusiasmo, aunque también su angustia.
CAMILO HUÉSCAR – Villanueva de la Fuente, Ciudad Real (1976)
Han pasado ya 16 años desde que tomé las acuarelas para intentar representar espacios y momentos de la ciudad a la que acababa de llegar, sin saber que tanto Córdoba como las acuarelas marcarían mi vida todos estos años pasados, y seguramente los futuros.
Mi decisión por la acuarela en aquel momento fue ante todo por pura práctica y comodidad, pero mi desarrollo como pintor ha sido y es indisoluble de los encuentros y desencuentros con mi propio lenguaje plástico, y es cada vez más la acuarela el medio que me ofrece esos rasgos con los que jugar a descubrirme sin límites.
Los que hemos trabajado la acuarela conocemos de sobra esa emoción tensa y lúcida, que es ya un estado de ánimo en sí y en el que la alerta, la intuición y la razón, suceden simultáneamente, con cierta intensidad. El objetivo no solo es representar algo, ya que la verdadera protagonista debe ser la acuarela.
La acuarela nos seduce desde su sencillez, una simple pincelada, o una aguada, no son simples y calculados espacios de color. Hay algo más, que está por encima de nuestra intención, y que debemos saber aprovechar.
La mancha no finaliza cuando separamos el pincel del soporte, hay un tiempo después durante el cual el pigmento flota a merced del agua, hasta que ésta desaparece. Tal vez esa sea la clave, la huella del agua, que aporta naturalidad y frescura a nuestra intención.
Hablar pues de nuevas técnicas es un reto tan interesante como complicado. Gracias a esta Bienal, nuestras pequeñas aportaciones convergen para, entre todos, abrir nuevos horizontes.
AITOR RENTERÍA – Donostia, San Sebastián (1967)
Responsable de Taller de la Agrupación de Acuarelistas Vascos
Pienso en el arte como en una respuesta a una necesidad. No me imagino al ser humano prehistórico creando todo un aparato simbólico sólo por capricho. Pienso que tuvo que hacerlo para cubrir un vacío en su existencia. O, al menos, me gusta pensar que así fue.
Partiendo de esa idea, mi intención es crear una pintura que no tenga una funcionalidad concreta pero que sí tenga un sentido para mí y para los demás, basada en el análisis y en el trabajo, en la reflexión y en la acción, aplicando una lógica negativa donde menos es más, donde lo importante es aislar los elementos básicos de la pintura, la luz, el color y la forma, eliminando todos los demás elementos superfluos.
En ese sentido, mi pintura, deudora de la de artistas como Edward Hopper o Jackson Pollock, de Mark Rothko o Jorge Oteiza, intenta ser expresionista, donde lo importante no es la faceta representativa o descriptiva, sino la emotiva, y donde la intención es transmitir sensaciones y emociones, intentando para ello crear atmósferas con personalidad propia que consigan motivar al espectador.
PATRICK HANKE – Hamburgo (1977)
Working with watercolors has always fascinated me.
To elaborate, to see from the highest colour tone to the darkest one and to watch how the picture arises, is something exciting for me. I have learnt by this way what the meaning of painting represents. Handling with water, with fortuity of movements and life. It means to be spontaneous, intuitive, to let go concepts and prejudices and to give room to the unscheduled. It means to be creative.
Do I have then to paint «plein ai…r» landscapes or transform photo motives? That is what I have asked myself after having walked the path of the present German watercolour scene for several years. Therefore, I started to work abstract in studio and went through the experiences and adventures which I already mentioned.
A prefabricated idea is for me not important. I do not sketch my paintings, they emerge without a plan. I start up my work with a lot a of water, so to let the colours flow. Sometimes I even let the liquid colours pour on the paper where they afterwards run towards one side. I like to mix watercolours with acrylic to achieve a higher intensity or even to upgrade the tones. I frequently wash previously applied colours up in order to unveil layers. Occasionally, aerosol comes into action. In this way a diffuse cloud of spray or light- and highlight points can contribute to the lightness of the picture.
The subject results through different connotations, which I follow while painting. Or it remains free and abstract.
NICHOLAS SIMMONS, Iowa (EE.UU.)
Nicholas Simmons was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and began painting in Sarasota, Florida. He studied under many well-known watercolorists, most notably Valfred Thëlin and Barbara Nechis. Mr. Simmons enjoyed immediate success as a watercolor artist soon after taking it up, but opted to pursue a music career as a professional guitarist. For many years he only painted occasional commissions, and did not return to visual art until 2004, when he began painting watercolor again and launched his website.
Mr. Simmons’ paintings have been featured in a variety of publications such as L’ Art de l’ Aquarelle, Watercolor Artist, Watercolor, and numerous books. He has been featured on Maryland Public Television, and in 2008 his acclaimed DVD Innovative Watermedia was released by Creative Catalyst Productions. His work has graced the covers of classical music recordings, including those of world renowned guitar virtuoso, Manuel Barrueco. He is sponsored by Da Vinci Paint, and Escoda Artist Brushes. His Signature Series of Escoda brushes were introduced in 2012. Mr. Simmons is listed in Who’s Who in the World.
Awards include top prize at the 2007 National Watercolor Society for his painting Fresh Sushi, consecutive gold medals at the Pennsylvania Watercolor Society, 2008-2009, and the gold medal at the Texas Watercolor Society in 2010. In 2012 he was the first recipient of the National Watercolor Society’s special Masters Award.
A 14-page feature in the Winter 2009 issue of Watercolor magazine included this summary of the artist’s work, written by John Parks:
Nicholas Simmons paints in watermedia on a scale that rivals oil painting. The subject matter is a dazzling mix of figures juxtaposed with printed lettering, graffiti, Japanese block prints, neon lights, reflections, and lavish corners of nature. The effect can be disorienting, as though a camera has taken a picture by accident, revealing an image that is both exciting and mysterious. The paint itself swirls, floods, drips, and spatters, driven on by the general excitement of the imagery and giving the work a sense that it was done in a rush in a matter of minutes.
Mr. Simmons exhibits internationally as a solo artist and with major watermedia stars in group and invitational exhibitions, as well as one of six members of North American Watercolor Artists (NAWA), representing the United States. He is a charter member of an exclusive international group forming in late 2013 whose mission is to set a new standard in watercolor exhibitions. He has judged numerous exhibtions, and 2010 and 2012 was the sole judge representing the United States at the Shanghai Zhujiajiao International Watercolour Biennial, the world’s largest watercolor exhibition. Mr. Simmons is representing the United States as one of five judges for the inaugural World Watercolour Competition, an unprecedented event taking place in France, October 2014, and the judge representing the United States in Russia’s first biennial, 2013.
His work is held in public and private collection in the United States, Europe, and China.
Nicholas Simmons’ work has earned him a reputation as one of the most exciting artists in contemporary watercolor. His gift for inspiring others makes him sought after as a workshop instructor and lecturer, known for his fresh, unorthodox, and often irreverent approach. The artist lives with his wife and daughter in the Washington, D.C. area.
PAUL CHING-BOR – Guangzhou, Southern China (1963)
It intrigues me very much every time when I have the parallel paradoxes in my thought; watercolor painting coming from the conventional stage of being delicate/romantic, then confronting it’s opposite environments today; and human as we are, coming from the nature of being fragile/vulnerable, then crash into each other in this ocean of human in our time. From the practice of water medium painting, thinking of water this giving element, how it etherealizes into air; synchronizes humanity; and how it carry color pigment, makes it’s remark on the paper… in parallel notion to human lives.
In the body of works which share a common subject – 9/11, the works depict the aftermath of the event, melancholically post to event, not directly of the event. Perhaps the mental states of the aftermath are more relevant, because we cannot change what has happened, but we are still living in the aftermath today/tomorrow.
The practice makes me think of an ancient Chinese phase: “For killing the chicken, never use the knife of killing bulls.” This is about the effort, and the capability in solving the matter, both in a comparable balance. For me, watercolor is a kind of light knife, like the one for “chicken killing” in the Chinese methodology. If it addresses the issues well, and it is an outstanding heavy issue, then it would be “using the chicken’s knife, for the killing of the bulls.” Entirely opposite from the said Chinese phase. In such notion, one has to know the bulls so well, that to be able to execute it. In the end, it’s all about competency and capacity, seemingly an important part of the art making.
PAOLA DE MIGUEL SÁNCHEZ – Bilbao (1965)
Recorro los caminos del arte desde joven, con ilusión y entusiasmo dentro del campo de la pintura, representando una parte importante de mi vida.
Planteo el arte como un elemento de creatividad, formación, innovación e investigación. Una abstracción del mundo real transformada en un entorno mágico lleno de fluidez, formas y color.
Obra expresionista en la que se cohesiona el saber artístico con la creatividad personal. Diferentes facetas de mi evolución van estrechando vínculos entre el arte y la sociedad, proporcionando un entorno favorable para atraer la atención del espectador hacia un concepto imaginativo y vanguardista.
Numerosos premios y proyectos relevantes avalan mi evolución a lo largo de mi trayectoria artística.
ALVARO CASTAGNET – Uruguay
Art has always been a driving force in my life, as I grew up in, South America Where as a child I used to draw and paint for fun, until it became almost an obsession.
It was my father that recognized my art abilities and encouraged me to study, under many legendary Uruguayan Artists.
But it was in Melbourne, Australia where I further developed my love for watercolors, and a strong urge for painting, drift me into becoming a professional artist.
I always wanted “more” than what my eyes could see….. I wanted to reflect the mood, the atmosphere, the ambience of the subject…. I wanted to reach the “soul” , the magic of the chosen subject.
My style has been described as passionate, spontaneous, flamboyant and powerful. I am an expressive painter; always exploring and pursuing a strong interpretation of light effects.
I enjoy stretching the boundaries of traditional art, and the medium, trying my har- dest to do it with honesty and integrity.
Portraying the abstract side of life is the driving force of my work.
MIGUEL TORRÚS – Madrid (1971)
Artists in resident Winsor & Newton.
Qué es la pintura, sino un proceso continuo de investigación…
Un recorrido ilimitado de posibilidades es el que nos ofrece la pintura. Disfruto con la Acuarela, con el óleo…, con cualquier técnica que me permita transmitir mis ideas y sensaciones, que me permita Crear…
Es un reto enfrentarse a un papel en blanco sin más armas que pigmentos, agua y unos pinceles, e ir dejando fluir tus sentimientos, tus emociones. A la acuarela no se la puede engañar, cada pincelada tiene un significado, cada aguada una transcendencia en el resultado final, unas características que son únicas en la técnica de la acuarela, sin mentiras, sin engaños…
