ZEN AND THE ART OF PAINTING

Gilberto is not a talkative man. Painting is the essence of his turbulent life. Currently he is a very well known member of the ”Grupo de Tovar“. Gilberto earned his reputation the hard way.

His heart still belongs to the Páramo. In these lonesome, inhospitable regions of the Andes, life is still simple. In the Páramo, the monotony of working the fields is larded with a mixture of catholic and Indian folklore.

To Gilberto, painting is a sort of meditation. His work is very labour intensive. During painting, he forgets everything around him and looses himself in his work. As in zen.

The sobriety of his own life is a contrast to his vibrating and colourful way of painting.

His work consists of rhythmic compositions with kites, lines and human figures.

The figures themselves are not very important. What counts is their visual effect. They enable him to play a colourful, rhythmic game on the canvas.

His work has an unmistaken naïve influence but there is a lot more to it than just that. Gilberto has succeeded in combining the spontaneity of naïve art with painting as an

intellectual exercise. With his use of colour and the positioning of figures he creates a special sense of depth in his work.

The composition of his work has a touch of constructiveness given his use of space and the rhythm of the simple figures. The rhythm of the various figures and changing

colours contribute to the kinetic effect. The kites can be seen as souls that with their lines are connected to the physical bodies of the people below, caught in their daily rhythm. Gilberto’s own and authentic style is apparently very simple but turns out to be rather intelligent and interesting. Things are not always what they seem.

Gilberto says:

”Many salons consider my work as ingenious art. Others call it kinetic art. I think that it is neither purely ingenious nor purely kinetic, although there is motion created by the repetition of objects, the parallel lines and vibrating colours. The ingenious character can be seen in the simple shape of the figures. But, what interest me most are the lively

colours.“

CURRICULUM

Geboren1957 in la aldea Zayzal, Pregonero, Estado Táchira, Venezuela.

INDIVIDUAL EXHIBITIONS

1977   Pintores Populares de Tovar. Galeria, Elbano  Mendez Osuna, Tovar,  Estado Mérida.

Arte Popular de la Región Andina, SaIón de Exhibiciones de

CEPRO - ARAGUA, Maracay, EstadoAragua.

1978    Artistas Populares de la Región Andina Galeria Arriete, San Cristóbal, Estado Táchira.

El sótano del Concejo Municipal (Premio de Participación). Valera,

Estado Trujillo. La exposición ”9 SITUACION 9“, del Taller de Arte de Tovar. Dirección de Cultura y Bellas Artes del Estado Táchira. Sala Mendoza - Salón de Lectura San Cristébal, Estado Táchira.

1979  Artistas Residentes del Estado Mérida, in la Galeria ”Rafael Monasterios“, in Maracay, Estado Aragua.

COLLECTIVE EXHIBITIONS

1991   ”Visiones Alternas“ de la Dirección de Cultura de la Gobernación del Estado Táchira en la Galeria ”Manuel Osorio Velasco“. San Cristóbal

Estado  Táchira.

El Ateneo de Tovar ”Jesus Soto“. Tovar. Estado Mérida.

1998  Feria Iberoamericana del Cairo Egipto.

Bienal en el Cairo. Egipto, con integrantes del Grupo Tovar.

2002  ”Tovar ilumina tu Visión“ Hotel Hilton, Caracas.

2004  Tovar, Exposicion colectiva de pintores Venezuelanos, Casa da America Latina, Lisboa, Portugal.

2005 Lineart International Art Fair, Gent, België.

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