Exhibition: Classic Portraits with Movement | The Magic of Still Life
January – June 2023
Classic Portraits allow Pepe to present a classic figure in two distinct ways. The image is from the side and from straight on. Combining the side and the front perspective creates movement. The fusion of creating a classic portrait and the movement at the same time is what creates an interesting “Double Vision” of each figure. The clothing worn by the figures contributes to the classic look, dating them to times past. These portraits at the same time as being classic can become deformed with the two faces. In some, there is still, simple beauty, yet in others, they become grotesque, serious, or funny. Each and every one of them is people Pepe has created from my imagination.
Exhibition
About the Artist
Pepe Hidalgo’s style is narrative in the figurative and abstract genres. His figurative is not related to realism, it is created from his imagination, and his memory of his sense of reality.
Hidalgo’s paintings achieve strength through the glazes or velatures he applies. There is a distinctive element present in his paintings, a two-coloured cord or string that acts as a reference guide between reality and imagination, which, by remaining in time, has become a hallmark of identity.
His artistic process began in adolescence during frequent visits to the Museo del Prado in Madrid, where he discovered his first teacher, Francisco de Goya. His work is influenced by Velázquez, Zurbarán, El Bosco, movements of the 20th century, Picasso and American artists Francis Bacon, Freud, Esteban Vicente, and Pollock.
The ideas for his paintings arise from everyday life, and the search to understand the relationship of past or present events with the human being, in relation to who and what we are. This is reflected, manifested, and expressed in his paintings. He is inspired by astrology, mythology, history, life, and experiences.