RAMÓN ÁVILA Art Exhibition, La Antigua Guatemala
Master artist Ramón Ávila is a prolific painter, engraver, draftsman and sculptor who has maintained his momentum throughout the 52 years he has been living in Guatemala and influencing others with his work.
Ramón Ávila at work in his studio
The references that analyze his legacy outline its importance. They are many, and they have been made by distinguished analysts and critics. Hence each exhibit, whether of his recent work or a retrospective, carries the imprint that Ávila has given to his art throughout his life. Not to mention the inexhaustible passion that is always present. All his actions add up. His is a vital and energetic art gallery marked by his myriad encounters.
La Antigua Galería de Arte proudly presents Improvisaciones, an exhibition of his most recent production—a sum of different disciplines that are tied together through the permanent dialogue among them. They all guard that coherent line that defines a good museum script.
Inauguration of Art Exhibit: Ramón Ávila’s “Improvisaciones”
January 21, Thursday, 5-6pm
La Antigua Galería de Arte (tel: 7832-2124), 4a calle oriente #15
There is no piece here that could make us doubt who the artist is or anyone who shows stylistic weakness. It is something that goes beyond the brushstroke and the wise application of color, or the reassured etching of a charcoal line, or the harmonic and balanced overlap of three-dimensional elements of his sculptures. They all are Ramón Ávila because they flow into him.
by Ramón Ávila
The young artist who introduced Tachism into Guatemala in the 1960s was gestual abstract and therefore an informalist. But the hand that produced loose and whimsical spots on the formats had been trained academically, thus making the artist noticeable immediately.
Ávila, who was on his way to New York, was not counting on the calling of this telluric country and probably did not perceive at first what Guatemala would eventually contribute. Finally, he would settle in the country, subdued, and later take his chapin residency.
Ávila is certainly a Catalan Guatemalan whose dichotomies go hand in hand with establishing irrefutable statements—dichotomies that are nuanced in most of his creations, except, of course, in the ones that make reference to his homeland.
Charcoal on paper is definitely the genesis of the rest of the set. This is where most variations can be appreciated from their intentional, loose, dissipated and innocent essence. I say “intentional” because the infinite addition of such expressions makes him an expert with regard to space and content.
Freedom from the dictates of what is right gives him liberty in every scheme. Are they sketches? It doesn’t matter. Each charcoal is a finished piece. The composition, the strength of the graphics, the spontaneity in the feelings expressed and the line denote its unstoppable force as an aesthetic message.
by Ramón Ávila
The collection on exhibit seems to be determined by the drawing. It is the same case of the paintings; he builds on them but they do not entrap color. Color is applied in loose and dilute transparencies, saturated in others. If it were necessary to explain the work in another language, it would be compared to a symphonic orchestra ensemble. Apotheosis.
With sculpture he found another triumphant language. He managed to get the structures from the other disciplines, drawing and painting, to prove he is a complete artist. The complexities of the chambers that make up these harmonious scaffoldings are exciting since they are real architectural monuments. The full understanding of light, volume and composition offers his sculptures as many works in one, due to the vanishing points offered.
Ramón Ávila’s creative energy results in a prolific production. There is no format that will deter him and there is no end to his artistic discourse. He always knows how to deliver a masterpiece. The time he has been living in Guatemala defines his artistic obstinacy and his valor as an artist.
Each stage is full of contributions that are rooted in his concerns and sensitivities regarding his emotive self. This exhibition is a fair tribute to his professional capacity.
REVUE DateBook Highlight written by Guillermo Monsanto