ABOUT
Luciano Suárez, born Buenos Aires, 1976, graduated in Fine Arts in 2004 after earning a prestigious Erasmus Scholarship at Leeds Metropolitan University in 2003. Following his formal education, Suárez spent two years in Norway developing his craft before returning to Madrid where he settled in the Noviciado 9 Studio and continued to hone his pictorial work, with a focus on the contextual influence of the city.
His scholarly pursuits centred on the hypothetical assumption that fundamental to humanity are the elements of ‘ludens’ (play) and ‘faber‘ (creation or work), elements that are exemplified when combined and expressed through the purity of painting. This concept derived from Luciano’s study of the first avant-gardes, such as surrealism or Dadá art movements, as well as art Brut, Bad Painting or Neue Wilden genres.
In recent years, Luciano Suárez’s work has transgressed from the figurative, towards an abstract interpretation of figures, that compels scrutiny with compositional structures that are sometimes clear and sometimes hidden behind several layers of paint. His work lends to the philosophical sphere with intellectual engagement necessary to appreciate the subjective aesthetic of his work. Foundational to his ethos is that it is both the understated significance and the spectacle of art that is crucial to artistic integrity.
In Spain, Suárez has exhibited at Hub 27 (Madrid 2019), the exhibition hall of the Huesca provincial council (2016), La Casa Encendida (2014), Matadero (2014), Centro Conde Duque (2013), El Silo de Hortaleza (Madrid, 2009), Rojo Maquina Gallery (Madrid, 2007) and Internationally at Hudgraf Gallery (Kiev, Ukraine 2008).
ARTIST STATEMENT
My latest works are based on a series titled Although you don’t see me, here I am, which I started at the end of 2018 and in which I continue to experiment. The pieces pose different possibilities and open questions to the viewer about what is represented in them.
My works have always remained in the margin of figuration, but it was as a result of a dream where I chatted about creative processes and his novel El Tunel with Ernesto Sábato, author of enormous influence on my work…In this conversation, Sábato explained to me that he crossed out the most beautiful words in his novel to build a more interesting story.
Similarly, I decided to start working with this idea and began to cover the parts that I considered most beautiful in my work by layering and hiding…until they disappeared, creating a game with the different thicknesses, layers and the concept itself of invisibility; This allows the elements represented to coexist, showing the two sides of the coin under an intermediate plane. The figuration becomes abstraction proposing a reverse trip, from inside to outside of the painting.
EDUCATION
2004 Graduated in Fine Arts, Complutense University, Madrid SPAIN
2003 Erasmus Scholarship, Leeds Metropolitan University UK
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2019 Hub 27 – Madrid, Spain – Curated by This is Jacklope
2009 De Dentro Hacia Fuera, Silo de Hortaleza, Comunidad de Madrid SPAIN
2006 Caminantes, Centro Cultural Paco Rabal, Madrid SPAIN
2006 Silencios, Centro Miguel de Cervantes, Madrid SPAIN
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2018 Directors Choice Exhibition, 19 Karen Gallery, Gold Coast, AUSTRALIA
2017 Saatchi Gallery Screen, Saatchi Gallery, London UK
2016 Puertos de Entrada, Sala de exposiciones de la diputación provincial de Huesca SPAIN
2016 Poder Planetario, Watdafac Gallery, Madrid SPAIN
2015 De pared a papel, Casa Quiroga Space, Madrid SPAIN
2014 Un Salón de Éter, Jameson Place, Madrid SPAIN
2014 Plas, Matadero de Madrid, formando parte del Mercado Central de Diseño SPAIN
2013 Presente Continuo, Centro Conde Duque, Madrid SPAIN
2013 La piña, el swing y el chachachá, Exposición en La Casa Encendida, Madrid SPAIN
2012 Open Studio, Madrid SPAIN
2012 Plas, Plas, Plas Gallery, Madrid SPAIN
2011 Open Art Fair 2011, Feria de arte internacional, Utrech THE NETHERLANDS
2010 Viernes, Noche en Blanco, Madrid SPAIN
2010 Canarias At The Hotel, Hotel ME, Madrid SPAIN
2010 Don Toldo, Festival Primavera Sound, Barcelona SPAIN
2008 Sparrows, Hudgraf Gallery, Kiev UKRAINE
2008 No Me Toques Los Bares, Sala Nasti, Madrid SPAIN
2007 Cocido Madrileno, Galería Rojo Máquina, Madrid SPAIN
2004 Big Cities, Leeds Metropolitan University. Leeds UK
Achievements
2022 Finalist in the Premio BMW De Pintura Competition, Spain
