Francisco Suárez

Francisco Suárez - Lumen 37

Artist Biography: Francisco Suárez is a contemporary artist born in León, Spain, in 1965. From a young age he has emphasized the autonomy of painting and the importance of the physical and perceptual presence of the pictorial object. Each work he creates is a statement in itself, an expression of the chromatic and visual stimuli that compose it, as well as the numerical relationships that are established between them. Despite his focus on geometry and line, Suárez tries to avoid the coldness that can sometimes result from mathematical precision, so his work has a kind of mysterious drive that arises spontaneously during the creative process. It uses droplets of paint that flow carefully over the surface, resulting in vibrant and vivid images, which interact in a special way with the eye. In addition to his focus on geometry and line, Suarez is known for his exquisite use of color, aiming to create seductive presences. Through geometric purity, the artist seeks to bring his audience to a state close to contemplation and self-knowledge, through connection with his work of art. His work has been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world, such as the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, the MACBA in Barcelona, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, and the Marlborough Gallery in New York, among many others. He has also participated in important art fairs such as ARCO Madrid and Art Basel Miami. His work has been recognized with several awards and distinctions, including the National Prize for Plastic Arts from the Ministry of Culture in 2017.

 

The work of Francisco Suárez (León, 1965) places special emphasis on underlining the autonomy of painting, the physical and perceptual presence of the pictorial object. Each work is above all a statement about itself, the chromatic and visual stimuli that form it, the numerical relationships that compose it. But a work of art is not a mathematical equation. In contrast to the coldness to which the geometric can lead, his work preserves a certain mysterious impulse of what arises spontaneously in the act of painting. Thus, his characteristic fields of lines are born of a process close to action painting, as they are in fact drops of paint which, carefully placed by the artist, flow over the surface. The images thus acquire a special vibration and an absence of rigidity that facilitates interaction with the gaze. Undoubtedly, the appeal of his work is also due to his exquisite use of colour. He does not want to produce a cold, cerebral structure but to obtain seductive presences, in which geometric purity serves as a vehicle for accessing the terrain of self-knowledge, a state perhaps close to contemplation.