Manuel Lopez Arambarri

Combining a synthetic representation of shapes with the arbitrary use of color, the work of Manuel López Arambarri makes us participate in his constant search to express honestly and under his conditions what he finds beautiful, aesthetically attractive and emotionally stimulating.

A formal search in which he is captivated by the possibility of transformation that the images that inspire him give him and the satisfaction of going through this process. Always in the field of figuration, he uses regular, thick and well-defined lines, which in combination with carefully distributed juxtaposed flat masses of color, support the composition of the work.

Using strong, basic and arbitrarily chosen colors, the brushstrokes become visible when necessary to give volume to some shapes that require contrast. The figures are portrayed in medium and full-length shots, in vertical, ordered and balanced compositions, which in some works are reminiscent of magazine covers due to their composition and the inclusion of words as titles. 

The themes that address his paintings include the sensuality of the female body, nature and the emotionality of music, as well as skulls and made-up faces of aborigines. Generally represented on flat and stripped backgrounds, of few colors and well defined, his portraits, generally individual, present the figures posing or acting in front of the viewer, usually connecting glances. 

During its process, it resorts to various sources, such as online and personal images, which combined and reworked give rise to new compositions. They are images that you like aesthetically (either by theme, colors, atmosphere, composition, etc ...) or that awaken a satisfactory desire or feeling. 

He perceives the possibilities that can arise from that stimulus, and the transformation potential of those images He always works from previous drawings, well calculated sketches in which he solves problems of composition, shape and color and then undoubtedly tackles the final work on canvas. 

Among his inspirations and influences are the use of color from Fauvism and Expressionism, the synthesis of Cubism, the psychological factor of gazes in Velázquez's portraits, the inclusion of texts by Cy Twombly and Basquiat, the contrast between figure and background by Caravaggio. and the simplicity in the lines of the Japanese prints and Olle Eksell's Ögon Cacao logo.