JESÙS LEGUIZAMO: Colombia’s Breakthrough Artist

Jesùs leguizamo is one of the most fascinating   and provocative artists working in Colombia today. His work transcends descriptions and transports viewers into his, sometimes chaotic, sometimes mesmerizing world. Resident is honored to interview him here:

Tell us how you got into art?

At school. In the art classes I began to feel a pleasure for the drawing and for all the manual activities that we did. I remember that he reproduced many images of magazines that I was storing in order to draw. I think my love for cinema also brings me closer to reflecting on the image.

Where did you study?

I studied at the school of fine arts at the National University of Colombia where I did a specialization in pictorial image.

What are your inspirations?

I have always been interested in art that changes the aesthetics of the world. Artists who break with harmony and beauty, artists like Bacon, Richter, Botero. I have been very aware of the cinema and literature that reflects that dark vision of the world, I really like the oneiric images of David Lynch's films.

My painting is also based on the new technologies used to produce images, I am very interested in the "glitch" of the digital era, the damage in the images are a source of inspiration to make my oil paintings.

What form of painting would you say your art is?

I think that in my work I try to question the identity of the human being, too; I want the viewer to question himself when he sees my portraits and have another look on the subject. This concept brings me closer to the expressionist movement and its vision of the world since it directly involves the body of modern man, his passions and desires.

In my painting I look for the body to be flesh, to build the space of painting with matter.

Who are your clients? Have you done many art shows?

Some of the people who buy my paintings are collectors, I work with some designers. With my painting i have approached people like psychiatrists, doctors, other artists. I have shown my work in some galleries in cities such as London, Los Angeles, Vienna and also shows in my country Colombia.

What is your next series? Which series are you the most proud of?

I am working on a series with some themes of history about my country, they are large format paintings that show a deeper reality in which I am, I have a political look for this.

I remember a series of very small portraits where I used film frames, these paintings were very revealing for me because I found a way to explore in painting.

Which artists inspire you the most?

For me Velazquez, El Bosco, Francis Bacon, Gerhard Richter, Michael Borremans represent the sincere look on life and dedication to painting.  

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