Says Hermann Hesse. The value and extent of all art is in the first place determined by the extent of love that an artist is capable of. I would not dare to take these words for my account. I am a painter. But I can feel what the writer means and I can relate to it.
The other day I had the pleasure of meeting Eduardo Alvarado in the flesh for the second time in my life. It was a hot presummer night and I was making my way through an overcrowded open air theatre in Salamanca for witnessing a tragic love story, not knowing what I was in for. I knew that the artist was in town to visit my exhibition, but we could not make an appointment to meet. Then suddenly, out of the blue, there he was, in front of me. Eduardo Alvarado, smiling, radiating, in the company of three sophisticated women. It was like being on one of these television shows where people are set up to meet old time friends. But there were no cameras and the feeling struck me that the mental power of this elegant creature dressed in black must have pulled me towards him through space and time. As my mouth fell open and my eyes opened even wider we started releasing fractions of the embraces that we promised eachother during the last year in which we had been emailing intensively. Until both lovers were lying dead on the stage two hours later, I sat next to this vibrant person that moved gently like a panther, touching me from time to time, spying on me and interrupting the show with personal questions that called for long explicative answers that I failed to give.
I did not see any lines on the forehead of this young man. His face is much softer than he wants us to believe. Nor did I discover animal features on his skin. But I did recognize his hands and body from his drawings that are full of life. The lines that describe his hands, reveal the way he moves, restlesly. His curiosity and his energy that seem to be endless. His sensitivity and his unique sensuality. In the work of Eduardo I also see reflected many people that he must have met in his life so far. People in Vienna, Berlin, New York, Madrid, Rome. Africa. He travelled the continents investigating the work of long gone artists that paved his way and that he deeply admires, absorbing at the same time millions of faces and bodies of people now living in these significant places all over the world and right next door. The work of Eduardo Alvarado reminds me of myself. A human being.
In an email message Eduardo wrote that he believes drawing and painting are "un método de conocimiento". I would like to add that drawing and painting can be ways through which an artist lives and learns about life. They may even be considered acts of love. For the subject. For the paint. The colour. The line. Love implies dedication and an involvement that takes you to extremes. The way Eduardo puts it in a message titled "Schiele es mi padre" says it all.
Entiendo perfectamente lo que quieres expresar al decir que necesitas tu pintura cada dia, pero es un camino pedregoso el de la introspección. De hecho creo que el autorretrato es "el tema" del arte por excelencia, un trabajo arduo que exige liberarse de los tabues personales, mirarse desnudo y enfrentarse a lo que uno ve. A mi tambien cada nuevo cuadro me obliga a formularme una y otra vez las mismas preguntas y a lo largo de todo el proceso de concepción sufro las mas variadas emociones que van desde el extasis total hasta el mas bajo desprecio, replanteandome con cada nuevo cuadro toda mi existencia. Cada nueva obra supone un duro parto.
The traces of these experiences hide, show and live on in the work of Eduardo Alvarado. Ready to lead their own lives.
Helma Michiels, prologo para el libro "Eduardo Alvarado, Dibujos" (80 páginas), editado con la ayuda del gobierno de La Rioja en 2002.
The other day I had the pleasure of meeting Eduardo Alvarado in the flesh for the second time in my life. It was a hot presummer night and I was making my way through an overcrowded open air theatre in Salamanca for witnessing a tragic love story, not knowing what I was in for. I knew that the artist was in town to visit my exhibition, but we could not make an appointment to meet. Then suddenly, out of the blue, there he was, in front of me. Eduardo Alvarado, smiling, radiating, in the company of three sophisticated women. It was like being on one of these television shows where people are set up to meet old time friends. But there were no cameras and the feeling struck me that the mental power of this elegant creature dressed in black must have pulled me towards him through space and time. As my mouth fell open and my eyes opened even wider we started releasing fractions of the embraces that we promised eachother during the last year in which we had been emailing intensively. Until both lovers were lying dead on the stage two hours later, I sat next to this vibrant person that moved gently like a panther, touching me from time to time, spying on me and interrupting the show with personal questions that called for long explicative answers that I failed to give.
I did not see any lines on the forehead of this young man. His face is much softer than he wants us to believe. Nor did I discover animal features on his skin. But I did recognize his hands and body from his drawings that are full of life. The lines that describe his hands, reveal the way he moves, restlesly. His curiosity and his energy that seem to be endless. His sensitivity and his unique sensuality. In the work of Eduardo I also see reflected many people that he must have met in his life so far. People in Vienna, Berlin, New York, Madrid, Rome. Africa. He travelled the continents investigating the work of long gone artists that paved his way and that he deeply admires, absorbing at the same time millions of faces and bodies of people now living in these significant places all over the world and right next door. The work of Eduardo Alvarado reminds me of myself. A human being.
In an email message Eduardo wrote that he believes drawing and painting are "un método de conocimiento". I would like to add that drawing and painting can be ways through which an artist lives and learns about life. They may even be considered acts of love. For the subject. For the paint. The colour. The line. Love implies dedication and an involvement that takes you to extremes. The way Eduardo puts it in a message titled "Schiele es mi padre" says it all.
Entiendo perfectamente lo que quieres expresar al decir que necesitas tu pintura cada dia, pero es un camino pedregoso el de la introspección. De hecho creo que el autorretrato es "el tema" del arte por excelencia, un trabajo arduo que exige liberarse de los tabues personales, mirarse desnudo y enfrentarse a lo que uno ve. A mi tambien cada nuevo cuadro me obliga a formularme una y otra vez las mismas preguntas y a lo largo de todo el proceso de concepción sufro las mas variadas emociones que van desde el extasis total hasta el mas bajo desprecio, replanteandome con cada nuevo cuadro toda mi existencia. Cada nueva obra supone un duro parto.
The traces of these experiences hide, show and live on in the work of Eduardo Alvarado. Ready to lead their own lives.
Helma Michiels, prologo para el libro "Eduardo Alvarado, Dibujos" (80 páginas), editado con la ayuda del gobierno de La Rioja en 2002.
