Page 7 - TOP 10 CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS - Volume III
P. 7
Believe me my friends, the monetary value says when he says that a doctrine of beauty is
of these works is not very high, but I know impossible because beauty is not an ontological
that after the artist’s death his work will be phenomenon. Beauty is a product of human
considerably valuable, since what happens after culture, otherwise, beauty has no objective
an artist’s he cannot create more paintings and, properties.
then, the commercial value of his paintings rises
a lot. And he understands very well what Hegel said
about art: art has the purpose of translating the
At that moment I saw how he wanted to spirit into images and that is exactly what the
convince the collector to buy the paintings. At artist has done with these works.
the same time, I remembered what a gallerist
said a few months ago while referring to a I remember, he continued, a couple of weeks
painter who was exhibiting in his gallery: it is ago I visited him in his workshop. He suddenly
now a good time to buy works from this artist as stood up and with a brush in his hand he began
he is on his deathbed. to talk about Nietzsche’s art theory. At the
same time, at different speeds, he began to
But what surprised me the most was when he dance, saying: Sometimes grabbing their hands,
started to talk about his personal relationship others times separating and dancing each one
with the painter. He said: I visit the artist very at different rates, Apollo and Dionysus move
often in his workshop and, with a glass of red majestically in a dance, now rhythmic, now
wine from the Clos de Vougeot, we discussed art frantic. Between laurels and olive trees, in
and life for hours and hours. His workshop, he harmonic concert with the muses, Apollo moves
continued saying, is built from a project that the beautifully and handsomely. It is the triumph of
artist himself designed. A workshop with very serene beauty, of balance, of control of body
large windows opened to nature. This painter, he and mind. Dionysus, shaking body and soul,
continued, has a great technical and conceptual surrounded by satyrs, silences and Bacchae
knowledge; he also has a deep knowledge of dances an unruly orgiastic dance. They mix,
the history of art, which allows him to have the they hate each other but at the same time they
great masters as a reference for his pictorial also love each other. My fellows, he continued
creation. My surprise was such that I had to take saying, art incites life, and exalts it, art is a
a deep breath to come back to myself. I forced great stimulant.
myself to continue being attentive to everything
he was saying since I learned many technical Just at that moment I had the impression that he
and conceptual aspects about art from him. was getting crazy.
Let me tell you that this artist knows the The art critic did not stop talking, and after
philosophical theories of art very well. He agrees another half an hour, he approached me
with Schopenhauer that a metaphysic of beauty and asked me, sir, who are you? To which I
is possible, and even, despite not being fully responded: I am the artist who has made these
in agreement, he knows very well what Kant paintings.
Jordi Rodríguez-Amat
