Page 12 - YGARTUA: Magnum Opus - volume three

When I met Paul Ygartua at

the Oneofakind Show in New

York this past December I was

at an advantage, having lived

with him for 15 years. That

is how long I’ve been collecting his breadth and scope of his portfolio:

work. And although I felt I knew him subject, geography, style and technique

intimately, being part of my home for coalesce to form a staggering body of

so long, meeting work.

Paul in person provided a new dimension The Ygartuas are a global couple and

of appreciation for the man and his art. Paul’s work reflects their sojourns in

The first revelation in meeting Paul is Europe, South America, the Middle East,

that genius can be warm and gracious Australia, Mexico and Canada. His series

with a twinkle in his eye and an easy of Native Americans captures the inner

smile; and is accompanied by a beautiful, strength and dignity of its subjects, in

dynamic, dedicated partner, Joanne, classic style, epitomised by the mural on

his wife. The second is passion; when the wall of the United Nations Pavilion

Paul who at times is dwarfed by 100 at the1986 Expo in Vancouver, BC.

foot murals bends down to direct your Paul’s abstract landscapes are vibrant

attention to an almost imperceptible and bold and while they cover a diverse

brush stroke, itself dwarfed by a 6 foot terrain they are always steeped in a local

work. Third, is to be reminded of the sense of place. Abstract expressionism is

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