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CONTEMPORARY ART COLLECTORS

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Online Exhibition ‘Beyond Utopia: Visions of a Perfect World’.

 Exhibition period: from June 15 till September 15, 2023

‘Beyond Utopia: Visions of a Perfect World’ Online Exhibition concept:

 The Exhibition seeks to ask Where have we located our utopias, and how have we attempted to make the utopias to which we have aspired come true? By turns, these manifestations mirror our innermost yearnings and our contemporary realities – that gnawing sense that this world is not enough.

Writer Thomas More conjoined the Greek words for “good place” and “no place” when naming his fictional island “Utopia” as a reminder that the idealized society he envisioned was fundamentally imaginary.

Nevertheless, the pursuit of Utopia is a never-ending humanist endeavour.

Utopian ideals refer to a hypothetical community or world nearly ideal for its inhabitants, continually reimagined and haunting people’s consciousness.

Participation by Invitation only.

BEYOND UTOPIA

VISIONS OF A PERFECT WORLD

 

JUNE 15 TILL SEPTEMBER 15, 2023

 

PAUL YGARTUA HAS BEEN HAS BEEN CHOSEN TO BE PART OF A SELECTED GROUP OF ARTISTS TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS VERY SPECIAL ON-LINE EXHIBITION

‘Beyond Utopia: Visions of a Perfect World’ Online Exhibition concept:

This Exhibition seeks to ask Where have we located our utopias, and how have we attempted to make the utopias to which we have aspired come true? By turns, these manifestations mirror our innermost yearnings and our contemporary realities – that gnawing sense that this world is not enough.

Writer Thomas More conjoined the Greek words for “good place” and “no place” when naming his fictional island “Utopia” as a reminder that the idealized society he envisioned was fundamentally imaginary.

Nevertheless, the pursuit of Utopia is a never-ending humanist endeavour.

Utopian ideals refer to a hypothetical community or world nearly ideal for its inhabitants, continually reimagined and haunting people’s consciousness.

“Hence, upon creating a tableau there is a state of euphoria realized and it is for the artist to transform these emotions to the canvas which transfigures into an affective pleasure to his viewer – converting into a visual metamorphosis, allowing one to be transmitted to another world.  A world of Fantasy, an experience Out of This World.

It is an obligation of the artist to present different subject matter through a study of Utopian, Idealistic examples to understand their importance on individualism and the Brave New World.”   Paul Ygartua

Ygartua has used his interpretations of a Fantasy World in his new abstracts IT’S LIQUID – SIN CONTROL – the free flow movement portrays an insatiable desire to take in everything you can at that very moment, delving deep into glorious colour, on a continual voyage that never ends.

INTERVIEWS ART PRIZE INSTAGRAM

Biography

EDUCATION 

PAUL YGARTUA, NDD 

PAUL YGARTUA is a qualified Gold & Silversmith with a Degree in Industrial Design from Liverpool Art College in Industrial Design, The Liverpool Faculty of Arts 1963-1965 & City & Guilds of London Institute 1965, United Kingdom

BIOGRAPHY
PAUL YGARTUA NDD Creation and interpretation is Paul’s life. In painting, he is at home in all mediums and prodigious. His styles include Realism, Expressionism, Abstract Expressionism, Postmodernism, Surrealism, Abstract Surrealism and Future Conceptualism, a revolutionary technique developed and created by Ygartua. His continuous study and work on techniques and painting mediums are apparent throughout his vast body of work. He was born in 1945 in Bebington, Cheshire (Liverpool) England. After graduating from the Faculty of Arts Industrial Design, Liverpool Art College 1963-65 and City & Guilds of London Institute,1965 in 1966 he immigrated to Vancouver, Canada. From then on painting became his whole existence. Ygartua is a painter and muralist with bases in Canada, France, Spain and England. He has single-handedly painted some of the largest public space murals in Canada and the United States. His most famous works are his “Heritage Series” depicting North American Natives and other ethnic and cultural groups. He is renowned worldwide for his monumental murals. “The World United ” (100ftx25ft/3,048cmx762cm) is one of his most notorious, commissioned by the United Nations for the United Nations Pavilion at the World Expo 86 Vancouver and his largest to date “Legends of the Millennium”, over 9,000 square feet (24ftx390ft/731cmx11,872cm).

Please tell us more about your background. How would you describe yourself and your art?

PAUL FRANCIS YGARTUA, NDD

• NATIONAL DIPLOMA -INDUSTRIAL DESIGN/GOLD & SILVERSMITHING
• JUNE 16, 1945, BEBINGTON, CHESHIRE (LIVERPOOL), ENGLAND
• BASQUE/BRITISH HERITAGE
• EDUCATION:  LIVERPOOL ART COLLEGE/LAIRD SCHOOL OF ART,
• INDUSTRIAL DESIGN/GOLD & SILVERSMITHING
• 1961 – 1962 LAIRD SCHOOL OF ART, Birkenhead, Cheshire, England
• 1963 – 1965 LIVERPOOL ART COLLEGE Faculty of Arts, Industrial Design
• 1965 – CITY & GUILDS OF LONDON INSTITUTE GOLDSMITH and SILVERSMITH    

I was born in 1945 in Bebington, Cheshire (Liverpool) England. After graduating from The Faculty of Arts Industrial Design, Liverpool Art College and the City & Guilds of London Institute (Goldsmith and Silversmith) in 1965 I  immigrated to Vancouver, Canada. From then on painting became my sole existence. 

My Father was Basque and my Mother was British  – she was also a painter and I painted alongside her from the age of 6 when we were on family vacations in the Basque country.  My family and I have always traveled extensively and throughout my life, I have been influenced by other cultures. My interest, no doubt, comes from my Basque Heritage, the oldest white race in Europe. This influence has also directed me to the varied subject matter I seek out when living in other countries.  In the early 70s I started painting the North American Native, I found strength and a passion for a race struggling for their identity similar to the Basque People of northern Spain. These influences dominated my work for many years; even today I still feel a need to create with a passion and strength that captivates my mind and soul. I like to stir one’s emotions, I like my patrons to feel this energy that runs through me.

Creation and interpretation is my life.  In painting, I am at home in all mediums and prodigious.  My styles include Realism, Expressionism, Abstract Expressionism, Post Expressionism, Surrealism, Abstract Surrealism and Future Conceptualism, a Revolutionary Technique developed and created by myself (Ygartua). I have always had an interest in the subject matter of every kind and enjoy experimenting in several mediums and techniques at the same time.

I am a painter and muralist with bases in Canada, France, Spain and England. I have single-handedly painted some of the largest public space murals in Canada and the United States. My most famous works are my “Heritage Series’ depicting North American Natives (Native Heritage Mural, Chemainus, BC) and other ethnic and cultural groups. I am renowned worldwide for my monumental murals. “The World United ” (100ftx25ft/3,048cmx762cm) is one of my  most notorious, commissioned by the United Nations for the United Nations Pavilion at the World Expo 86 Vancouver and my  largest to date “Legends of the Millennium”, over 9,000 square feet (24ft x 390ft / 731 cm x 11,872cm)

And my most recent United in History, a 22’x120’ fresco, commemorates the history of Bella Bella, B.C. The Heiltsuk Nation, Bella, Bella, were the first inhabitants of this area and the individuals that were part of the historic development of the greater Bella Bella Community from 1930 to 1980. I am one of the few artists in the world that work on large-scale murals with no projector, no scale, all freehand – I work on a ten-foot face, finished in two days.

MY ART It is like a metamorphosis taking place, a process of transformation, an awakening. Whatever your life’s journey, various forms of metamorphosis are inevitable along the way.  The connections we make, and the encounters we have, often increase our awareness.  I am constantly taking on new challenges and demands– It is an adventure into the unknown and the thrill of taking it to the next level to explore new directions and styles in my Creative Journey.  I am compelled to face the challenges offered on this path–it is intoxicating and exhilarating.

My primary mediums are acrylic on canvas and fresco*, although, I  have worked in oil, graphite, pen and ink, pastel, poster, lithograph* and mixed mediums.  My subjects include landscapes, seascapes, cityscapes, figures, portraits, still life, nudes, social commentary, cultural anthropology, native/indigenous people, the unconscious, and as an abstractionist –  shape, colour, and texture.  My styles are Realism*, Expressionism*, Abstract Expressionism*, Neo-Expressionism, Surrealism* and Abstract Surrealism and my revolutionary invention Future Conceptualism, reverse painted on plexiglass.

Where do you find inspiration for your art?

Art nourishes the soul – I feel connected when I am creating, it is my life force, it is my joie de vivre, every hour every day (to access) to tap into the subconscious and bring surreal worlds to life.

Inspiration is within, I just need to tap into it.  I am inspired by my surroundings, the ideas I am working on.  It is important on a daily level to constantly be experimenting with new ideas. Inspiration to me depends on the environment that I am living in –where my emotions are created in my mind and transmitted to the canvas – it is within. 

Most days I wake up with inspiration ready to apply it to whatever subject matter I am working on–it is stimulating and exhilarating.

Tapping into my creativity connects to utilizing my power to create.

My inspiration comes in many different forms and often depends on what country I am living in at the time.  It can be emotional, it can be imaginative. I am looking at a chess game. Whether it be working through my emotions, or responding to a world event, I take inspiration from everywhere I am. The power of one’s creative mind depends on how you approach your art. I generally like to work a nine-hour day and find the more you work, the more the ideas become free-flow — as Picasso said it is through hard work that you will find inspiration. 

The free flow of subject matter is right in front of me, I have never had a moment when I can’t just tap into my imagination and start creating a new idea, I just need the subject and from there, it is all free flow – always searching for the freedom of movement within my work.

Breaking routine is a constant factor in my life and this is why it is inspiring to be living in different countries, meeting people with different mentalities and then interpreting these subjects into reality, my reality, looking within –introspection–it is all there right in front of you– if you look deep enough.  The power of a creative mind and the effects of experimenting on new styles and living in different countries allow a steady flow of new subjects, new situations, whether it is a scene in front of me or interpreting COVID (during the two and half-year period) the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II.  It is a fascinating life and it is overflowing with inspiration.

My Philosophy – the next painting will be the best.  It has been an ongoing struggle for perfection – being able to break through mental and physical barriers, pushing the envelope to realize and developing that vision until ultimately a style is born.

Then taking that style and working it until it cannot be developed further and moving on to adapt this to new ideas takes you on a journey of versatility and determination to the next painting.

I am always looking to improve on each work so as to fine-tune my coordination between body, mind and spirit with an emphasis on reaching the point whereby my hands almost are moving without consciously guiding them.

Speed is an integral part of the process as it forces one to not dwell on exactitude rather it forces a conscious flow of inspiration and passion

My concept of painting is the journey of struggle and determination for perfection in every aspect of my work.  – from design and composition – to colour and form.

A Journey that never ends – each style fits into a plan like a road map to the future and sometimes the direction is not always forward but like a continuous ebb and flow of juices which moves one – sometimes forward but always towards a positive direction.

Does your work comment on current social, world or political issues?

During COVID I started THE COVID SERIES & THE TRIBUTE SERIES

COVID SERIES  –  I contemplated and tried to imagine different situations, unique ideas, and unusual creatures that could be working with the virus, similar to that of the pilot fish that assist the sharks in their close relationship as the clean-up crew.  I like to reveal the darker side with a positive in the same painting.  It is like a chess game, the game of life. The name of the game is to win, to survive.  The objective is to win, but the challenge is designing and then acting out a strategy to achieve that goal–as in life, you must constantly evaluate and change your playing strategy.

Then I also started the TRIBUTE SERIES which included the Graffiti rendering of Trump, Putin and Kim Jong Un  – portraying the Tres Amigos in a Satirical look at the three leaders that would take great pleasure in ruling the world,  along with a Tribute to George Floyd bringing to light the global impact that his death had on The Fight For Racial Justice.

I am constantly on the move, fascinated with world politics, the leaders of the world, and the difficult situations we are confronted with daily and I feel the need to tap into the future – I like to transform, divert and reconstruct conventional reality – using my imagination to seek out new worlds – imaging situations with our world and extraterrestrial beings and behaviour on possible other planets. 

What career accomplishment are you most proud of and why?

IN THE LAST 50 YEARS, I believe I have probably created the most significant, important recordings of the First People of the World of the 20th and 21st centuries. A series of paintings of the Indigenous People of the World – the West Coast Natives along with their extraordinary work have been the most predominant and of equal importance, the Africans, the Mexican Natives-the Incas and Mayans, the Peruvian Natives, the N.A. & S.A. Natives. the Basque People, India and the Semitic Peoples of ancient Southwestern Asia.  “Over the years it really seems that a guiding hand is directing me to create a tableau, a record of the character portraying the Nomadic People of the World”

MURALS

I am a painter and muralist with bases in Canada, France, Spain and England. I have single-handedly painted some of the largest public space murals in Canada and the United States. My most famous works are his “Heritage Series’ depicting North American Natives (Native Heritage Mural, Chemainus, BC) and other ethnic and cultural groups. I am renowned worldwide for my monumental murals. “The World United ” (100ftx25ft/3,048cmx762cm) is one of my most notorious, commissioned by the United Nations for the United Nations Pavilion at the World Expo 86 Vancouver and my largest to date “Legends of the Millennium”, over 9,000 square feet (24ft x 390 ft / 731 cm x 11,872cm).

And my most recent United in History, a 22’x120’ fresco, commemorates the history of Bella Bella, B.C. The Heiltsuk Nation, Bella, Bella, were the first inhabitants of this area and the individuals that were part of the historic development of the greater Bella Bella Community from 1930 to 1980.

The Ygartua Foundation has just come out with the second YGARTUA book and now looking towards another book THE CHAMELEON OF THE ART WORLD  – I feel like a chameleon as I am changing all the time, it is interminable.  In this book I would like my clients to appreciate and recognize the different directions that are constantly opening up new paths – often it is as much a mystery to myself as to others as I never know what is coming next, but I must keep on this path, this is my direction–the unknown– an endless challenge – this is what I thrive on.

Website: WALL90.COM  YGARTUAORIGINALS.COM     Country: Canada