Art Exhibition by Didier Lourenco (Spain), Joan Longas (Spain) & Giles Dawe (England)
State-of-the-Arts Gallery and Gallery by the Harbour are delighted to present a cross-over exhibition featuring Didier Lourenco, Joan Longas and Giles Dawe on the theme of “Beautiful Melancholy of City Life”.
Didier Lourenco‟s works have deservedly proved popular with the public. One of the attractive feaatures comes from his delicate depiction of the desolated yet beautiful human souls in the hustle and bustle city life. Didier‟s Jazz and City Scene series disclosed the brooding mood of his subjects. Regardless how noisy and busy night clubs or city streets should be, Didier‟s subjects in the scenes are of limited communications, are faceless, are of similar geometrical shapes and curves. Instead of depicting a subject activity in each work, Didier chose to convey the mood of isolated individuals in city where neither the jazz players or music listeners are of more dominance – all the subjects are of similar weight and importance - the sameness, stillness and melancholy of city life; yet; there retains a strong sense of subtle beauty from within.
City landscapes are recreated on Joan Longas‟ canvas infusing the artists‟ sensations and experiences during their travels. Through a splendid treatment of light and a very careful selection of composition and views, where monumental buildings instead of fleeting human activities are depicted, Joan evokes a nostalgic feeling towards the ephemerality of life. His canvases are surrounded by magic atmosphere.
While audiences feel for the subjects in Didier and Joan‟s works, Giles makes us the subjects to initiate the melancholy mood by leading us through his depiction of frozen city scenes. His skillful manipulation of the cut-away parts leaves room for our imagination, as if we are walking through his work as well as our own creation. His ideas on „beautiful contemplation‟ is embodies through an overall aesthetic emphasis with his use of harmonious colour palettes and balancing geometrical composition.
Different positioning of audiences on the same urban landscape, you are cordially invited to interpret and create your own version of melancholy by enriching Didier, Joan and Giles‟ city scenes.
About the Artist- Didier Lourenco
Didier Lourenco was born in 1968 in Premia del Mar, Barcelona. At the age of 19 he began to work in his father's print studio, where he learned the art of lithography. He began to paint on paper and canvas, taking over a small corner of the studio. In 1988 he had his first solo exhibition at Vilassar de Dalt, and printed his first lithographic edition. He dedicated himself solely to painting in the corner of his father's studio, where he had created his own mini-studio. The corner was open to various visiting artists. Not only was the gaze of the artists directed towards Lourenco's works, but Lourenco's gaze was directed at the works of these visiting artists. This would be his education in the world of painting. Lourenco was awarded Second Prize at the XXXIII Premio de Pintura Joven de la Sala Pares de Barcelona. He also participated in some group shows in Barcelona and Valencia. In 1992 Lourenco won the Premios Talentos of the XXXIV Premio de Pintura Joven de la Sala Pares de Barcelona. He had his first solo show at the Galeria Art Dama de Calafell. He also participated in numerous group shows. In addition, he had solo exhibitions at the Vayreda de Barcelona, Gasto Sala d'Art de Terrassa, Sala Rebull de Reus, Galeria Susany de Vic and at the Minerva Galeria d'Art de Mataro. In 1995, Lourenco left his corner in his father's studio and moved into his own studio in Premia del Mar, Barcelona. His solo shows continued, and in-between the studio and the shows, he traveled with his friends and painters Moscardo and Praga to the north of Italy. His days are full of travel and exhibitions. His solo and collective shows continue, and he travels to Paris, Lisbon and New York, where he continually gains inspiration for more of his glorious oil paintings.
About the Artist- Joan Longas
Joan Longas was born in Barcelona in 1959. In 1981 he gets a degree in graphic design and illustration at the Escuela Massana (Barcelona). Until the end of the nineties he combines his work as a graphic designer with contributions as a drawer for different newspapers and magazines (El Adelanto de Salamanca; El Periódico de Cataluña; Sapiens, History Magazine), activities he abandons to dedicate his efforts entirely to painting. He has awarded several Prizes of Painting, such as Premio Obra Gráfica de la Enciclopedia Catalana, Premio Calassanç and Premio Fundación Crédit (Andorra); He has also been finalist of the Prizes Fundación Privada Reddis, Fundación Vila Casas and ”X Certamen Nacional de Pintura Ciudad de Calahorra”.
About the Artist- Giles Dawe
Giles Dawe is a full time China based artist, building a reputation in Hong Kong. Born in Bristol/England in 1977, he began painting at an early age and has studied painting and sculpture extensively in France and Cardiff under the famous UK landscape painter Terry Setch and is inspired by surreal painters such as de Chirico, Dali and Magritte. Having lived abroad for many years, his previous works focused on depicting "Stereotypes" representing what other countries think of English people - perhaps a man situated in a foreign location with a bowler hat, an umbrella or wearing a dark business suit. As Dawe's background also involved making sculptures and being frustrated by painting inside the confines of rectangle canvases, the original idea of painting on a sculptural image took shape. Thinly applied oils were used on wood, giving the advantage of a rich tone and an extra layer of visible grains on each piece. Also by being able to shape the sculpture to match the painted image, he could show to the viewer‟s areas which he found of interest such as an angle of a building or a specific colour and then "cut out" the sections which weren't so interesting by manipulating the sculpture area. In recent years, he has been unable to paint extensively as he took on the challenging role of caring of his son full time for 4 years. Now free from the constraints of bottle feeding and nappy changing, Giles is looking to showcase his talents once again. Recent work has been purchased by HK Art Director Wang Jia Wei, who mentioned he'd like to include the art in his films.
