Frasquito Raymond Gil-Urquijo
“I started drawing only a couple of years ago, so my memories are quite fresh. I always loved drawing but never gave it a chance, partially because I have an innate inability for it and never wanted to take classes. I am totally ignorant when it comes to art and everything that resembles it”.
“I started drawing only a couple of years ago, so my memories are quite fresh. I always loved drawing but never gave it a chance, partially because I have an innate inability for it and never wanted to take classes. I am totally ignorant when it comes to art and everything that resembles it”.
FRASQUITO RAYMOND GIL-URQUIJO
FRASQUITO RAYMOND GIL-URQUIJO
From artist’s archives
"The day Antonio Mairena dedicated some fandangos to my cousin Higinio at San Pablo tabanco, in 1971 Jerez de la Frontera’s fair".
The Tabanco is a unique establishment born in Jerez de la Frontera (Andalusia), which Cervantes already mentions in his “Journey to Parnassus” in XVI century. It’s a meeting place to sing flamenco, promote flamenco singers and dispatch Sherry and distillate wines, very cold at two thirds the full catavino. They have a large wooden bar, dirt floor that is sometimes watered, and old oak barrels.
Sherry wine, especially Oloroso and also Torito are dispatched directly from the tap barrel. And good fine wines like La Mina, Maestro Sierra and El Aljibe in little glasses are only found in this area. Subsequently half stopper wines were served, which were the second brands of the main wineries.
LES COULEURS: What is your dream project?
Frasquito Raymond Gil-Urquijo: The one I’m actually embarked on, “La Familia de Frasquito”, which contains many sub-stories as spin-offs of the main one. It’s a story of a curious character, Don Frasquito Raymond-Gil Urquijo. Born in the early twentieth century in Baja Andalusia, in Jerez de la Frontera, he is a practicing Andalusian and a prominent traveler at a time when traveling was unknown. A kind of George Bradshaw to the Spanish without the travel book (the author recommends Great British Railway Journeys of the great Michael Portillo revisiting Bradshaw’s travels). Inside this very long series there are many different plots and stories, related to things I’m interested in, like the different cactus families, gastronomy or whatever that I like, travels or simply specific anecdotes that I found surreal enough to inspire me to draw.
LC: What is your earliest memory of picking up a paintbrush?
FRGU: I started drawing only a couple of years ago, so my memories are quite fresh. I always loved drawing but never gave it a chance, partially because I have an innate inability for it, because I never wanted to take classes (as I think one could be bias to your ideas or make you pay more attention to various techniques). I am totally ignorant when it comes to art and everything that resembles it. I was naturally attracted to naïve painting because I thought could fit with my inability to draw, Condo’s drawings, Rousseau’s jungles, rhino drawings for babys and even animal clay figures. The ignition point happened when by chance I came across 5 small drawings from a mediocre Hungarian painter called Gyulia Czimra in the National Gallery in Budapest, after a painful 4 hours visit. I got stuck on them for their simplicity and beauty.
LC: What exhibitions are you working on or have you participated in?
FRGU: The sad story The New Dentures of My Cousin Adela la de Carmona was selected for the international exhibition Love Your Body – we need different eyes, held in Milan in 2020. I’m especially proud of being the first amateur artist portrayed in the Spanish travel & art magazine “Revista en Perspectiva”. Nowadays I’m fully engaged in designing and writing the first book about Frasquito, drawing some works for a charity auction in Miami that get me truly excited, and deciding whether to exhibit or not in a couple of places in Dubai, where I live and work. I am deeply grateful to every art magazine or curator who paid attention to my work. Especially grateful to the first publisher,- Wild Things Zine “The Incredible World of Frasquito Family”.
FRASQUITO RAYMOND GIL-URQUIJO
From artist’s archives
4. What’s your background?
FRGU: I have zero background in art, I am a real outsider. I am a physician, doctor naval engineer with honors, working in consulting, with zero family bonds to art. I am self-taught without any classes or tutorials, that way I keep my work authentic, unbiased, fresh and without any constraint.
5. Professionally, what is your goal?
FRGU: Clearly,-to make people smile, have a fun time as they enter Frasquito’s world. Think and learn some funny, surreal or interesting stuff. I don’t use my work to project any deep personal beliefs, thoughts or commitments. My artwork tends to be surreal, funny and educational. Having said that, in Frasquito you can also find a mix of bittersweet tragicomedy. In some cases joy and smiles hide a sad story or thought that the viewer has to be able to unravel.
FRASQUITO RAYMOND GIL-URQUIJO
From artist’s archives
6. Name 3 artists you would like to be compared to.
FRGU: To be compared are very serious words, but if I have to choose 3 artists I love, I would say: Guillermo Perez Villalta (at a time the only alive painter having work at The Prado Museum, who was also born near my hometown), undoubtedly Yayoi Kusama and the fabulous self-universe of George Condo. I would love to keep this personal fresh blend of naiveness and weirdness. In my opinion this comes as a result of my lack of knowledge, technique and natural inability to draw.
7. If you could work within a past art movement, which would you be?
FRGU: Probably fauvism, because they don’t care about perspective, modeling or three-dimensional structure, and use strong colors to create very simple compositions. Could also be a kind of surrealism, taking out their psychoanalytic theory and the automatism as creation method in which I don’t believe. Probably the closer movement to what I understand as surrealism, even though there is only a remote parallelism with Frasquito’s work, it is Mario Camus’ existentialism - absurdism and his definition of absurd, that I encourage all our friends to read.
8. What role does the artist have in the society?
FRGU: From a influential point of view, clearly a pariah one, absolutely irrelevant. From a deeper human-being dimension probably a key role, as a way to understand the different realities and the history through many different lenses with many different flavors, or isolate people from their mundane daily issues.
9. Which artists from the past would you most like to meet?
FRGU: Without any kind of doubt, the Spanish genius Rafael Guastavino. The true brain behind New York’s architecture. With way less excitement, the anonymous German who painted the “Portrait of a Lady Wearing the Order of The Swan” in 1490.
10. How would you define beauty in 140 characters or less?
FRGU: This is a very difficult question, as it touches upon the concept of deep neurological knowledge combined with emotions, cultural backgrounds and many subjective variables, that I’m not able to identify and weight at this point of time. Then, to keep it simple, I will refer to the dictionary definition that I love: “any person, animal or thing who stands out for this quality”, and to add some light to this example … “Rafaela was one of the most admired beauties of the night”.
11. What art do you mostly identify with?
FRGU: Hungarian painter Gyula Czimra. As a tribute to him for igniting my desire to draw, only couple of miles away from where Erik Weisz was born to become legendary Harry Houdini, whose name honored his French spiritual master Robert-Houdin. However, let me say that my art is a kind of conceptual one where the idea is what matters, as stupid as it might be, with a mix of composition and colors, and always a funny story behind. I identify myself with so many anonymous, talented amateur artists that have their own and unique personality, and are able to show it without copying anyone else.
Kale Barr’s Beautiful Mess
Kale Barr transports experiences from his past and his present onto canvas while using his unique color blending and layering technique. The artist wants the viewers to internalize their own moments of lightness and darkness, thus leaving behind “the beautiful mess”.
Kale Barr transports experiences from his past and his present onto canvas while using his unique color blending and layering technique. The artist wants the viewers to internalize their own moments of lightness and darkness, thus leaving behind “the beautiful mess”.
INTERVIEW WITH KALE BARR
KALE BARR
From artist’s archives
Kale Barr is a Canadian artist living and working in Calgary, Alberta. Barr’s dream-like abstract expressionist paintings are inspired by a combination of his real-life experiences and the transformative nature of his surroundings. Inspired by Jackson Pollock, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and George Condo, Barr uses a unique blend of color layering that utilizes acrylic and oil paint with wild yet calculated paint splashes. His painting technique creates works that simultaneously enthrall and still the viewer. His work invites the viewer into his raw yet animated world of swirling color and dark chaos. Within Barr’s work is a balance of harmony and destruction, letting go of perfection and symmetry, leaving behind a “beautiful mess.” Having lived across Canada, Nevada, and Washington, Barr’s life has been one of ever-changing dramatic surroundings, both naturally and personally. His work emotes a shared journey in all of us, through dark and through light. Created from within his world of vivid subject matters that he draws out from within, he leaves a piece of his story in each of them.
LES COULEURS: What is your dream project?
KALE BARR: Collaboration with Canadian composer,- Howard Shore, designing with a high fashion brand.
LC: What kind of music are you listening to currently? Name 5.
KB: Dr. Dre, Machine Gun Kelly, MHNUS, Rüfüs Du Sol, Frank Sinatra.
LC: What exhibitions are you working on or have you participated in?
KB: Here are some I participated in 2021: A Retrospective in Banff Alberta, Fuck You Exhibition in Calgary Alberta, Home Exhibition in Calgary Alberta.
Yudian Art Fair mainland China 2022, Art Me Limited Frankfurt Germany 2022, Dreamlike exhibition Calgary Alberta 2022.
KALE BARR
From artist’s archives
LC: What’s your earliest memory of a paintbrush?
KB: I watched my grandmother paint a cross with a portrait of Jesus crying as a young boy, I was maybe 8-10 years old. That is the first memory that comes to mind with a paint brush.
LC: What’s your background?
KB: Self taught, I had learning disabilities from some childhood trauma and neurological disorder called synesthesia. I was extremely mis-assessed as a child. It made me feel like something was wrong with me. It shut off my desire at an early age to be nurtured by those who have done before me. I knew early on that I had to understand the principles of education, but find my own purpose within the teachings on my own.
KALE BARR
From artist’s archives
LC: Professionally, what’s your goal?
KB: Sotheby’s or Christie’s Auction Houses would be a professional goal for sure.
LC: Name three artists you’d like to be compared to.
KB: I don’t want to be compared to these artists, I just want to do them justice by honoring their influence and attitude: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Robert Nava, George Condo.
LC: Which artist of the past would you most like to meet?
KB: Jean-Michel Basquiat.
KALE BARR
From artist’s archives
LC: What is your greatest indulgence in life?
KB: Watches, eating pasta, that moment when the paint hits the canvas!
LC: Why do you make and receive studio visits?
KB: Studio visits make you vulnerable, but they also give you great perspective.
LC: How would you define beauty in 140 characters or less?
KB: “Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it,”- said Confucius. This influence of perspective, beauty is having every reason to give up, and choosing not to.
LC: What role does the artist have in society?
KB: The artist’s roll… well for me this feels like an endless question. Art is everything, the creative collective, the painter, the dancer, the writer, the musician, the poet, without art we cannot defy the restraints of reality, we cannot evolve without art. Art is a healer, it’s a purpose and the very breath we need in order to live. I believe my roll at least as an artist is the share a story for the ones that are like me and who cannot articulate their own. To put people into a moment even if it’s only for just that, a moment to reflect and find something within themselves. I cannot say what we are supposed internalize, but I know I want to give each person a moment. Timeless.
Extra Real, Extra Colorful,- the Toy Story by Andres Compagnucci
“I am working on a large size flower panting. I also have an ongoing series of paintings that celebrate art,- a tribute to the artists I like the most. I show their style and personality in a playful way by using toys dressed up as the artists themselves.” -Andres Compagnucci
“I am working on a large size flower panting. I also have an ongoing series of paintings that celebrate art,- a tribute to the artists I like the most. I show their style and personality in a playful way by using toys dressed up as the artists themselves.” -Andres Compagnucci
INTERVIEW WITH ANDRES COMPAGNUCCI
ANDRES COMPAGNUCCI
From artist’s archives
LES COULEURS: What’s your background?
ANDRES COMPAGNUCCI: From 1982 to 1988 I studied painting with Carlos Pacheco. In 1992 I graduated as Graphic Designer from the Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Argentina. In 1994 I received a scholarship from Fundación PROA to study with Guillermo Kuitca.
LC: If you could work within a past art movement, which would it be?
AC: I would probably choose the Dutch school. The fascinating technique of Johannes Vermeer has always been a mystery and his paintings have such a magical atmosphere.
ANDRES COMPAGNUCCI
From artist’s archives
LC: Why do you make and receive studio visits?
AC: It’s always nice to receive people in my studio. Studio visits help understand the artist’s point of view and his work better. My studio is full of toys and souvenirs. I also have a collection of 12 pinball machines. All these toys have a special place in my hart. I see them as a way to retrieve those good moments from the past.
LC: Which writer or poet do you return to the most?
AC: For short stories I enjoy reading Raymond Carver, for novels,- I love Paul Auster.
ANDRES COMPAGNUCCI
From artist’s archives
LC: Who are your biggest influences? Have you ever had a moment when you questioned your career entirely?
AC: I love pop art and hyperrealism, David Hockney, Kenny Sharf, Ryan McGuinness, Don Eddy , Richard Estes, Joseph Raffael….. many more. That moment has not arrived yet, for more than 30 years I’ve been doing exactly what I wanted to, but who knows what can happen tomorrow?
LC: What does your work aim to say?
AC: In a great number of my works I try to recreate happy moments using objects that make us remember them. In the flower series, I try to find a new way to show something that has been done so many times throughout the history of art. I always say, that the challenge is similar to figuring out your next move in a chess game…. Not easy but very rewarding.
LC: If you could steel one work of art without being caught, what would it be?
AC: Just one? I would steal a small painting by Peter Blake, called Girl in a Poppy Field that I saw at an exhibition in Brazil when I was a teenager. I fell in love with that piece immediately.
PETER BLAKE
Girl in a Poppy Field 1974
LC: What do you dislike about the art world?
AC: Snobbery. Contemporary art scene sometimes reminds me of the literary folk tale The Emperor’s New Clothes. Many times the king is naked, but the art world doesn’t seem to notice it.
LC: What are you working on now? Exciting new projects?
AC: I’m working on a large size flower panting. I also have an ongoing series of paintings that celebrate art. A tribute to the artists I like the most. Showing their style and personality in a playful way by using toys dressed up as the artists themselves.
Some of my art pieces are being shown at Irazoqui Art Gallery in Miami. The gallery is planning to be part of the upcoming art fairs and fairs are always exciting!
LC: What exhibitions have you participated in?
AC: My favorite one was a solo exhibition with 26 of my paintings at the most important museum of Argentina, the National Museum of Buenos Aires in 1997.
I have participated in some outstanding art fairs, such as Art Basel Miami, Miami Conventional Center (2003-2004), ARCO, Madrid (1998-2002-2003-2004-2005), Palm Beach Modern and Contemporary (2019), Art Lima, Perú (2019) among others.
I have also participated in these selected group exhibitions: Jeune Peinture, Espace Eiffel Brandly, Paris (1995); Sarajevo 2000.
Museum of Modern Art, Vienna (1998); 6ta Bienal de Cuenca, Ecuador (1998); Sammer Gallery, Marbella (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007); DPM Gallery, Miami (2007, 2008); Galería Sokoa, Madrid (2008, 2009); Seis Realistas de España, Albermarle Gallery, London (2008); And the Dish Ran Away From The Soup, Collectors Contemporary Gallery, Singapore (2008); Now Gallery Miami (2011, 2014, 2016); Colección Gomez, Porsche Museum, Stuttgart (2011), Rarity Gallery, Mykonos, Greece (2012); Galería del Paseo, Manantiales, Uruguay (2015); Galería Diana Saravia, Montevideo, Uruguay (2019, 2020); Irazoqui Art Gallery, Miami ( 2021)
Sculpting Out Our Deepest Fears and Dreams
“Hero’s Journey” is exploring the relationship with the inner child through time and space, connecting, listening, accepting, surrendering, forgiving, thanking, challenging, holding, confronting, shadowing, appreciating, loving, failing, seeing, playing, pushing, healing, questions, and answers towards awakening. -Haidee Nel
Artist HAIDEE NEL
From the artist’s archives
“Hero’s Journey is exploring the relationship with the inner child through time and space, connecting, listening, accepting, surrendering, forgiving, thanking, challenging, holding, confronting, shadowing, appreciating, loving, failing, seeing, playing, pushing, healing, questions, and answers towards awakening. Then for a moment grasping the essence of the True Self. The Journey of the Never Ending Story.”
INTERVIEW WITH THE ARTIST HAIDEE NEL
LES COULEURS: Can you tell us about the process of making your work?
HAIDEE NEL: For the Infantry series-I start with carving the outfits in wood. I then make a mold of the original. I then cast cement into the molds. The limbs are all cast in resin and marble dust. When all the various parts are ready I assemble them, much like playing with lego blocks. The accessories which include helmets and collars are made separately from household found objects, tins, spoons, stainless steel sift mesh, paintbrushes, plumbing materials, whatever I can find.
In my other series such as ‘Growing pains’, ‘Urban Masquerade’ and ‘Shimmer and Shrine’ I carve the outfits in wood as well as the masks.
LC: What does your work aim to say?
HN: My work is a type of bittersweet visual storytelling that aims to address social issues and the relationship with the inner child.
The story is that of a “Hero’s Journey” exploring the relationship with the inner child through time and space, connecting, listening, accepting, surrendering, forgiving, thanking, challenging, holding, confronting, shadowing, appreciating, loving, failing, seeing, playing, pushing, healing, questions, and answers towards awakening. Then for a moment grasping the essence of the True Self. The Journey of the Never Ending Story.
HAIDEE NEL
From the artist’s archives
LC: What are you working on now? Exciting future projects?
HN: Currently, I am excited to explore simple animations with the figures that I have created. It is opening a new world as well as challenges. Hopefully, in 2021 the first attempt can be viewed.
LC: What do you dislike about the art world?
HN: I think inclusivity and exclusivity. But in this new world that we find ourselves with more and more artworks going online we are able to experience Art as a whole.
LC: Who are your biggest influences?
HN: Jane Alexander, Egon Tania, Frida Kahlo, Degas –‘ the little dancer’. And all of my contemporary artist friends.
LC: What’s your background?
HN: I started pottery classes when I was 5, made a sign outside my house, and sold everything to the neighbors in the street. My mom was very upset since I sold her favorite clay sculpture which was a family of 6 owls sitting on a branch.
I received a BFA Honours Degree from the University of Cape Town, Michaelis School of Fine Art with the ‘Dean’s Merit List Award’ for academic performance My Master’s degree is currently pending. I participated in over 80 group shows and 4 major solo exhibitions, in Cape Town-World Art, Johannesburg-Teressa Lizamore Gallery, South Africa, and Belgium-Uitstalling Gallery. In the past 5 years, she participated major art fairs and exhibitions such as Zurich- Switzerland International Art Fair, Zeits Mocca Museum 2020, Cape Town Art Fair, Joburg Art Fair, AKAA Art Fair Paris, Turbine Art Fair, That Art Fair (African Art Fair Cape Town) as well as being selected as participating artist at KKNK Arts Festival, Aardklop Art Festival, Woordfees Art Festival Stellenbosch South Africa. Nel has also worked closely with various charities; this is where her work extends real change in the monetary world. The charity auctions have also allowed her work to be found in important private collections and increase the value of her work. Charities organizations such as Orange Babies (Netherlands), Art Angels (Cape Town), MAD Foundation (Cape Town, London), Les Couleurs (New York, Haiti). Nel's artwork can be found in important Private and Corporate Collections, some of which are the Sasol collection, Spier Collection. I also participated in a two-year group public sculpture installation, Fyn Arts Hermanus, South Africa.
HAIDEE NEL
From the artist’s archives
LC: Which cultural experience changed the way you see the world?
HN: Instagram *; )
LC: Which artist of the past would you most like to meet?
HN: Coffee with Salvador Dali and Louise Bourgeois could be wild!
LC: Was there a pivotal moment when you decided to follow your path as an artist?
HN: Yes, when my daughters were born I decided to dedicate all my work to them, and that I am determined to leave them with a legacy in every way that I can. They are my inspiration as well as my muse.
Together with this decision, I also made peace with that I am mostly unemployable., that time is short and that following and taking action on my dreams is only up to me.
LC: What role does the artist have in society?
HN: As an Artist, it is important for me to find beauty in everything good and bad. By doing what I love I can hopefully inspire and create new perceptions around old worn-out ideas. Art for me is a healing process.
HAIDEE NEL
From the artist’s archives
The Optical Illusions of Beauty, Up Close and Personal
I believe that the intent of creating is an expression and touching someone who resonates with your work. I call for no limitations and for universal inclusion. -Dimitri Likissas
I believe that the intent of creating is an expression and touching someone who resonates with your work. I call for no limitations and for universal inclusion. -Dimitri Likissas
INTERVIEW WITH THE ARTIST DIMITRI LIKISSAS
Artist DIMITRI LIKISSAS
From the artist’s archives
LES COULEURS: Do you believe art should be local or universal? You are currently creating in Greece.
DIMITRI LIKISSAS: I believe that the intent of creating is an expression and to touch someone that resonates with the work, therefore I vouch for no limitations and more for the inclusion of all (universal).
LC: Your pointillism is mesmerizing. Tells us how the technique came about and what it means to you.
DL: Thank you. My art has evolved from my earlier style which included the same single colored dot pattern with a superimposed subject, while today, the main element or subject coalesces within the pattern of labor-intensive, individually colored dots. For me, the pattern of dots serves as references to living organisms, atoms, i.e. the idea that matter is made up of discrete units. These patterned dots cohabitate in harmony. Many ask “Why dots and not squares?” because for me dots (circles) keep on moving and rolling, squares are restrictive.
LC: Thank you for supporting our charity, sponsoring arts education for disadvantaged children in Haiti and Mexico. What advice would you give our young Les Couleurs artists?
DL: It is my utmost pleasure and the least that I can do to support your charity. The advice I have for them is: to love yourself, as no one can love yourself better, why do I say this: in their situation, they might have many thought processes going on in their head and of course being kids, they are in their formative years and are influenced in many ways, to re-iterate: love yourself and believe that you are good enough, don't let anyone tell you things about you, just let that talk go ear in and ear out, believe in yourself, that you are good enough, have a dream, and pursue the dream, there will be ups and downs, doesn't matter -those are lessons, just have the discipline to keep working on your dream and eventually it will materialize. Find out what you like in life and make that your passion.
LC: What are you working on now?
DL: I am currently frantically painting in my studio to meet a tight deadline to show my works this season at Samuel Owen Gallery in Nantucket.
DIMITRI LIKISSAS
From the artist’s archives
DIMITRI LIKISSAS
Joker, 2019
oil on canvas
40 x 52 In
DIMITRI LIKISSAS
From the artist’s archives
DIMITRI LIKISSAS
From the artist’s archives
DIMITRI LIKISSAS
Kate Dominatrix, 2019
Oil painting
106 x 84 cm
41. 7 x 33 in
DIMITRI LIKISSAS
Karl Lagerfeld, 2019
Oil on canvas
33.5 x 41.7 in
85.1 x 105.9 cm
DIMITRI LIKISSAS
From the artist’s archives
Kings and Queens
Artist Gilda Garza,- from violent Sinaloa not only survives but thrives. “Before I knew it my artwork was all around Caesar's Palace and Roberto Cavalli was already making a jacket with my artwork on it. My artwork graced the covers of Playboy Mexico Magazine and it all has been truly amazing.”
Artist Gilda Garza,- from violent Sinaloa not only survives but thrives. “Before I knew it my artwork was all around Caesar's Palace and Roberto Cavalli was already making a jacket with my artwork on it. My artwork graced the covers of Playboy Mexico Magazine and it all has been truly amazing. I feel blessed!”
INTERVIEW WITH THE ARTIST GILDA GARZA
Artist GILDA GARZA
From the artist’s archives
LES COULEURS: At Les Couleurs, we believe in the transformative power of art. Tell us your story.
GILDA GARZA: I am a Mexican artist from Sinaloa Mexico and I have painted my whole life. Art is in my family’s bloodline, my mother is a painter as well as my grandmother on my father’s side. Sinaloa is a state with beautiful beaches, amazing food, their people are very joyful... but sadly it also is a nation that has broken my family’s hearts and my heart because we have been through so much due to the instability that it sometimes presents. We have seen the best times but also the worst, but with God, by our side, we can overcome even the harshest adversity. I feel like I have a need to express how I feel in my art and tell you the story behind every piece that I create. I paint with my heart on my sleeve.
I began painting for my own home, but when I decided to exhibit my art, there was no going back. Before I knew it my artwork was all around Caesar's Palace and Roberto Cavalli was already making a jacket with my artwork on it. My artwork graced the covers of Playboy Mexico magazine and it all has been truly amazing. I feel blessed! I work very hard and I fight hard for my dreams and for what I believe in. I don't know what more life has in store for me or where will I be in the next couple of years, but what I do know is that I will continue to create and paint.
GILDA GARZA
From the artist’s archives
GILDA GARZA
From the artist’s archives
LC: Our mission at Les Couleurs is to inspire, educate and empower disadvantaged children through arts education. What advice would you give to our young art students?
GG: My advice for the children would be to fight endlessly for their dreams and dream big! Whatever they do, do it with love and compassion and amazing things will come your way.
LC: We would like to thank you so much for your generosity in supporting our organization. Why is it important for you to give to a cause like ours?
GG: Every day I thank God for all my blessings and for being where I am now. My way to show appreciation is to help, and I truly believe that if we all would come together and leave our mark in this world, this world would be a much better place. What you guys do is so beautiful because I love kids. They are innocent souls that we have to protect. They are our future. I know this is only the beginning for us, but I know we will do so much more together. Anything that has to do with helping the children you guys can count on me.
LC: Tell us what appeals to you most in the current Miami art scene.
GG: I love Miami! The art is stunning, with so many amazing colors and talented artists and the people there have such good energy. If I could pick a place to live it would be this wonderful city.
LC: What are you working on now?
GG: I am painting kings and queens for my upcoming exhibition including art and fashion with the talented Michael Costello. After this, I head out to Venice to work on sculptures at Murano glass, an incredible gallery. I also have an auction in Mexico City. Great things are definitely coming this year.
GILDA GARZA
From the artist’s archives
GILDA GARZA
From the artist’s archives
GILDA GARZA
From the artist’s archives
GILDA GARZA
From the artist’s archives
GILDA GARZA
From the artist’s archives
GILDA GARZA
From the artist’s archives
GILDA GARZA
From the artist’s archives
GILDA GARZA
From the artist’s archives
The Oman-Based Artist Depicts the Mexican Story in Vibrant Colors
“So I take inspiration from life and people around the world because when you strip the obvious layer of division, we all are the same with the same dreams, same struggles, and same values. It is this human struggle and strife that I love capturing on my canvas.” - Gailani
“So I take inspiration from life and people around the world because when you strip the obvious layer of division, we all are the same with the same dreams, same struggles, and same values. It is this human struggle and strife that I love capturing on my canvas.” - Gailani
INTERVIEW WITH THE ARTIST GAILANI
Artist GAILANI
From the artist’s archives
LES COULEURS: Thank you for the generous donation of your work of art “I Will Persevere” Please tell us the story behind this work of art.
GAILANI: The painting is inspired by a Mexican-American man called Fabian Meraz who came to America from Mexico as a young teenager and had several struggles as he was alone and didn’t have a support system. He joined the U.S Military and served in Afghanistan. He returned as a Veteran with severe PTSD. He got into a deep depression and drugs. He then decided to change his life around and overcame addiction and became a fashion model based in L.A. He inspired this painting which is about rising from the ashes and overcoming the flames of the past with resolve and determination. In the face, I wanted to show his focus to put his life back on track, but in his eyes, I wanted to show the sadness of the past that haunts and pains him. The flames in the background have words graffiti on them stating “I will persevere, I will rise, I will shine”
LC: Our mission at Les Couleurs as a charity organization under our program CREATE is to inspire, educate, and empower. How do you relate to this mission? Do you think art is something that you can educate on or it comes from exclusively exceptional talent?
G: I strongly believe in the mission of Les Couleurs to inspire, educate, and empower. This is the value that I used for myself, my art journey was through battling my demons of darkness that was to overcome childhood sexual abuse and resulting self-inflicted alcohol abuse that I used art to heal my wounds and then started the “Gailani Art Retreats” in Oman. These retreats were creative get-away escapes that used painting, music, and meditation to address challenging chapters of participants. With over 900 participants over 5 years in Oman, their retreats address topics of letting go, sexual violence, bullying, personal freedom using art in a safe environment. We then used the paintings created in showcase exhibitions to highlight how non-artists such as teaches, doctors, and musicians used art to heal and inspire others with their stories.
We are all born artists with creativity, it's just that the world keeps telling us that we can’t be an artist, and keep badgering us that we aren’t good enough. Pablo Picasso famously said that the artist is the child who survived when he said “every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up."
LC: You create in Oman but exhibit worldwide. How much of does your home country inspire, feature in your art? do you believe your art could make Oman a destination for art lovers?
G: I’m an Oman-based artist of Pakistani - Afghani & Iraqi origin, the middle-east, and the Indian subcontinent cultures flow in my blood. But I am also a product of today's global awareness and social media which brings all people and cultures together from Argentina to Fiji Islands onto your devices. So I take inspiration from life and people around the world because when you strip the obvious layer of division, we all are the same with the same dreams, same struggles, and same values. It is this human struggle and strife that I love capturing on my canvas.
Oman is where I started my art career, it is my home and one of the most beautiful peace-loving oases of culture, hospitality, and tradition that inspires me every day to go into my studio and create. But art is art, I feel should not be defined by the origin of the artist or his passport, but rather what it makes the viewer feel. That's what I attribute to the global appeal of my art because it doesn’t have a biased point of view - it is global like we all are global citizens.
Oman is a beautiful venue for art and nature lovers, with the desert, the mountains, the wadis (rivers), fjords and lakes, and above all the most hospitable people that makes it unique in a region that often struggles with peace.
GAILANI
Love Letters to Frida No.2
Acrylic on canvas
130 x 150 cm
52 x 62 in
GAILANI
Love Letters to Frida No.3
Acrylic on canvas
130 x 150 cm
52 x 62 in
LC: How did it all start? when did you realize you want to create above all else?
G: My earliest memory was that of painting from the age of 6 that’s all I wanted to do. it was what fed my soul. However, my family was traditional and didn’t want me to pursue my art and asked me to go to a business school and get a professional career. I did that for many years rising the corporate ladder of the banking industry, and I felt quite a hallow and it was the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo story, that I came across and her works reignited the fire in me, so at a much later age of 35 I started to paint again, and hence I paint so many Frida Kahlo and my self-portraits as I feel her soul guide me through my art. Hence this charity and this cause feel like such a full-circle, I was inspired to paint through the story of a Mexican artist, the subject I painted was of a Mexican born man’s struggles, and that piece to be used by a charity for underprivileged children of Mexico is a full-circle moment for me . . . it is surreal for me!
LC: Now, your global connection to Miami - how did you exhibit for the first time, what brought you to Miami?
G: Well, the journey started when I exhibited in Art Vancouver Canada, and won the “Best International Artist Exhibitor” Award, and was featured in the magazine for the Art Show. Steidel Fine Arts that was showing at Red Dot Miami during the Art Basel week 2018 booked me for their International curated artist's collection. So I had never been to Miami and to showcase my art there in one of the big venues seemed like a dream and was thrilled to be part of it. The love and appreciation I received from art patrons and the artist fraternity in Miami has been overwhelming and a true honor.
GAILANI
I will Persevere
Acrylic on canvas
130 x 150 cm
52 x 62 in
LC: Your Instagram bio says “Where Pop and Street Art Collide on Canvas” - that is a very dynamic description, very appealing. What made you choose that direction?
G: Well, I was always inspired by pop-art and vibrant colors and I had the privilege of participating in the Athens Art Fair and during my time in Greece I saw so much street graffiti of protests and struggles. That struck a chord on me, and I was painting a piece of how we saw the world and I painted a piece titled “Hermes is Sleeping” depicting the Greek God Hermes who is the son of Zeus and the God of travelers and trade. Since Greece was struggling with the migrant crisis and a severe recession, I painted words of protest that I had heard and seen on to the painting, mixing the street with the pop-art. That became something that I felt was a powerful message. Street graffiti has now evolved into brilliant art that the Wynwood Art District is a shining example of success, but I was more drawn to the earlier rudimentary form of graffiti when it was words on the wall to highlight struggle, and that's where I draw my inspiration.
LC: What advice would you give to art students?
G: My biggest advice is to be authentic and true to your point of view. Don’t change to please what the world would like you to become because the viewers can always see if one is “faking it”. And work hard on your craft. Creativity energy needs to be channeled and developed, it needs the practice to find that most authentic voice, and once you find it, not compromise on it. What sets an artist apart is a distinct point of you, so develop your artist statement, so that the story behind the piece has the clarity to put your unique point of view across to resonate with the world at large.
LC: What are you working on now?
G: I’m working on a unique collaboration with an Israeli artist on “stories of women”. It's a unique collaboration that instead of focusing on what divides the woman of my culture and Muslim heritage and the Israeli Jewish culture, chooses to have a dialogue of the aspirations and challenges that unite us. We aim to show that although our passports don’t allow us to travel to each other’s countries, our art can unite what travel documents try to stop. We hope to take it on a global tour and showcase a message of peace to a challenging history of mistrust and violence.
GAILANI
Victory at Any Cost
Acrylic on canvas
100 x 120 cm
GAILANI
Modern Liberty
Acrylic on canvas
120 x 130 cm
Mila Pierce Leaves a Lot Of Room for the Viewer’s Imagination
“A painting is not a picture of an experience, but is the experience.” Most treasured phrase by Mark Rothko that artist Mila Pierce holds so dear to her heart.
“A painting is not a picture of an experience, but is the experience.” Most treasured phrase by Mark Rothko that artist Mila Pierce holds so dear to her heart.
INTERVIEW WITH THE ARTIST MILA PIERCE
Artist MILA PIERCE
From the artist’s archives
LES COULEURS: What is your dream project?
MILA PIERCE: My dream project would be to build an installation that would create an immersive experience at large public or institutional space such as the Guggenheim Museum. Such an undertaking would be a dream come true.
LC: Name three artists you would like to be compared to.
MP: To be honest, I wouldn’t want to be compared to any artist, but the artists I admire and take inspiration from are Mark Rothko, Eva Hesse, Yayoi Kusama. These artists are colossi of art history and I would never dream of comparing myself to such luminaries. But maybe one day I’ll be more comfortable with comparisons to such monumental figures so who knows . . .
LC: If you could work within a past art movement, which would it be?
MP: Without a doubt, I’d want to work within the post-war Abstract Impressionism movement in New York. What a time that was… an explosion of new ideas and fresh perspectives on what art is. I imagine it was an amazing time to be alive and be creating art.
LC: Which artist of the past would you most like to meet?
MP: Eva Hesse without a doubt. I would have so many questions for her. Recently, I watched a documentary about Eva’s life and found her achievements incredibly impressive, not only the immense quantity of work she produced but her strength and devotion to her art too. The aspect I found to be most fascinating was how she found her artistic identity. I admire her greatly.
LC: Who are your biggest influences?
MP: As I mentioned before, Mark Rothko has been an enormous influence on me and I’ll be forever mesmerized by his paintings and ideas. My belief is that there is a spiritual connection between the artist’s creation and the beholder of that work. One Mark Rothko quote that resonates deeply with me is “A painting is not a picture of an experience, but is the experience.”
LC: What does your work aim to say?
MP: My work doesn’t aim to say anything specific as such. Indeed, I would say that the objective is to achieve the opposite, to give freedom to the observer to think and reflect so that they might form their own opinion rather than suffer the imposition of mine. My personality is not one that is comfortable in forcing views upon others.
MILA PIERCE
From the artist’s archives
LC: What themes do you pursue?
MP: My themes are always those concerning humanity’s journey through life, society, and the equality (or lack of) within it. Such issues often preoccupy my mind and spill into my work which isn’t something I can help. Pablo Picasso once said, “Painting is just another way of keeping a diary” and for myself, this is certainly the case.
LC: Why do you love what you do?
MP: The creative process is therapeutic for me, a way to express and leave a record of my thoughts and ideas. My linguistic skills are somewhat lacking in comparison to my artistic ones but were this not the case, there’s no doubt in my mind that I would be a poet. Instead, I was drawn to a world of painting and brushes all my life, which I always saw as a romantic way to exist, to be able to express myself in colors, to live a life and a way to escape life, the real world. It is a fantastic feeling this why I love it.
LC: What are you working on now? Exciting future projects?
MP: I’m currently working on a series of works inspired by women which will be called “The Hidden Shapes Series”. Starting a new series is always an incredibly exciting time for me, I view it as the beginning of something new, like a new chapter in my life.
LC: Was there a pivotal moment when you decided to follow your path as an artist?
MP: No, I don’t think so. My transition was organic and I have taken my art increasingly seriously as I’ve matured as a person. When I was six years old, I recall my mother asking me “what would you like to do?” and I answered that I wanted to paint and so I went to art school. I've always felt like an artist and there was never a doubt in my head as to become one. Although there have been periods in my life when I’ve utilized my creativity in other ways than painting on a canvas, I’ve always been a creator at heart. What has changed in the last six years is that I now devote all of my time to my art and as such, I’m now commissioned to produce far more pieces for collectors than before in addition to running my social media, participating in exhibitions, and working with galleries so I would say I’ve taken things to a more professional level.
MILA PIERCE
From the artist’s archives
MILA PIERCE
From the artist’s archives
MILA PIERCE
From the artist’s archives