It's happened again! Latin American art will shine in the next edition of Art Madrid with the presence of more than twenty artists represented by national and international galleries as part of the General Galleries Program of Art Madrid'24.

For our next edition, we will have the presence of Juvenal Ravelo, (Monagas, Caripito, Venezuela, 1934) and we want to share with you how fortunate we feel to have one of the greatest exponents of kinetic art in Latin America.

The artist Juvenal Ravelo, winner of the National Culture Prize in the Plastic Arts category (Venezuela 2008), has been invited to exhibit in the Venezuelan pavilion at the 60th edition of the Venice Biennale, to be celebrated from April 20 to November 24, 2024, under the premise: Foreigners Everywhere, curated by Adriano Pedrosa, artistic director of the MASP (Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand).

Juvenal Ravelo. Fragmentación de la luz y el color. Acrílicos ensamblados, aluminio y cristales reflectantes, 50 x 50 cm, 2023.

Juvenal Ravelo is one of the most prestigious Latin American artists of his time, a master of kinetic art, a pioneer in thinking about the social impact of art in the community, and one of the references of participatory art in the region. And he will be with us at Art Madrid'24, represented by Kleur Gallery. Based in Santiago de Chile and directed by Mauricio Ceballos since its creation in 2014, Kleur Gallery specializes in bringing together artists of different generations who work in the field of abstraction.The gallery's proposal at Art Madrid stands out for the unquestionable beauty and the infinity of physical-spatial possibilities that the new trends take from the genesis of kinetic art, promoting a dialogue between tradition and renovation, under the spectrum of those transformable realities bequeathed by the kinetic movement that emerged in Paris in the mid-twentieth century.

From Europe to Latin America, the current of abstraction has left us masters such as Carlos Cruz Diez, Gego, Carmen Herrera, Jesús Rafael Soto or Julio Le Parc. But the influence of the kinetic movement was more than unidirectional, as Latin American artists moved to other contexts and realities, immersing themselves in the principles of an art form that was permeated with changes in the _perception of real time. _This was the case with Juvenal Ravelo, who decided to go to France in 1964 to study the principles of Kineticism and Constructivism and to delve into the facets of the sociology of art.

Juvenal Ravelo. Fragmentación de la luz y el color. Acrílicos ensamblados, aluminio y cristales reflectantes, 50 x 50 x 3 cm, 2023.

Juvenal Ravelo has lived in Paris for more than thirty years, during which time he has periodically visited his native Venezuela. He has carried out participatory initiatives to bring creation to the streets and to educate citizens, a kind of sensitivity that would make him an active spectator. The integration of the community into the artistic fact, the development of projects aimed at involving the viewer as a participant in the creation of works subject to movement and the perception of visual rhythms, are intertwined to accommodate the symbolic value of a proposal dedicated to social issues. In this way, his initiatives aimed at creating works in the public space have given form to an operation that has made the _Art of participation in the street _one of the most recognizable signs of his artistic trajectory.

Another of his most relevant projects is the "Open Air Museum", which he initiated in his community of Caripito and with which he opened the doors to his well-known Módulos Cromáticos. Once again, the artist echoed the social will of art to involve his fellow citizens in the creation of a project for the community. Participation and play are irrevocably implicit in Juvenal Ravelo's kinetic work.

Juvenal Ravelo. Imagen cortesía Galería Kleur.

The colors, lines and shapes, which as a whole create a reality full of visual rhythms, are presented to the spectator as a capricious game. In most cases, it is up to the spectator, as an agent of change, to activate the process of creation and reception of the work. The works and questions raised by Juvenal Ravelo propose a change in the relationship between people and artistic objects, leaving the orphan the possibility of completing a work without the presence of its interlocutor, promoting a way of creating characterized by portability and playful and participatory components.

Juvenal Ravelo. Fragmentación de la luz y el color. Acrílicos ensamblados, aluminio y cristales reflectantes, 100 x 100 x 3 cm, 2023.

The research, the phenomena of visualization of the artistic object, the processes of fragmentation of light in his works, and his concern to teach the public the vital importance of their presence in activating the work of art, make Juvenal Ravelo one of the pioneers of Venezuelan kinetic art and a timeless artist, capable of identifying and redeeming in his art the problems of each time.

Paula Blanco

CONVERSATIONS WITH MARISOL SALANOVA. INTERVIEW PROGRAM. ART MADRID'25

Paula Blanco (Oviedo, 1996) explores the forms of nature, connecting them with science, territory, and the environment through artistic creation. The mountains, the sun, leaves, and trees serve as inspiration to create structures with clay, pigments, varnishes, and fiberglass, resembling fragments of organic creatures.

Each piece is not a finished work in itself but part of an evolving continuum, as she constantly experiments. Her sensitivity is skillfully channeled into her creations, which seem to pivot on the use of alternative techniques to traditional painting. She seeks to sublimate matter, separating the idea from the object. Her approach to abstraction is ethereal, expressing itself through landscapes and the places where raw materials originate.

The only blue organism. 2024. Mixed media on fiberglass. 98 x 138 cm.

What role does experimentation play in your creative process?

Experimentation plays a central role. Initially, I wasn’t aware of its importance in my process—it just happened naturally. I would follow a narrative thread, and experimentation was my organic way of reaching what I sought. Early on, I distanced myself from the stretcher frame because I found it limiting. I needed the edges of the pieces to be part of the composition, so I used traditional materials like canvas, paper, or oil paint in unconventional ways. I adapted materials to what each work required, without adhering to traditional rules.

Everything came together after a residency in Dubai. When I returned, I felt disconnected from both the work I had created there and my earlier work. It was like a beautiful suit that no longer fit. So, I consciously decided to connect the dots between the different series of works I had done. That’s when I realized the common thread was experimentation.

What I seek—and continue to seek—is the organic. I work with abstract elements, trying to explore the language of matter and elevate it to an almost ethereal plane. My goal is to separate the language of matter to reach something primordial and essential. I understood that experimentation was the foundation of my work, the medium to reach that organic essence from different angles—always through the language of matter and lightness. For me, it’s the most direct path to that essence.

Where the sky is created. 2024. Mixed media on fiberglass. 127 x 166 cm.

What are your references?

When I think about influences, I divide them into three groups:

The first includes artists and creators I consume daily through social media, cinema, or other forms of leisure. Even if they don’t directly relate to my work, they inevitably influence me in some way. The second group consists of my peers, my partner, and the people I share artistic perspectives with. Even if we work on different things, there’s a network of support and mutual inspiration. We recommend materials to each other, share ideas... It’s a more indirect influence but equally significant. Love you, friends.

Finally, there are the core influences: the artists who have marked turning points in my journey. For example, when I started painting, I was fascinated by Sorolla, especially his use of light. Although it’s not evident in my current work, that interest in light remains a crucial part of my language.

Then came Francis Bacon, with his approach to the visceral and the organic in open spaces. I was deeply affected by his ability to compose with central organic masses. Later, I discovered Berlinde De Bruyckere, whose wax sculptures replicate skins full of incredible transparencies and glazes. Her extensive material research to achieve her desired results inspired me to think, There must be a way to express myself, too. A professor once told me that the moments when you’re not painting are just as important as when you are, and he was absolutely right. At that time, Berlinde De Bruyckere inspired me to say, Maybe I shouldn’t be producing right now—just experimenting and taking it slow. Sometimes in art, you want everything now, now, now, but it’s more worthwhile—and productive—to pause and avoid obsessing over production for a while until you find that something you truly want to achieve, instead of struggling with the canvas.

Finally, Nolde was an unexpected discovery. I had never been particularly interested in watercolor or his use of color, but his expressive and free landscapes inspired me to explore color in my work. This was significant because I had always worked with muted tones, blacks, and grays. Seeing his work made me realize I could find my voice in color. Nolde opened up a new path for me, even though all the previous influences remain present in my work, albeit more subtly.

The arch it guards. 2024. Mixed media on fiberglass. 149 x 140 cm.

How do your roles as a cartoonist and painter interrelate?

Honestly, they barely intersect because they are very different languages. I can’t work on both simultaneously since they require completely different mental approaches. For instance, when I was working on my book Qué vergüenza haber nacido (What a Shame to Have Been Born), I was entirely immersed in the world of cartoons.

Cartoons emerged as a tool to organize my ideas about the world—a visual diary. They were incredibly helpful during my formative years, but I feel I don’t need them as much now. Nevertheless, they were fundamental to my development.

I’ve realized that these two parts of me—cartoonist and painter—are very distinct and well-separated. While they might seem to have nothing in common, I believe both are driven by a search for truth, by the need to dissect reality and reach what is true.

In painting, I focus on the organic and the primordial, while in cartoons, it’s a visceral sincerity. So, while they are two very different paths, they share the same destination. Right now, painting is my mother tongue, so to speak. It’s where I feel I can most purely achieve what I want. Cartoons have a more narrative component, helping to put things in order, whereas painting—perhaps because it’s more abstract—reaches corners that cartoons can’t.

Dog howling at the moon. 2024. Mixed media on fiberglass. 194 x 150cm.

What aspect defines your artistic language?

When I work, I constantly seek a balance between chaos and intention. My technique, as I’ve mentioned, revolves around pursuing a primordial organic force. An excess of intention or human intervention could kill that organic force.

It’s about finding balance: controlled chaos. For me, it’s crucial to maintain an equilibrium between the initial idea for a piece and what happens during the process. Although I don’t work with sketches, I always need a starting point: a color, a shape—something that sparks the urge to create. You begin with an idea of what you want to achieve, but it’s vital to remain open to what the work demands as it evolves.

The balance lies between what the piece asks of you and what you initially wanted. Often, your original plan won’t work 100%. That’s why you must be receptive to the piece suggesting new forms or colors. However, it’s equally important to maintain clarity to avoid being swept away by every new idea, as you’d never finish otherwise.

It’s also about balancing the pictorial and the sculptural. Although I approach my work pictorially, it’s evident that it has an installation-like quality. The pieces are translucent, viewable from both sides, and can be hung mid-room, where the surrounding air becomes significant. Each piece needs space around it to fully reveal its form.

Ultimately, I aim to observe the painting as if it were a being, almost with its own body. The uneven contours of the pieces reinforce this concept, creating a balance between painting as an entity and painting as an object.

The intentions of a flower. 2024. Mixed media on fiberglass. 173 x 117 cm.

How do transparency and light influence your works?

Light plays a crucial role in arranging the pieces, especially due to their translucency. I usually hang them in two ways: either on a wall or from the ceiling.

On the wall, the pieces are mounted with magnets to avoid puncturing them—something I find essential. Their distance from the wall significantly impacts their appearance. The closer they are, the more saturated the colors appear, emphasizing their pictorial quality. The farther they are, the more their object-like quality emerges, highlighting contours, textures, and the interplay of translucent layers with light.

Suspending them from the ceiling further desaturates the colors and gives full prominence to their object-like quality. Viewed from all angles, the works reveal their seams, collaged layers, and the delicate textures of overlapping paint.

I prefer natural light for display, as it integrates the work into the space, aligning with my goal of capturing the organic and primordial. These pieces, like fragments of the world, connect with the air and light around them, reinforcing their essence.

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