Where imagination, reality, nature, humanity… become one.
Painter Alejandro Pasquale shares his vision of the world which he translates into his art.
Your figures are usually with their eyes or faces covered and surrounded or shrouded in foliage. Can you explain this way of depicting your subjects. Can you also discuss your love of nature and how it reflects in your work.
It is a way of not individualizing the human, but of making him or her part of a whole thing. Surely when we see a painting of a portrayed human being we immediately go to the face, and many times to identify a resemblance to someone or to evaluate that face. By completely or partially covering the faces, I cancel that possibility, the observer no longer sees a portrait, rather than an amalgamation of living beings that are part of the same nature.
My love for nature is simply because I can see it. I can feel it and live and coexist with it. I am sure that whoever allows themselves to feel part of her will not dare to hurt her or despise her. Whoever simply stops to contemplate this wonderful planet in which we cohabit with so many other living beings, will undoubtedly fall in love with it, feel part of it, will care for it and protect it with their own actions, and will try to correct the harmful actions of other humans. In my work I try to convey the unity that I feel with nature, of which I believe we are a part of, and I believe that it is vital for humanity to once again understand itself as a part of it and not just the owners of it. We are an impermanent part of it!
Do you paint with a theme and idea in mind and execute it close to how you planned, or does a painting’s result and meaning change over the course of working on it?
I work from ideas or visions. From these ideas I make sketches and base the painting on them. Many times it varies in terms of composition, elements, and so on, but yes, I execute my work based on ideas and sketches that arise from them.
What’s your process when approaching the start of a new painting or collection?
I work every day, even many weekends too, a week or two may go by without a specific project, but I am always sketching or painting. From what I mentioned above, I do not have a process or ritual to start a work, but a way of life which are my daily routines. In these routines I try to meditate very early every day, once I finish the meditation I go to my studio, play music, light incense and prepare a drink called Mate – it’s an infusion that is drunk in this region practically throughout the day. I paint from about 8am to 4pm, some days more, some days less. Since I live in a house in the middle of the mountains of Argentine Patagonia, I go out a lot for walks in the mountains and the forest with my dogs. I like to take advantage of the last hours of sunshine to do so.
Since you are self taught, what methods did you tackle to teach yourself the techniques you use and to master how you work with oil paint?
Every painting I make is a new challenge, I really learn in every new job I start. My way of learning is to not to be afraid to do it, I just do it, in the painting everything has a solution. If it doesn’t look good, it can always be fixed.
How would you describe the art scene in Argentina? How do you get your art fix in Argentina?
Despite participating in galleries, art fairs, and exhibitions for many years, I am not immersed in that world here in Argentina, and I am not interestedto be. My art is simply my tool of expression. I have many artist friends, whom I go to their exhibitions, but it’s not that I make compulsive tours from gallery to gallery. I am more of a lover and consumer of musical art than of visual arts without a doubt… it’s just that I found my tool of expression in painting.
What music do you listen to in the studio?
I listen to a lot of music. I like to make lists and discover new musicians everyday. Some of the artists that I play a lot in my studio are (in no order of importance): Aldous Harding, Hermanos Gutierrez, José Gonzalez, Big Thief, Kevin Morby, Flavien Berger, Blur, Helado Negro, Masego, Wilco, Radiohead, Mathieu Booagerts, Tommy Guerrero, Skinshape, Gustavo Ceratti, Luis Alberto Spinetta… I think that I could mention thousands of names!
Where will you be exhibiting next and what are you working on now?
I just finished an exhibition in Toronto, Canada. The next one that is already scheduled is a group exhibition at Beinart Gallery in Australia this month, March 2024, for which I am working on some small works for the exhibition. Also this year I have scheduled some collective and solo shows with ASCASO gallery in Miami/Venezuela and with SAISHO Gallery in Madrid.
