Andrés García Ibáñez

Alegoria

1 Mar 2012 - 16 Apr 2012 | 24 Bruton Street, London

Alegoria sees Andrés García Ibáñez continue his exploration into themes of the sacred and profane, using contemporary life as a stage setting he highlights our often hypocritical moral values and beliefs. Featuring Venetian allegories adapted in the vein of the visceral Spanish Baroque painters such as Zurbaran and Murillo and masters such as Titian or Tintoretto, these complex and detailed compositions come to life through a skilful command of his medium.

‘Ibáñez’ fascination with the Venetian spirit comes from the co-existence between power and genuflexion, between the ancient and the modern, luxury and sensuality and a constant affirmation of pleasure – breaking boundaries between the sacred and the profane.

To be able to express this complex and heated set of ideas, to which the artist dedicates all his working day, he needs to give expression to a series of symbols which can be classified into three obsessions, classical culture, eroticism and power.’

Through using this mix of catholic catechism and modern mainstream, Theology and Art History has become a melting pot with which Ibanez composes his contradictory narratives. A powerful combination of wit and damnation, Alegoria challenges even the most benign of viewers to remain indifferent.