Today we would like to take a moment to highlight and introduce, new to the portfolio, painter and digital artist, Alejos Lorenzo Vergara.
Vergara’s “Dream Landscapes” provide a surreal window on to the Spanish countryside. The works are unique expressions of Vergara's visions, incorporating elements of his native Galicia and entirely invented features. Influenced by both the visual style of the early surrealists as well as their socially conscious outlook and focus on collective activism, Vergara seeks to create art that uplifts and benefits the people around him.
Learn more reading our Q&A with Alejos Lorenzo Vergara below, and for questions about any of the new works, please call or email the gallery.
"For me, art is like a manifest. Art is the language with which artists communicate and interpret the world around us."
Q. From a very young age you’ve been artistic and dreamt of being a painter. However, you studied and worked in architecture/interior design. What led you to take the leap into the world as a professional artist?
A. Since I was a child, I dreamt of having a family and being a painter. My skills in school were drawing and literature, but the death of my father when I was 14 years old made me focus on the sciences: mathematics, physics, and technical drawing. I couldn't afford to study Fine Arts, so I focused my future on another sector in which drawing is also important, architecture. That being said, I have always painted, and first exhibited at 18, when I began to paint canvases. It's been almost thirty years since then and ultimately, ten years ago, I gave up everything to paint full-time
Sailing Ships
Seagulls
Q. Your inspiration comes from several facets of life, including your home region of Galicia. What about that region of northwest Spain influences you and your work?
A. Growing up, my parents didn’t have a car, so the three of us and my little brother always went by bus to visit my grandparents on weekends. To pass the time I would look out the window at the changing landscapes. I’m a very observant person who loves life and that's why I think I like drawing it.
Galicia is a land of Celtic roots, with many connections to the British Isles, both in the landscape and in its music (with bagpipes, flutes, etc). We have many links in common, including legends and a special relationship with nature, the sea, beaches, forests, animals, etc. The environment creates the customs, the way of being, of speaking, what you do. I think that this is perceived in my work.
A Day With You
Day At The Pool
Q. Like many industries, the art world can be exclusionary and old-fashioned. As a self-taught artist, did you ever feel insecure or experience roadblocks because of your lack of formal training? How did you navigate them?
A. For me, drawing and painting is something that comes from within. I’m very stubborn, and believe that everyone should learn for themselves, because although it is difficult, you become more in tune with the techniques and learning from your mistakes. I am passionate about discovering new techniques for myself and trying them to the best of my ability. The technique is a tool, but what is more important is the predisposition to do something, the interest, the desire to learn.
The Islet
The Pond
Q. The surrealist and pop-art influences are evident in your work, along with artists like Van Gogh, Hockney, and Gaugin. You’ve also described musicians like Mike Oldfield and Lou Reed as major sources of inspiration. How do you translate that into your paintings?
A. Drawing really started to interest me around the age of eight. At that same time my passion for music began by listening to the songs being played in my grandparents' bars. My first purchases were Mike Oldfield, Dire Straits, and OMD cassettes. I admire musicians for their courage and their integrity on stage. Each song is part beauty, part lesson, and that is also what I intend to create with my paintings. Music is my daily battery, giving me strength, but what my body asks me to do is paint. I don't know how it happens but when painting, that music is reflected in what I create, without anything premeditated.
Islands
The Lakes
Q. You’ve stated that art should be utilized where it can be most useful, for example, how you collaborated with a non-profit to show your works across hospitals in Spain to provide some joy when going through hard times. As art is about expression and connection at its core, how do you believe artists and the public can facilitate more of these humanitarian projects?
A. Art has always had two facets for me. The first being to learn what is good and beautiful in life and translate it into art, while the second is that art acts as a window to infinite worlds in which to escape. That is why there are works of art that are beautiful and happy, and there are others that have a sad theme but are equally beautiful. In that respect, I believe art is like medicine for the soul, both for those who create it and for those who engage with it.
At this time, there are so many humanitarian crises - emigration due to war, the pandemic, a lack of hope due to negative information - art must be aware of its therapeutic and educational power. Along with new media, art can help create a better world, both in person, on the walls of homes, educational centers, hospitals, as well as online.
By The Pool
O Rio Beach
Q. What can we expect next from Alejos Lorenzo Vergara, the artist?
A. I hope that my works brightens peoples lives, both in good times and bad. What I think I can expect from myself is to continue learning from what life, through art, teaches me. Despite it always being my dream, I never imagined that I would grow up to be a painter. I’ve learned that in spite of life’s difficulties, if you really love something and have the support of those close to you, things always end up germinating and flourishing.
I remember one day I read that a master painter was asked about his trick for painting, and he replied that his trick was nothing but love. The love for life, for others, for everything that surrounds us while we are on this planet is the basis and the reason why we are here. Sometimes life is difficult, making our hearts and minds hard and cold, but art, as a manifestation of that love, makes us more vulnerable, understanding, and respectful people.
