DIDIER LOURENÇO

Der spanische Künstler Didier Lourenço (1968-2023) stammt aus Premià de Mar, einem kleinen Ort unweit von Barcelona.
Im Alter von 19 Jahren erlernte er im Atelier seines Vaters Fulvio die Kunst der Lithographie. Kurz darauf richtete sich Didier in der väterlichen Werkstatt eine eigene Mal-Ecke ein, wo er fortan mit Ölfarben auf Leinwand und Papier experimentierte. Als Broterwerb druckte er Lithographien für namhafte katalanische Künstler der späten 80er und frühen 90er – wie z.B. Joseph Maria Subirachs, Francesc Artigau, Josep Pla-Narbona, Josep Guinovart, Jordi Alumà oder Rafael Bartolozzi Lozano. Geprägt vom Stil und Können dieser Künstler entwickelte Lourenço seine ganz eigene künstlerische Handschrift und präsentierte bereits 1988 seine erste Solo-Ausstellung mit Lithographien und Leinwänden.
Im Jahr 1991 gewann Lourenço mit seinen Arbeiten den „Banc Sabadell Prize“ (“Sala Parés Young Painters Contest“), einen wichtigen Preis für junge spanische Talente. Die Auszeichnung ermöglichte ihm bereits mit 23 Jahren die Teilnahme an einer Gruppenausstellung mit dem Titel: “7 New Realities” in Sala Vayreda in Barcelona. Diese Ausstellung markiert bis heute einen wichtigen Meilenstein in der Karriere des heute 50-jährigen Künstlers, eroberten seine Bilder doch rasend schnell eine Fangemeinde und es folgten viele Solo-Ausstellungen in Kunstgalerien in ganz Katalonien, Madrid und Valencia – und bald auch in ganz Spanien.
1995 zog Didier Lourenço in sein eigenes Studio, wo er in erster Linie malte, aber auch seine Leidenschaft der Lithographie verfolgt. Im Jahr 2000 wurde schließlich Winn-Devon, ein kanadischer Verleger von Druckerzeugnissen, auf das Werk von Didier Lourenço aufmerksam und vermarktete seine Bilder weltweit. Diese globale Präsenz zog wiederum das weltweite Interesse von Galerien nach sich, die seine Originalgemälde weltweit ausstellen wollten. Lourenços Bilder hängen mittlerweile u.a. in Galerien in New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Nashville, Las Vegas, Miami, Atlanta, Hongkong, Südafrika, Puerto Rico und Singapur. In Deutschland vertritt die GALERIE KUNSTSTÜCKE MÜNCHEN den spanischen Künstler exklusiv.

In the last few years Didier Lourenços artworks have undergone a process of synthesis and reduction of narrative. This has made room for the emergence of a range of topics focused on the human being and its existence. Simultaneously his production has been arranged in series which allow the exploration of specific concepts through variations and new developments. For example, in the series Walkers and Bicycles, which the exhibition at GALERIE KUNSTSTÜCKE shows, the depiction of people going to and from, address issues such as anonymity, communication or loneliness along with movement. But the atmosphere of the show in GALERIE KUNSTSTÜCKE is also set by two new series, Neighbours and Invisibles, which broaden the area of attention with insights into the idea of private and public life as well as the part that gaze plays in relating to others.
Neighbours expands the customary repertoire of intimate artworks to present a domain that goes beyond the inhabited room. The artist introduces absurd situations as fishing in a fish bowl, hovering above the bed or having a peacock in the house, as well as outdoor activities. For example enjoying being on a swing or playing tennis, next to ordinary home related situations. By depicting them side by side he is appealing for imagination, reverie and poetry to be part of everyday life. Furthermore, he establishes a link between indoors and outdoors that echoes in the double meaning of some furniture fittings as the shower-rain and the lamp-sun or lamp-moon. By doing so the pictures turn into metaphors of the personal sphere built on each one’s choices, likes and interests, which is the shelter where we recharge our batteries. Another feature that underlines the private character of these scenes is achieved through the framing of the compositions, which places the painter-spectator as an outsider, a voyeur dishonestly looking at what happens inside the rooms.
In the Invisible series, the relationship with the place we live is translated through the repetition of a decorative pattern that defines both the figure and the room where the woman is dwelling. It prompts a game, where one could read that she feels closely identified with her own place or, on the contrary, is disorientated. Thus, it is inviting us to think about individual expression, fashion or alienation. However, a key trait of these paintings is the fact that these women maintain eye contact with the spectator, which puts them in a different situation than the one found in Neighbours. That is, they are aware of being watched and consequently they do not act spontaneously, rather they pose with chosen objects. Therefore, one could argue that the purpose of the patterns and pets could be to show themselves in a chosen manner as much as a type of disguise, as a means of offering a seductive image as much as protecting their intimate world from the gaze of a stranger.
The last set of paintings in this exhibition is Brooklyn that resumes Didier Lourenços interest in describing a universal face. One of his areas of work during the last decade has been the female countenance that has undergone a progressive synthesis resulting in profiles combining different features. Now, the Brooklyn visages underline the ethnic richness through the breaking down of colour in facets. And not without symbolic meaning, this new inclusion supports the redoing of the overall portrait of the human being.

(Text: based on a text from Helena Battle)