An expressive power that springs from within forms is the starting point for Luis Olaso’s oil and acrylic works, in which an expressionism that manifests feelings is mingled with symbolism and the meaning of lines, forms and colours is accentuated via the visual tropes that the artist brings to the fore. This subjective approach draws on Olaso’s own feelings, state of mind, and personal views.
Olaso is more interested in the mental impressions that are awoken through the tension between the colours, texture and multi-dimensional surface than he is in narrative. The extrovert energy is captivating, and is particularly evident on the canvas through the structure and tones. His spontaneous painting style underpins a creative mode of expression in which he seeks a deeper meaning through the materials.
The self-observation and the personal approach reflected in the works make them like portraits of Olaso himself; with the human figures replaced by flowers, plants or objects. He is fascinated by visual tension, the drama generated by the contrasts, and the disruption of order, and, just as expressionism’s role models Edvard Munch, Hilma af Klint and Wassily Kandinsky depicted internal feelings in colours, forms, symbols and movements, Olaso, too, wants to render the human body through allegories.
The title of the exhibition ”El pájaro blanco” (in English: ”The White Bird”) has two meanings for the artist. On the one hand it is a metaphor about freedom as a symbol of the unattainable in the popular culture of Andalusia in southern Spain. At the same time, it acts as a tribute to a Sevillian music group from the 70’s called Triana, which is Olaso’s greatest inspiration when it comes to approaching artistic practice.
Olaso is more interested in the mental impressions that are awoken through the tension between the colours, texture and multi-dimensional surface than he is in narrative. The extrovert energy is captivating, and is particularly evident on the canvas through the structure and tones. His spontaneous painting style underpins a creative mode of expression in which he seeks a deeper meaning through the materials.
The self-observation and the personal approach reflected in the works make them like portraits of Olaso himself; with the human figures replaced by flowers, plants or objects. He is fascinated by visual tension, the drama generated by the contrasts, and the disruption of order, and, just as expressionism’s role models Edvard Munch, Hilma af Klint and Wassily Kandinsky depicted internal feelings in colours, forms, symbols and movements, Olaso, too, wants to render the human body through allegories.
The title of the exhibition ”El pájaro blanco” (in English: ”The White Bird”) has two meanings for the artist. On the one hand it is a metaphor about freedom as a symbol of the unattainable in the popular culture of Andalusia in southern Spain. At the same time, it acts as a tribute to a Sevillian music group from the 70’s called Triana, which is Olaso’s greatest inspiration when it comes to approaching artistic practice.
