Carlos Garijo Martínez. The whole for the parts

When it comes to describing an artwork, the adjective “poetic” gets used quite a lot when the piece is especially evocative of feelings and emotions beyond the object it refers to. That word takes on a real dimension, though, when applied to the Valencian artist Carlos Garijo Martínez, who uses the traditional rhetorical figures of literature to load his artworks with intention in a subtle way, one that invites you to wonder about the less obvious meaning of the painting.

They are structures of meaning born out of the association of two elements, the absence of one of them or its reiteration, among other processes. Metaphor, ellipsis or repetition, for example: a newspaper covered in firecrackers, walled-up walls where a door is missing (like Facultats) or light coming in through the window and multiplying in reflections that flood the room with brightness.

The exuberant use of light is a distinctive element in his work, as can be seen clearly in his urban landscapes, almost scorched by the Mediterranean sun. Or in the white, shining backgrounds of the portraits in his Quemados series. Here Garijo sets up a synaesthesia (a mixing of sensations picked up by different organs, and of sensations with feelings): people tearing off their burnt skin, as if they were finally shedding a weight on the soul.

Numerous painting and watercolour prizes vouch for the quality of this artist, who despite his youth shows a command of the technique in both fields, as well as in illustration, where he experiments with a mixed technique using wash. His portraits stand out above all, and they are his most personal output.

They are moving, but not grandiose. They reflect the passing of time and the complicity that comes with years shared, fun with friends, the tenderness of childhood and also oneself, the centre of a self-referential universe with the magic of simple things.

Visit the artworks of Carlos Garijo at carlosgarijo.artelista.com