Fernando
Ureña Rib is a modern painter. He is a
universal artist, and
part of that universality lies in the unabashed sensuality of his
paintings.
They
are permeated with sexual energy that speaks to every one on a
subtle level, seducing the viewer almost against his will. Whether
they are the erotic studies of nudes, or the ascending oblong forms
of his Abstract Paintings.
These
works appeal to our senses. His canvases are like large windows into
another world, alien and yet disturbingly atavistic, demanding a
second look. The shapes in Ureña Rib's canvases are alive, changing
positions ever so slightly, there! Didn't that floating molecule of
light just move?
The
forms of Ureña Rib's works are born of a talent that is as
spontaneous as it is organized. Brought up on classical Art and
having done his share of figurative studies, the artist allowed his
natural expression to find nourishment in that experience, grow and
transform like living organism.
That
exchange creates the movement found in Ureña Rib's art. The shapes,
although Abstract, seem to be in a process of constant
transformation, shifting and undulating with languid tranquility.
Primitive as they may be with their molecular, smooth bodies, these
forms are far from simple.
Their
effect is powerful.
Beauty
is a word critic should use with caution, and a soupcon of doubt.
But Ureña Rib's paintings are beautiful in the abundance of
impressions they provide, from the purely visual to the deeply
psychological. They are doorways for us to walk through and discover
"the importance of the small, forgotten things" and appreciate this
generous artist who has breathed new life into our reality.
Dorota Kozinska
Montreal
