Items Similar to Silver Man
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 8
Marc Gonz Silver Man2023
2023
About the Item
MARC GONZ
THE HIDDEN GAZE
When confronted with the universe of Marc Gonz, we discover creations that seem to be the result of a working session of a hyperactive action painter who could not stop feverishly adding layers and layers of paint to the canvas. But these beautiful waterfalls with a profusion of colors are obviously not the work of an uncontrolled improvisation. Instead, as a painter, Marc Gonz carefully applies the chosen touches of color to the surface until they take their final, almost sculptural form. What he wants to achieve is a three-dimensional painting that occupies space and not just covers the wall on which it hangs. The artworks look like the stiffened remnants of his artistic process.
The technique Marc uses is close to the classical painting method called "impasto": he mixes his paint on the canvas itself and applies it in such thick layers that the strokes of the brush or painter's knife are clearly visible. In this way, the painting acquires a special texture and it seems as if the paint emerges from the canvas and grows buirently like some kind of fungus or strange unknown plant. 'Impasto painting' was first discovered as a technical experiment in the 17th century when some Baroque style painters tried to represent the volume in folds of clothes or the texture of jewels. Artists like Rembrandt, Frans Hals, and Diego Velázquez attempted Impasto to skillfully depict the minute details like folds, wrinkled skin or the sparkle of elaborately crafted armor, jewellery, and rich fabrics. We also find it in nineteenth-century landscape, naturalist and romantic painting, where it was used by painters like John Constable to convey the raw, rugged tumble of rocks, soil and cliff faces with a rough, experimental energy. In the twentieth century we see how Van Gogh used it to ‘express the turbulent emotions of his artist’s mind'. Also Fauvists like Maurice de Vlaminck or Andre Derrain brought the technique to their experimental territory.
Expressionist and abstract painters like Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Karel Appel or Frank Auerbach went even further and searched for a direct relation with the action of the body and the application of paint on the canvas, by dripping or smearing the paint on the canvas with their hands. And in fact we can also how nowadays painters like Richter, Kiefer or Peter Doig keep exploring the possibilities of texture in paint.
Most of Marc Gonz's recent works are portraits or fragments of human faces: we recognize the shape, see ears, noses and lips of figures that look like young men. What is striking about all
these works is that behind each of these layers of colored paint we can repeatedly discover a human eye as a kind of underlying, central point. It is the only part of the canvas that seems to have been spared from the aggressive splashes of color. It is as if the person portrayed is looking at us from this virgin place, from underneath the various layers. It is a human eye, buried by the overdose of paint. The person portrayed seems to hide behind a bizarre colorful burden of a mask. The works seem unwilling to reveal their true soul.
The artist sometimes describes his works as "winks of foam”. By a "wink" we mean a blink, the rapid opening and closing of an eye, to greet the viewer and give him a sense of complicity.
It is as if from behind each work someone is looking at us, seeming to want to answer our curiosity, yet observing us from behind its protective colorful camouflage.
Marc's works are clearly portraits of people we identify as anonymous, adolescent or younger men. Sometimes he betrays their origins ("Thai eye"/"Candy man"). They often look a bit like clowns with cone-shaped Pierrot hats on their heads. They seem innocent and friendly freaks that emerge from the artist's imagination. The shape of their heads and their entire faces are covered in color, as if a giant, colorful birthday cake was thrown in their faces. The excessive amount of paint does indeed resemble a colored cake and reminds us of the famous Laurel &
Hardy movie "The battle of the Century" in which more than 3,000 whipped cream cakes were used in an epic cake fight. The figure of the comedian and the clown is a melancholic personnage: at the same time victim of accidents and reason for our laughter. They are tragicomic beings whose lives are made up of laughter and tears. We find the same kind of personnages with the filmmaker David Lynch : the main characters of "The elephant Man" and "Eraserhead" are the same kind of melodramatic and strange peronnages.
Indeed, the contours of their monstrous appearance can be somewhat compared to the faces of Marc staring at us.
Like Lynch Marc is fascinated by the mysterious, the spiritual and the occult. He likes to describe his works as meditative exercises who talk about the spirts hidden behind the colorful façade. The artist invites us as viewers to dive in our subconscious and with our eyes scrap the paint away to discover the hidden soul of each work. This way the eyes that are looking at us from behind the abstract surface will reveal us their secret as an echo.
Erich Weiss
2023
- Creator:Marc Gonz (1974, Spanish)
- Creation Year:2023
- Dimensions:Height: 45.28 in (115 cm)Width: 39.38 in (100 cm)Depth: 5.91 in (15 cm)
- More Editions & Sizes:UniquePrice: $6,515
- Medium:
- Period:
- Framing:Framing Options Available
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:BARCELONA, ES
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1988213649412
About the Seller
No Reviews Yet
Vetted Professional Seller
Every seller passes strict standards for authenticity and reliability
Established in 2014
1stDibs seller since 2022
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Shipping from: BARCELONA, Spain
- Return Policy
Authenticity Guarantee
In the unlikely event there’s an issue with an item’s authenticity, contact us within 1 year for a full refund. DetailsMoney-Back Guarantee
If your item is not as described, is damaged in transit, or does not arrive, contact us within 7 days for a full refund. Details24-Hour Cancellation
You have a 24-hour grace period in which to reconsider your purchase, with no questions asked.Vetted Professional Sellers
Our world-class sellers must adhere to strict standards for service and quality, maintaining the integrity of our listings.Price-Match Guarantee
If you find that a seller listed the same item for a lower price elsewhere, we’ll match it.Trusted Global Delivery
Our best-in-class carrier network provides specialized shipping options worldwide, including custom delivery.More From This Seller
View AllBranches 2/2
Located in BARCELONA, ES
It is a work that explores nature through a subtle play of shapes and colors. The branches, intertwined and extensive, symbolize the interconnection and latent force of nature. It in...
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
Anguish & Resignation 80
Located in BARCELONA, ES
The choice of pink for the stones is deliberate, emphasizing that this is not a naturalistic depiction. Ortega begins his paintings on a magenta base—a color that does not exist natu...
Category
2010s Conceptual Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Linen, Oil
Branches 1/2
Located in BARCELONA, ES
It is a work that celebrates the vitality and complexity of nature. The branches, protagonists of the composition, extend in all directions, symbolizing growth and the expansion of l...
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
Afectata I
Located in BARCELONA, ES
Felix Campean's work presents intense colors and slightly distorted shape to create a deep atmosphere. It invites the viewer to reflect on their identity and the relationship betwee...
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
Anguish & Resignation 79
Located in BARCELONA, ES
The choice of pink for the stones is deliberate, emphasizing that this is not a naturalistic depiction. Ortega begins his paintings on a magenta base—a color that does not exist natu...
Category
2010s Conceptual Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Linen, Oil
Tree
Located in BARCELONA, ES
It is a work that uses an intense color palette to explore the connection between nature and humanity. The central tree is captured, imposing and majestic. Green leaves suggest life ...
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
$3,490
You May Also Like
Vintage Original Old Hollywood Portrait -- Peter Lorre with Yellow Scarf
Located in Soquel, CA
Wonderful old Hollywood portrait of a middle aged Peter Lorre (1904-1964) by Charles Kingham (American, 1895-1984), circa 1955. Unsigned. Acquired with oth...
Category
1950s American Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Linen
Alejandro, Oil/Linen, Figurative Painting , Cuban-American Artist, Mythology
By Edel Lugones
Located in Houston, TX
Alejandro is an oil on linen painting by Cuban-American artist Edel Lugones who lives in Miami, Fl. It is 17 x 14 unframed and the gallery is waiting fo...
Category
2010s American Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Linen
Turn of Century American Figurative Maine Lobster Fisherman - Grandfather's Joy
Located in Soquel, CA
Turn of Century American Figurative Maine Lobster Fisherman - Grandfather's Joy
A Old Lobster Fisherman ponders the future and the joy of grandchildren. Wonderful turn of century Ame...
Category
Early 1900s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
Early 20th Century Likeness of Jack London
By Robert Alexander Graham
Located in Soquel, CA
Early 20th Century Likeness of Jack London
Wonderful portrait of a gentleman with a striking likeness to Jack London by Robert Alexander Graham (American, ...
Category
Early 1900s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
$2,120 Sale Price
20% Off
"Porch People" - Figurative Composition in Oil on Linen
Located in Soquel, CA
Bold composition of two people on a porch by Majel McHugh Logan (American, 1916-1982). Two people sit facing each other on a porch, backlit by warm sun. The piece is sketchy but confident, with thick brushstrokes adding high contrast shadows and highlights. Although the subjects' faces are undefined, there is nonetheless an expressive quality in their body language.
Signed "Majel Logan" in the lower right corner.\
Artist's tag on verso with title.
Presented in a wood frame with a gold accent.
Frame size: 14.75"H x 16.75"W
Canvas size: 14"H x 16"W
Majel Logan (nee McHugh) (American, 1916-1982) was born in Utah. After graduation from St. Mary of the Wasatch College in Utah, she studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. She continued to study at Idaho State University before eventually settling in Santa Clara, CA. Although she was a professional artist at the time, she nonetheless continued her studies at San Jose State University in the 1970s.
By the mid-70s, she had won 43 awards in state, regional, and local competitions, including Fiesta des Artes (Los Gatos...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
$680 Sale Price
20% Off
Teofimo, oil, ARC Salon Finalist, Portrait Society of America, Florence, Italy
By Matthew James Collins
Located in Houston, TX
Teofimo was painted over several days in the artist studio in Florence, Italy. The painting measures 16 x 12 with a handmade frame from Italy. This is oil on a linen panel which mos...
Category
2010s Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil, Linen, Panel
