Spanish purism painter Armando Rabadán uses geographical themes laced with the simplistic beauty of Japanese origami. His enticingly modern works appear to be wholesomely textured and three dimensional, even though they are in fact, completely flat upon the canvas. His “preferred medium of spray, oil, and acrylic on canvas” along with computer sketching allow Rabadán to achieve the unique effect of his earthy and conceptual pieces.
Art has influenced Rabadán’s life from earliest years; he spent weekends with his grandfather, a keen painter. “I remember the smell of turpentine from his studio since I was a child.” His keenness to create was obvious, and he soon chose to follow a creative career path; “when I was in high school I decided I wanted to be an architect. Finally, I realized that I was just interested in the creative side of that profession.” He went on to complete his Art’s Degree at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University in Istanbul, where he has lived and worked as an artist for 4 years.
Rabadán’s magnetism to the sacred geometry of the earth combines with his love of nature, something a bustling city usually lacks. Focusing on landscapes was a way for him to rediscover his relationship with nature whilst in the concrete city, exploring the relationships between the two seeming opposites, and his current style is a result of this interesting fusion. Rabadán finds comfort in simplicity and applies a minimalistic aura to his pieces. “I reduce the landscape to simple and geometric shapes looking for its essence.”
The theme of looking from afar seems finely woven into these beautiful, refreshing landscapes; “they look like images taken by a drone”, where color and simplicity are paramount, rather than referential accuracy. “The works of this series go through a stage of sculptural modeling, which I work with folding patterns from Japanese origami”, Rabadán then applies his unique marriage of synthetic color, oil, and varnish to achieve desired volume and shape on the canvas.
Rabadán hopes to touch those who view his art with his ingenious creation of depth, texture, and shadow; “the canvas seems to generate relief, and the viewer feels the intuition of touching the texture, but the painting is totally flat.” His clever application of paint and shape creates a strikingly photorealistic, yet abstractdepiction of land from a distance.
Recognizing the transient effects that art has on different viewers, Rabadán acknowledges that art may not hold a particular answer the observer is looking for. “In my opinion, artists make questions to themselves or to others but they do not have any answers – they just have the right duty to follow their instincts and, thereby, they are witnesses of their period of time.” He believes that modern artists are a part of modern culture, and thereby “are a reflex of its culture, which is the only thing that can bring hope to save this society.” Armando Rabadán is committed to presenting his own questions in his articulate and original style.
