Get to Know the Fearless Figuration of Alvar
When describing paintings that are deemed ‘childlike’, I try not to overuse words like ‘crude’ and ‘naive’. I now prefer to describe them as loose, because ‘loose’ emphasises the importance of removing the controlled hand that can leave some paintings feeling a bit stiff and sanitised. For me, the best loose painting is characterised by an unhinged energy that breathes life into a piece, even its finished state.
In my own work, I think a lot about new ways of minimising my control over my marks, whether it’s letting paint bleed through from the reverse side of the canvas or using one wet canvas to indirectly smudge and mark another canvas. A lot of the time it comes down to messing about, throwing the brushes aside, and not being afraid to fail in these experiments. Not knowing what you’re going to get is part of the fun.
Painting without fear is something that this week’s artist, Alvar, talks about in relation to his loose style. His abstract figurative works brim with the energy of fast ideas and loose gestures. He even tells me why he likes it when someone stands in front of his work and says, A child could have done that! I asked the Spanish painter a few questions over email. Enjoy!
Hey Alvar. I read one of your Instagram captions where you say, “I am a lousy painter.” What did you mean and were you just joking?
I’m not joking when I refer to myself as a lousy painter. I’m not ashamed of it. I feel that from that position I can relieve myself of pressure and approach things from a more relaxed and free perspective. Being a lousy painter allows me to enjoy the process without worrying about the final result. That feeling of painting without fear is something I truly love.
Some people might describe your style as childlike. Do you think about your style as being related to a child’s drawing?
The best feedback I receive is when someone stands in front of one of my paintings and says, That could have been painted by a child. When that happens, my work gains real meaning. Children paint in an absolutely free way, without impositions, decontaminated. That is something that’s very difficult to find in adults, and it’s what I really aspire to.
There’s a few artists right now like Robert Nava and Marria Pratts who paint in a very loose style. Do you see yourself as being part of a similar creative spirit?
I don't know, this is a hard question! I guess we all seek the same feeling in the process.
I noticed you sometimes paint on the reverse side of a canvas. What do you like about doing that?
When I finish a piece, I usually turn the canvas around so I don’t see that painting. This way, in my studio, I come across those reverse sides that I like to work into. I enjoy having the structure of the canvas stretcher interfere with the process, and by being worked on both sides, I think the piece acquires a different sense of interpretation.
What’s the story behind the figures in your work? Are they inspired by something in particular?
My greatest inspiration comes from the everyday, from the most mundane and universal thoughts, far from grand conceptualisations that, for me, make art something inaccessible. My figures move in a simple and unpretentious environment, focusing more on expression than on concept, more on an imprecise and open narrative than on a final or concrete message.
How do you start a painting?
I like to start without predetermined ideas, letting the process take me, without any rules and guided only by intuition. I would really like to say that I paint, “without thinking about anything at all,” but that is really complicated and is not always possible. But when it happens, that’s when I enjoy it the most.
And how do you know if a painting is finished?
Good question! I never know when a painting is finished. Are paintings really finished at some point, or are they endless? Haha.
Lastly, what are your plans this year?
My plans are to quit smoking until I forget my strong dependence on nicotine, to take care of myself and my loved ones, and to enjoy living more and more. :-)
Follow Alvar on Instagram: @mad_alvar
Things on Our Radar This Week
A new article in Cultured about why the great Robert Nava briefly held back from the art world
Hauser and Wirth released a short doc on the old school French painter Francis Picabia
Plaster mag asks what happens when you’re bored of finding artists on Instagram and “sofa curating”
The Best Painting Shows in London This Month
Joan Snyder at Thaddeus Ropac (ends 5 Feb)
Philipp Zollinger at Approach Gallery (ends 15 Feb)
Porous Abstraction at Alma Pearl (ends 22 March)
‘On Paper’ at Galerie Max Hetzler ft. Karel Appel, Tal R & more (ends 22 Feb)
Virginia Overton at White Cube Mason’s Yard (ends 22 Feb)
Laurence Watchorn Paintings at The Bomb Factory Shoreditch (ends 16 Feb)
Thanks for reading, see you next time!
Oliver & Kezia xx
Palette Talk is free and we hope to grow with your support. If you’ve enjoyed reading, drop us a donation via PayPal…