“The Beach” by Jesus Zamarron

12 1/4"x 15 1/4"

ARTIST - JESUS ZAMARRON

Jesús Zamarrón is a mid-career artist, whose work has been exhibited internationally both in Europe and the United States. He has a bachelor’s of Fine Arts, from Complutense University in Madrid, and a Masters of Art Education from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.

According to Javier Melian of Chrom Gallery, there is always something magical and spiritual in his work. Like a trance or a path to a deeper level of consciousness which one could only find in his art. I always admired the intensity of the colours and the violence of his strokes which bear the essence of the Spanish imaginarium whilst serving as an introspective magnifying lens to his universe. An eclectic amalgam of styles, he defines himself as a modernist; "I am a contemporary modernist artist. My strokes might suggest that I am an artist from the past, but the elements, and structure of my compositions are fresh, from these times". His paintings are imbued by the raw, intense colours of his native land. Reds, yellows and ochres of the Spanish landscape and spirit. "The stories in my paintings tend to be dark, in a colourful bold way, if that makes any sense". Zamarrón reaches beyond the mundane to alter one’s perception of the world, and make it a more metaphysical art. An art critic said: “Zamarrón represents the subjects in his paintings with respect, but also these subjects are viewed from a new angle. They prompt the artist to manipulate their forms by entering an unusual conceptual layer. In other words, Zamarrón’s interpretation of the supernatural and the faith that purports it is very, very unique. At once happy and terrifying, dynamic and stale, his traces are reminiscent of the primitivism of a Matisse or a Cézanne. Nobody can deny that a certain flare must be expected of a Spanish artist, but Zamarrón’s theatrics are subdued, his gestures under control, but nonetheless strongly pulsating within the innards of his canvases. In conversation he appears simultaneously aloof and goofy, but in the end his heart is one of gold. This shows in his pictures. They are most heartfelt, they are authentic, generous and completely non-trivial. Like a García Márquez novel, fantasy is just around the corner for Zamarrón. The world is a miracle waiting to happen. Rather, it is a constant stream of hidden miracles, overlooked by most people, who are too busy to appreciate art, appreciate the muse, the execution of a concept in a magical sense…too busy to really live. Isn’t that sad? That’s what our painter asks himself, or anyone who would listen. Why the need to rush, why the race to nowhere, why the addiction to the electronic mirages that surround all of us? Zamarrón thinks that we should free ourselves from that tyranny, with the help of attainable pleasures: friendships, food, laughter and art.” Zamarron’s art is, as the person: spontaneous, generous, universal, touching. It belongs to everyone. It’s where life comes alive.

"In my paintings I enjoy expressing spontaneity and randomness through color. It gives the painting a type of freedom and ease that contrasts the deeper voices of the subject matter, the story behind. So at the end my art is about life itself. A struggle between the yin and yang, the laughter and the seriousness of being alive. I feel like I am a citizen of the world, like many other Spaniards now have to leave their country in search of a better life, and many people in this world have to do the same. My art is represented in aggressive and raw intense colors that I take from my native land, and the light of both countries where I have been fortunate to live, the Californian and Andalusian sun. The red colors, the yellows and ocres of the Spanish landscape and spirit, just like the collective historical psyche of the Iberian population holds true to the “tragic sense of life”. I believe my art is universal and nomadic, as I feel like a gypsy painter at times. Me and my art are evolving and changing daily. My work is a transformation of memories, reality and dreams into one visual narrative. To create my compositions I combine images from my imagination, dreams, books, magazines, and the internet. This fuels my creative process."

Jesús Zamarrón, is an artist who loves to draw and paint a variety of eclectic themes, including interiors, portraits and crowds and landscapes. He has been painting recently the light of the landscape of his homeland, and also of his adoptive land, California, where he has lived in San Francisco for more than 1/4 of century. His intensely evocative treatment of bright bold colors and the psychological subject matter make his art very unique. You can feel the artist's joie de vivre in the way the paint, symbols and characters flow in his canvases. His signature bold brushstrokes, capture the light with a moody sort of melancholy and nostalgia. There is a metaphysical vision and weight in his work. He paints the street life of the "city by the bay" and its people. He enjoys the surreal and the strange, but also the laughter as a means of survival. The fundamental is the spirit and the soul, the core of his art. His style of painting comes from within and it is not very formal or calculated. It belongs to the expression and mood of the moment, it is a visceral approach to painting. His art incorporates vibrant colors, light, expression, feelings, darkness, liberation, hope, sadness, laughter and moody quirkiness. Jesús Zamarrón’s art has a hint of all of this and more.

Currently, he alternates his work as an art educator (SF Arts Education Project) and a professional artist. He continued with his studies in art and graduated with an MA, Masters of Art Education from the Academy of Art University. He has also studied multimedia and art in California, at the universities of San Francisco State and Berkeley, respectively.