Magazine 32 (EN), Magazines (EN)

Abel Monagas

Psychology of a Portrait

By Alain Cabrera Fernández

At first glance, the way Abel Monagas Alfonso faces his canvases is surprising. He dedicates hours of study to outline each line. He achieves textures by means of light and shadow, he becomes engrossed in the details of a hyperrealist composition with high aesthetic values, the result of his incessant experimental interest. But when everything seems to be ready for the definitive contemplation, he intervenes again in his work in an unexpected way, giving a final touch that outlines the characteristic smile of the Joker “carmine red” on the admirable portrait of an old woman1. It deconsecrates that moment of ecstasy, a classic in the history of art, and leaves us, to say the least, perplexed before an act of detachment from what has been achieved or, what amounts to the same thing, of artistic emancipation. This process of de-aesthetization warns of a mechanism of resistance to the hedonistic function of art, since emotions cannot be provoked without the open possibility of encouraging certain reflections that transcend the creative limits.

If we analyze the old woman’s face again, we can appreciate its roughness, as if weathered by the passage of time; the penetrating, cold and sad look interpellates us while confirming the severity of life after so many vicissitudes. Productions like this one integrate Abel’s new proposal. His ID project explores from multiple nuances the psychology of the characters (undefined/resemanticized) in the plurality that mark their subjective identities within the current trends of the portrait genre.

Generally speaking, a good portrait should absorb the inner essence of the model beyond his or her visual appearance. It is not enough to demonstrate the technical capacity of a refined pictorial realism if its symbolic “soul” is not also revealed. The emotional and the physical must be in perfect harmony. Abel knows this and does not cease to work on this concept. The result: absolutely frontal executions that, by means of a tight framing, mimic our passport photos, with a predominance of head and torso (or at least, as we suppose it is constituted in its formal structure), although he does not usually repeat himself in the ideas because each bust determines a varied originality.

Let’s see it like this. A figure wears a guayabera with abundant folds of fabric that show even the smallest detail, but where we expected a head with a more or less defined human face to be located, it is replaced by a blue inflatable ball, whose apparent ductility reflects, if we observe the brightness, the origin of the illuminating source. The “square ”2, which could well be represented here as a political leader, prefers to transcend in history by its circular perspective rather than its square straightness.

Other works in the series are constructed from silhouettes. Although the human physiognomy is depersonalized in these cases in favor of the background/figure and the line, the creative force acquires greater weight in the symbolic language by propitiating interpretations related to a distancing from the social context. This system of induced introversion strengthens the dialogic triad artist-work-audience, accomplice receiver of the scenes. Thus, we feel distressed at the impact of a projectile and the blood emanating from the center of the head, or we are short of breath when we think that we are entering an interior corridor, full of labyrinthine spaces that lead nowhere.

Equally valued solutions are those recognized as being based on a more academic style of drawing. I am not saying that the rest are far from this exercise of creation/concentration, but the level of commitment to pure hyperrealism, which emerged in the sixties of the last century, and the precise brushstroke in search of perfection, reaches amazing effects in these pieces. Of course, we should not underestimate the artist’s sharpness when he suggests surrealist forms. Consider the examples of a blonde girl who interprets the action of holding oxygen under water, a man with black skin and a white face, others who cover their faces with a nylon bag or metallic paper, and even the robotic image made up of children’s legos. Abel warns us in one of his Instagram post: “Please Note: This is an oil painting. Not a photograph”, which applies to all his works.

The mask as a sum of identities conquers its omnipresence in this project, perhaps indicating a mechanism of protection against the vicissitudes of destiny or the implementation of a role-playing game to evade reality for a moment. Abel Monagas’ characters become superheroes of their own existence. They will be able to bring a smile to your face, but a reflective one.

1 For a better understanding, check out the artist’s Instagram profile: @abelmonagasalfonso

2 In post-revolutionary Cuba, the term “cadre” is used to refer to political leaders and labor managers who should set an example to society.

Abel Monagas
Abel Monagas
Abel Monagas
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