Photo, paper and wood, 30 x 11 x 2 cm.
Gonzalo de Miguel
Gonzalo de Miguel's work is a fusion of mixed media techniques, merging elements of collage, painting, and sculpture to form textured and layered compositions. His pieces often blend vibrant abstract marks with vintage photographs, and various found materials, creating a thematic dialogue between past and present. This approach not only highlights the materiality of his surroundings but also explores deeper themes of memory and history, inviting viewers into a richly interpretive and emotionally resonant experience.
In the Words of the Artist
Mixed-media collage on notebook, 30 x 21 cm.
My work aims at a synthesis of elements, or at least, that is the direction I want to take. I work with collage in a very plastic manner. I try to ensure that the collage is not just a collage, but that there is a tangible physical trace, like paint or sculptural volume. I call it, intervened collage. I work with earth tones and phosphorescent colors. I collect papers that I have used before. They are stained with paint or have graphics on them.
Mixed-media Collage on wood, 120 x 70 cm
The construction and composition of my collages are based on my more pictorial and sculptural vision, especially in the negative spaces of the collage. Representing the void, a visual silence, is one of my most common characteristics. I am fascinated by encountering old images, the value of the image and how they are physically. Whether they have stains, tears, or are handled. I am interested in the scars or marks that I get from the paper. If it shows the passage of time on it and what it reveals.
Photo, paper & wood, 40 x 8 x 3 cm.
Mixed-media Collage on wood, 160 x 108 cm.
The broken fragments or tearing in the paper or in photography comes from the vision and charm of "ruins" (for the decadent testimony of a remote past). I live in a land of castles and towns that are being abandoned. There is an ancestral aura; particularly the break, it is the gesture, it is the stroke of a brushstroke, it is the movement in the composition. I mimic in the collage what would be, my way of painting. My work is very temperamental and spontaneous. Indeed, it is a very intuitive work and an emotional reflection.
Mixed-media Collage on notebook, 30 x 21 cm.
I usually start working very early. I put on my painting clothes. I always carry with me a wide blue jacket full of paint. I like to know that it's still with me. I have a coffee, roll a cigarette, and put one of my vinyl records on the turntable. I always work with music. During those minutes, I look around my studio and choose what the next medium will be. I have a lot of material to recycle.
Photo, Felt, Wax and Wood, 50 x 7 x 3 cm.
About the Artist
Influenced by Dadaism, Surrealism, and Bad Paintings, Gonzalo De Miguel specializes in intervened collage, blending paper, paint, and photography. He values the character added by the aged and scarred materials he uses, reflecting a naive yet irreverent style. Gonzalo's work is driven by the rapid consumption of images today, prompting him to maintain a disciplined, daily practice to produce art swiftly.
JOIN US IN SPAIN
Mario and Lewis will be in Valladolid, Spain this week for the opening of Los Raros: Nuevas Narrativas del Collage Contemporáneo. This generational exhibition, presented by The Weird Show and curated by Max-o-matic and Cless, is a truly unique celebration of contemporary collage. We will be present to document the opening, and welcome anyone who is around to join us at El Farolito this Thursday, May 9th, at 8 PM for wine and tapas.
Out and About
What to watch, read, and experience, as curated by the Collé team.
▼ READ
Close Encounters with Miranda July
Through her playful and provocative collaborations with strangers, July consistently asks what we want from power, technology, and love. Miranda July: New Society is on view at the Fondazione Prada Osservatorio, Milan, through October 14, 2024.
▼ VISIT
Los Raros: Nuevas Narrativas del Collage Contemporáneo
An exploration of contemporary collage curated by Cless & Máximo Tuja. This exhibition brings together artists from diverse disciplines, for whom collage is not a technique but a tool to explore new narratives and perspectives on the world around us. Opens May 10th in Spain.
▼ LISTEN
Kofū by Meitei
On Kofū, Meitei closes his trilogy of lost Japanese moods with an interrogation of art forms and aesthetics as a provocation — or, as fashioned in the album’s subtitle, a “satire of old Japanese aesthetics”. Each entry’s flavor has earned Meitei acclaim for conjuring a bygone culture through his transportive form of ambient music.