pepadmetlla@hotmail.com | M. 636 931 955

Pep Admetlla’s Dark Paintings

Joaquim Español

There exist images which, the moment they hit the retina, seem to split in two and follow two relatively separate pathways through the labyrinth of the brain. One of them activates neurones sensitive to the beauty of shapes, the coherence of strokes, the unstable balance of masses, relations and contrasts, the surprise of some areas of colour which appear to colonise, like weeds, platonically pure shapes. The second pathway runs along other cerebral tracks and activates remote regions of the brain, reminding you of shards of dreams, obscure worlds, words you have on the tip of your tongue but can never remember. In a few, almost miraculous, cases the two separate pathways resonate with each other and both beauty and mystery make qualitative leaps and increase in potency. The shock jolts a rush of endorphins, flooding the arteries of the unsuspecting viewer. It is the wing-tips of beauty brushing against fearful chaos, sending certain, unlocatable organs in the body into a flutter.

In this exceptional case, the artist plunges us into an uneasy silence, seemingly inviting us to venture into – we may have already entered – the dark kingdom of the mentally disturbed, or perhaps to “return to the shadowy echo chamber that is the past”, or the madness of infancy in the face of the vastness of the world. We feel that something is about to show itself. We experience the epiphany of great knowledge, the immediacy of a vital secret about to be revealed, the manifestation of powers found in superhuman creatures. The catastrophe which, as Friedrich Schelling put it, is that which has to be kept hidden and when revealed, struggles to emerge dangerously from the shadows. But then it dissipates like a dream in the morning light. Leaving an irregular crack etched into the brain. Sooner or later we go back to the figures which jolted a cluster of neurones, and we remember them with a shudder.

These are more or less my experiences when approaching Pep Admetlla’s shadowy paintings. Beauty tempting the terrifying. Threatening faces and equally threatening geometric purity. Perfect, yet ominous, architectural bodies. Broad regions of boundless drawing filled with darkness in which an accumulation of figures can be discerned, except for that of innocence. And the artist’s impeccable and mature use of technique, making his nightmarish images even less forgiving, threaten to make them explicit and show an abominable face that would be better hidden.

The experience of art which abandoned modernity fifty years ago and sails seas that often seem to have been painted by a child forces us to ask ourselves a host of questions about the futility of painting in the 21st century. Despite Marcel Duchamp declaring painting dead decades, not to say a century, ago, Pep Admetlla, like other total artists, makes us realise that bold drawing based on a high degree of technical competence and, especially, on the strange gaze of an artist who does not look up to the zenith of the heavens but down into the depths of entrails, lives on in rude health and still has the power to shock and leave a mark.

Una molt bona introducció al mètode de Pep Admetlla

Àlex Susanna

Primer cop d’ull —furtiu— al seu estudi: llibres i maquetes. Paraules i processos, pautes i recerca, models i especulacions, literatura i projectes. Tot barrejat com formant gairebé una unitat de primer indestriable. Segon cop d’ull que esdevé de mica en mica un primer esborrany de mirada: una biblioteca compacta, selecta i interdisciplinària com a teló […]

Una molt bona introducció al mètode de Pep Admetlla

Possible utopias

Pilar Parcerisas

The philosopher Gaston Bachelard said that man is a creation of desire, not a creation of need, and that utopia is his natural destiny. Thomas More published Utopia in 1516, and thus coined the Greek-derived neologism so beloved by Surrealists, particularly André Breton, due to its connections with dreams and desires. There are two subjects […]

Possible utopias

Les pintures fosques de Pep Admetlla

Joaquim Español

Hi ha imatges que, una vegada han tocat la retina, sembla que es desdoblin per seguir dos circuits relativament autònoms dins el laberint del cervell. Un d’ells encén les neurones sensibles a la bellesa de les figures, la coherència dels traços, l’equilibri precari de les masses, les relacions i els contrastos, la sorpresa d’algunes taques […]

Les pintures fosques de Pep Admetlla

Las oscuras pinturas de Pep Admetlla

Joaquim Español

Hay imágenes que, una vez han tocado la retina, parece que se desdoblen para seguir dos circuitos relativamente autónomos dentro del laberinto del cerebro. Uno de ellos enciende las neuronas sensibles a la belleza de las figuras, la coherencia de los trazos, el precario equilibrio de las masas, las relaciones y los contrastes, la sorpresa […]

Las oscuras pinturas de Pep Admetlla

From a notebook full of projects…

Glòria Bosch

And it turns out the far reaches of speculation provide, at times, arguments for practice… Paul Valéry. Eupalinos, or the Architect The first time I came into contact with Admetlla’s work it was as a latent kernel in a black, hard-cover notebook. He had come to see me on the recommendation of his friend, the […]

From a notebook full of projects…

A very short introduction to the methods of Pep Admetlla

Àlex Susanna

A first, snatched look at his studio: books and maquettes; words and processes, guides and searches, models and speculations, literature and projects. All mixed together as if forming a seemingly indivisible unit. A second look gradually becoming a first quick sketch: a compact selection of books, select and interdisciplinary forming a backdrop, and various maquettes […]

A very short introduction to the methods of Pep Admetlla

Utopías posibles

Pilar Parcerisas

El filósofo Gaston Bachelard decía que el hombre es un ser de deseo y no de necesidad, y que la utopía corresponde a su destino natural. Thomas More publicó Utopía en 1516 e introdujo este neologismo grecolatino que tanto gustó a los surrealistas y particularmente a André Breton por su vinculación al sueño y al […]

Utopías posibles

La poètica de l’espai

Carles Puigdemont

Em plau d’allò més saludar la presentació d’aquest catàleg de l’exposició retrospectiva de l’obra d’un artista de referència com és Pep Admetlla. “La poètica de l’espai”, títol de la mostra que té lloc a Can Mario Museu d’Escultura Contemporània de la Fundació Vila Casas a Palafrugell, serà una oportunitat magnífica per gaudir de la seva […]

La poètica de l’espai

Utopies possibles

Pilar Parcerisas

El filòsof Gaston Bachelard deia que l’home és un ésser de desig i no de necessitat, i que la utopia correspon al seu destí natural. Thomas More publicà Utopia el 1516 i introduí aquest neologisme grecollatí que tant agradà als surrealistes i particularment a André Breton per la seva vinculació al somni i al desig. […]

Utopies possibles

Pep Admetlla’s Dark Paintings

Joaquim Español

There exist images which, the moment they hit the retina, seem to split in two and follow two relatively separate pathways through the labyrinth of the brain. One of them activates neurones sensitive to the beauty of shapes, the coherence of strokes, the unstable balance of masses, relations and contrasts, the surprise of some areas […]

Pep Admetlla’s Dark Paintings

Una muy breve introducción al método de Pep Admetlla

Àlex Susanna

Primera ojeada —furtiva— a su estudio: libros y maquetas. Palabras y procesos, pautas y búsqueda, modelos y especulaciones, literatura y proyectos. Todo mezclado como formando casi una unidad al principio inseparable. Segunda ojeada que deviene poco a poco un primer esbozo de mirada: una biblioteca compacta, selecta e interdisciplinaria como telón de fondo, y un […]

Una muy breve introducción al método de Pep Admetlla

Des d’una llibreta de projectes…

Glòria Bosch

I s’esdevé que l’extrem de l’especulació dóna, de vegades, arguments a la pràctica… Paul Valéry. Eupalinos La primera vegada que vaig saber de la seva obra era un nucli potencial dins d’una llibreta negra de tapa dura. Venia a veure’m perquè li ho havia aconsellat el seu amic i gran artista Torres Monsó, però en […]

Des d’una llibreta de projectes…

Desde una libreta de proyectos…

Glòria Bosch

Y resulta que el extremo de la especulación da, a veces, argumentos a la práctica… Paul Valéry. Eupalinos La primera vez que supe de su obra era un núcleo potencial dentro de una libreta negra de tapa dura. Venía a verme porque se lo había aconsejado su amigo y gran artista Torres Monsó, pero en […]

Desde una libreta de proyectos…

The poetics of space

Carles Puigdemont

It gives me great pleasure to introduce this presentation of the catalogue for a retrospective of work by an artist as significant as Pep Admetlla. The Poetics of Space, title of the show to be held at the Fundació Vila Casas Can Mario Museum of Contemporary Sculpture, will be a magnificent opportunity to enjoy his […]

The poetics of space

La poética del espacio

Carles Puigdemont

Es un inmenso placer saludar la presentación de este catálogo de la exposición retrospectiva de la obra de un artista de referencia como es Pep Admetlla. “La poética del espacio”, título de la muestra que tiene lugar en Can Mario Museo de Escultura Contemporánea de la Fundació Vila Casas en Palafrugell, será una oportunidad magnífica […]

La poética del espacio
pepadmetlla@hotmail.com | M. 636 931 955

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