A "new proposition" for aesthetics Born in Madrid in 1970, Lorenzo Fernández, belongs to a new generation of hyperrealist artists whose perception of the world has been profoundly influenced by image. Men and women in contemporary societies, often without realising it, evolve in a universe where an image is imposed on each individual and each social group through the omnipresent media, where the Internet is to date the latest development. Presently, the image can be attached, digitised, dematerialised, transmitted and destroyed in one place and then it can immediately be found somewhere else so as to be spread, copied, reproduced and multiplied countless times. The consequence of this phenomenon is that the realistic image sometimes seems too commonplace and it loses the sacred character of the uniqueness bestowed upon it in the past. Lorenzo's Fernández work is deliberately included in this debate and proposes the definition of new aesthetic values for the XXI century. In his works the reproduction of material and textures, the play on light and shadow, the brightness of the reflections or the realism of its colours are so well-develope that even the most expert eyes will inevitably be surprised by the artist's extraordinary technical mastery. Fernández paints on panels, using oils and acrilycs (...) and the central theme in his work is Still Life. His works are definitely contemporary, wisely composed of different elements bearing symbols that are at times conflicting. Everyday objects intended for mass consumption appear: dice, misshapen tins, flashy knick-knacks, children's toys with or without their soul, diverse and varied hieroglyphs and odds and ends; so do small industrial objects emerge: obsolete electric transformers, dust covered watches with their crystal shattered, pipe gaskets...These commonplace objects are in contrast to noble elements such as fleshy rose buds, almond blossom petals with their delicated veins... Some religious objects also stand out such as rosaries, statuettes eitheir of Buddha or a figurine of a Christian Saint. In short, the Still Life works of Lorenzo Fernández display reproduction of images: Black and white photographs, posters, reproductions of paintings or drawings elevated by our societies to the status of modern icons. Among them you can find a pell-mell of the works of Diego Velázquez, John Singer Sargent, Man Ray, Andy Warhol... The relationship of objects that are quite different from one another pertains to a complex narrative process. It confers upon the Fernandez's work a sometimes moral, a sometimes spiritual view never lacking an obvious stroke of humour. Just as you would find in the works of the Renaissance masters, each painting is conceived in order to be decoded by the viewer. By means of attentive observation and intellectual excercises familiar to art historians and art lovers, each painting acquires a new meaning. Beyond the superficial a truly surprising depth for our time, is unveiled. The viewer will begin to comprehend, perhaps with a sort of vertigo, the full measure of the artist's true genius. Thus a new vision is offered:a whole universe,which had been concealed until that moment, seems to emerge from out of the canvas. (...) Mathieu Petitjean |