Ullate, No. 10, Mixed Media Painting

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A mixed media painting on canvas by ullate ( guillermo pérez pérez jiménez ) 1943-2018. This large abstract mixed media … Read more A mixed media painting on canvas by ullate ( guillermo pérez pérez jiménez ) 1943-2018. This large abstract mixed media on canvas by ullate is one of a series of paintings from his ‘transitional phase’ circa 2000. Signed with ullate's non conformist 'thumbprint' signature and dated 28 - which is a reference to 28 years post death of picasso (ullate was greatly inspired by picasso as an evolutionary artist). This painting is a rich 'sand' yellow with great depth in texture, which is exemplified in his 'transitional phase' works. The natural pigment colours continually change in different light and times of day. Known as an experimental artist, he was continually drawing inspiration from his surroundings and this series draws on the colours and textures of his native navarra. He enjoyed walking the streets, surveying the natural ‘art’ that his eye would see in colours, textures and layers on decaying buildings, often adorned with graffiti, set within the seasonal colours of navarra - ranging from spring greens to autumn rusts. Texture is as important to this series as colour and was built up in layers over time and ullate would continue to return to each painting over months to add that extra layer, scrawl or touch until his heart was content and that he could evolve the work no more. The natural pigments in combination with mapped textures is captivating, conveyed with the sheer scale of these works. They appear to capture light and change in each setting and time of day, holding the viewers gaze in what can be described as a connection of heart, from which they were conceived. Ullate’s career emerged along with the tourist industry in gran canaria in the 1970s. As a very talented portraiture artist, he earned his family keep by painting the portraits of many early german tourists in hotels, resulting in his own studio in maspalomas up until 1989. During the 1980s he experimented with abstract and expressionist portraiture. By the 1990s his work had morphed into graffiti related street art, often exhibited throughout spain, germany and portugal. After 1989 his studio moved to portugal for 9 years before a studio move to girona (further 4 years) before a return to his native navarra in the north of spain. Purely by chance we happened across some of his work on display in a local restaurant in navarra, autumn 2024 and were immediately captivated. After some research, we were fortunate to be placed in contact with a family member who very kindly allowed us to access ullate’s remaining studio works. Awards and exhibitions; 1960 2nd prize in the ii youth art competition of navarra, spain 1961 2nd prize in the iii youth art competition of navarra 1962 1st prize in the iv youth art competition of navarra 1963 1st prize in the v youth art competition of navarra bronze medal in the vi national competition of artistic orientation madrid group exhibitions; 1962 collective exhibitions in zaragoza, pamplona and the national exhibition in madrid 1966 collective exhibition in zamora, spain 1967 collective exhibition in barcelona, spain solo exhibitions; 1964 exhibition at the municipal savings bank of pamplona, spain exhibition at the institute of studies, lleida, spain 1989 exhibition at the spanish institute of culture in munich, germany 1990 ‘national landscapes’ exhibition at galerie jeanne in munich, germany 1996 exhibition at the plaza del punto, casa colón in huelva, spain ‘public characters’ exhibition at the maria campina conservatory in faro, portugal. 2002-2006 opens the kunsthalle gallery in girona with a permanent exhibition of his work. 2007 exhibition at the obanos cultural centre in navarra, spain. See less