The hauntingly beautiful art of Alfredo Palmero combines the legacy of Spanish painter Diego Velázquez and the modern works of Jackson Pollock to create paintings that straddle the line between the contemporary and the classical.
Alfredo Palmero with his Meninas series.Palmero is exhibiting his latest body of work at Lily Pad Gallery West in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, running through the end of June. The show features a large selection of works from his Meninas series, which captures young women in lavish ballgowns of bright, bold colors that take up close to half of the composition. “These paintings are contemporary portraits that are heavily influenced by classical painters,” says Palmero. “They feature both abstract and representational elements and depict characters that do not exist in the real world. However, these characters are symbols of transcendence, pure life, beauty, magic and mystery.”
Menina del Lazo Beige, 2023, oil on canvas, 51 x 36¾"
The artist is inspired by both the Old Masters and the great artists of modern and contemporary painting. “I would say that my paintings are part of a personal universe, in which the sources of inspiration are diverse,” he says. “I would [also] say that in my work, the genre of portraiture in its multiple manifestations is important…My works are not realistic since, in most cases, abstract, symbolic or [surrealist] parts appear.”
Menina Azulita, 2023, oil on canvas, 41 x 31½"
He continues, “Both Velázquez and Pollock are artists who have had a significant impact on my work. Velázquez is one of the greatest painters of all time, and I admire his clarity and the ease with which he executes his compositions. Pollock, on the other hand, is all about energy [and] a certain order within [the] chaos. I try to bring these characteristics of these two geniuses into my own work, but in an arbitrary way.”
Menina de los Collares, 2022, oil on canvas, 31.9 x 25.6"
Menina Grana y Oro, 2023, oil on canvas, 63¾ x 51"
Palmero has been exhibiting his work throughout Europe and across the world since the early 1990s. In addition, the Palmero family has founded two private museums in Spain.
Collectors will have the chance to meet Palmero at Lily Pad Gallery West on Sunday, June 16 from 2 to 4 p.m. —
Lily Pad Gallery West 215 N. Broadway Milwaukee, WI 53202 • (414) 509-5756 www.lilypadgallery.com
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