By Cynthia Anzures Kielman
Gustavo Duque is, above all, a painter full of artistic sensitivity, whose recurring—and at the same time always newborn—themes are: the couple, loneliness, and great existential questions such as the meaning of life, transcendence, freedom, and, of course, love. If there is someone who presents a continuum about the human couple in his work, it is Gustavo Duque.
It is impossible to remain indifferent to a painting by Duque, whose work is neither abstract nor figurative, realistic nor surreal, but of a genre that he appropriates to generate his great originality and a language that is uniquely his. Be it landscapes, characters from here and there, radiant flowers, eloquent ceramic vases, beings that move from their exteriors to their interiors, Duque invites us to accompany him into his world.
His paintings speak to us of everything that surrounds us, and even beyond our own projection. His works show the lonely human being, who contemplates his surroundings, unmoving and silent, with an eloquence that is almost disturbing. Each figure faces their destiny, sometimes without even knowing it; each figure is the protagonist of his own future.
In the exhibition Destino y Origen (Destiny and Origin), his brush focuses on handling the chill of an iceberg or the voluptuousness of the skies. His colors and strokes show us a spiritual state—passionate, emotional, and sensuality of humanity. The individual appears alone, yet at the same time eager for belonging, transcendence, and containment. Duque’s works take us by storm and make us reflect on the images presented.
The exhibition will remain until January 15, 2023 at Casa Europa Mexico.
