Today we’d like to introduce you to Mauricio Paz Viola.
Mauricio, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
Many life situations inspire me – artists are a little different in the sense that we see differently. I was born in a small town on the shore of La Plata River with the most gorgeous sunsets in the world, carnival, Murgas, candombe, bohemian life, good wine and beautiful women.
One of the things that inspire me is beauty – be it the beauty of architecture, the beauty of landscape, or a beautiful woman. I like African aesthetics a lot, and in fact my most recent series “Extravagancia Dark” is based on African notions of beauty.
There is one thing that inspired me in particular and this is the first time that I talk about the experience: when I was 17 I had a spiritual experience – I was lying on the ground but weightless, and I was gazing up at the stars in the sky, when all of a sudden, four aging beings with white beards and measuring about 12 to 15 feet in height looked down upon me and said that they would protect me throughout my life. I had a mystical conversation that lasted for a few hours where I saw fantastical images and landscapes. From that moment on my whole world was different, and I try to seek the meaning of that encounter to this day.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
My works focus on the spiritual, the essential, on the cosmic union, the future…I aim to create paintings that can help the viewer in their spiritual growth, and I believe that to be the direction of art in this millennium – spiritual growth more than social or political critique, as art is an manifestation of the spirit, which is the truth and the future of art.
There are lots of recurring elements in my works, such as transparencies, overlapping images or colors, repetitions of lines, elements and objects…Additionally, there are the weightless objects and elements, floating shapes, circles, spheres and cubes. Saturated colors and different color schemes can also be found in one painting, such as in the ones of “La Nada en el Vacio”, which I started in 2011 and continues to work on until this day.
One of the recurring themes in my work are images of an erotic, sensual character. In the majority of my works, elements alluding to feminine and masculine sexuality can be seen, resembling curves, ovaries, phallic symbols, and other visual narratives having to do with the concepts of fertility, reproduction and creation. I believe that sexual energy is one of the most important creative forces of the universe (a point also shared by Hindu teachings), and I represent this vital force in a physical way to capture and express the creative part of being and the divine spark in one’s self. I am most fascinated by sex– not only the carnal act between the animals that we are, but as a sacred act present in all creations. The word sex comes from Latin “sexus”, or “sectus”, meaning separation. Hence, it is an act that repeats itself perpetually to create and re-create, in the realms of math, physics, chemistry and even in the field of cosmology. If one looks close enough, there are sexual acts everywhere – not just in human beings, and it is beautiful, unique and good. Perhaps my point of view is inspired by Gurdjeff, who holds that all manifestations of self is sexual as sex is the most important prototype of the human machinery.
I am also influenced by ancient civilizations, especially the ones buried underneath history – Incan, Egyptian, and Sumerian Civilizations. It seems that the true story of us humans is stranger than science fiction. I devour information on these forgotten histories insatiably, exploring mysteries, hidden worlds, aliens, parallel universes – topics of importance in life and yet no one seems to be interested in discussing or knowing, perhaps to escape from the constant prodding of the age-old question of where we came from, where we are going and who created life itself.
In a nutshell, a constant theme of my work is life itself as it is manifested in nature, the universe (or universes) and the infinite worlds and dimensions of which we know nothing, towards which biology, science, art try to grapple… in a word, LIFE.
How do you think about success, as an artist, and what do quality do you feel is most helpful?
The success is relative, the simple fact of creating and having the ability to create art, that is to be successful, but in reality, what we really call success in art is valued by the art market, it seems that today MORE IS BETTER.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
You can see my works on my website, and many of the social media, always looking for me with my name.
The best way to collaborate is to share, dialogue, communicate, as well as the works are available for sale.
I am always available to any questions from people.
Contact Info:
- Address: 328 60th Brooklyn New York
- Website: https://www.mauriciopazviola.com/
- Phone: 8313242142
- Email: violapaz@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mauriciopazviola/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PazViola-Art-Gallery-194827717352546/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/pazviolaart
Image Credit:
Series Extravaganza, 2016, oil on cardboard,-IMG_0048
Extravaganza retrato de hombre gatoillustration, 2016,
Essentia 2015, watercolor on paper, 11.4 x 16.5 in,
Essentia 2015, watercolor on paper, 11.4 x 16.5 in,
Portrait, erotic faces, 2017, mixed media on paper. 9 x 12 in,
Portrait, erotic faces, 2017, mixed media on paper. 9 x 12 in,
The guardians of the Ark. Mix and collage on cardboard, 2016,
The spirit of the stones. Mix and collage on cardboard, 2016,
The extravagant dark, pastel on paper, 11 x 14 in, 2017,
The extravagant dark, pastel on paper, 11 x 14 in, 2017,
Silent serenity, oil on canvas, 23 x 27, 2015,
Water, oil on canvas, 23 x 27 2015,
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