Artwork by Marc Ballvé, Sandy (2021)
about Marc Ballvé
Barcelona, 1982
Ballvé's work avoids the finitude and rigidity that, a priori, could be attributed to his precise and meticulous strokes. Skinless characters, often decontextualised, are the epicentre of his medium-format paintings, where the eyes of the beholder are free to propose new narratives that stretch, dynamise and evolve the starting point proposed by Marc. The artist combats the ambiguity of the faceless subjects by emphasising their gestures, taking care of the details of his figures and giving them a very defined style: in this way, we can visualise family members, friends, acquaintances and even ourselves, without the wall that the most immediate physical attributes often represent.
The choice of wood as a canvas is not an accidental one, and is closely linked to the open, organic approach of the artist's work. The plywood acts as the epidermis of the subjects depicted, both from a chromatic and textural point of view and from a vital one, making the ravages of time tangible. Thus, the stories that emanate from these characters remain permeable to the physical and temporal circumstances that surround them, fluctuating and evolving at their mercy.