J.M. Vidal Souto

JOSÉ MANUEL VIDAL SOUTO (Orense, 1948).
"Anger".
Mixed media on paper.
Signed in the upper right area.
Measurements: 65 x 50 cm; 77 x 62 cm (frame).
José Manuel Vidal was part of the group "Os artistiñas", together with masters such as Acisclo Manzano, Jaime Quessada and José Luís de Dios. Self-taught, his work is characterized by a multitude of figures, with which one can glimpse a certain degree of social denunciation. He began to exhibit his work in the 70s, with exhibitions in Orense, Santiago de Compostela, Vigo, Tui, Madrid, etc., and has done both painting and murals (Manaus in Brazil, etc.). Both the tones chosen (mostly flat colors) and the figures (geometrization, surrealist details, etc.) are clear elements that show a relationship with certain approaches contributed by the pictorial avant-garde that emerged from the late nineteenth century in France.
The present work shows a chromatic range of vivid tones such as ochers, pinks, blues,... (Some of them are the usual ones in Vidal's work, chosen after his trips to Brazil). The figures shown have a clear surrealist air, with a remarkable expressiveness. Certain elements refer to a deeper meaning, alluding to that social denunciation that is also common in the master's career, directly related to simplicity and rurality.
After presenting his first exhibition in Ourense in 1970, from this point on and throughout this decade he will be part of a new style called "Bombillismo" together with Alexandro and Carlos Vello. Vidal Souto considers at this time that "the paintings are the reflection of the soul of a painter. It is the portrait of his being. Therefore, the clearest reflection of an artist is his work".