Jan Valdés Téllez

JAN VALDÉS TÉLLEZ (Cuba, 1979).
"Of love and other unhappiness", 2020.
Oil on canvas.
Attached certificate of authenticity issued by the artist.
Signed, dated and titled on the back.
Measurements: 150 x 175 cm; 160 x 185 cm (frame).
In the artist's own words "Like a hurricane or whirlwind, Jan Valdes Tellez builds a canvas full of symbols and meanings in "Del Amor y otros infelices", a work from the series "En la nada todo cabe". The composition guides the eye through the apparent chaos and leads us to the most meticulous order in the arrangement of the figures, the composition closes the image of calm. To paint is to be abyssed, to contemplate the canvas is to let oneself be carried away by that abyss that the artist opens for us from his peculiar view of the History of Art, which, in many ways, is in itself the History of Humanity. We could get lost in the canvas with a child's game trying to guess who is who, but it will always be more interesting to try to glimpse the reason for the artist's selection. Not only can we find on the canvas historical characters easily identifiable by the viewer, but also the gaze of the artist who immortalized their silhouette. Antagonistic characters become traveling companions in this piece. "Del amor y otros infelices", a work that also pays tribute to the magical realism of Gabriel García Márquez, as a kind of altar, seeks a conciliation, through the kiss, the path of the "hero" and the search for the sophrosyne".
This work was part of the exhibition "Heroes and Villains" which opened the "Centro de Cultura Contemporánea Cárcel Vieja, Murcia, Spain.
Jan Valdés Téllez is an artist of Cuban origin who currently resides in Madrid. He began his academic training at the Academia Nacional de Bellas Artes de San Alejandro in Havana, where he graduated in 2004. His works have been exhibited internationally, notably at the Toronto Art Fair, Canada, the Ludwin Foundation and the Fivars Galleries, Spain, among others.