The tranquillity of his early years living in the countryside and his passion for cinema made him idealise the lifestyle presented by classic Hollywood cinema. After studying Fine Arts in Madrid, Jaime Urdiales began to travel the world and discover the possibilities of painting to express what an ideal location would look like on canvas. After his resounding success in the United States, Jaime Urdiales returns to his origins to surprise us with “Hidden Scenarios”. His new and captivating project presented at ESTAMPA Contemporary Art Fair 2023 with the Ponce+Robles gallery has hung the sold out sign.
“Hidden Scenarios” consists of ten pieces that ingeniously divert the main theme of the work, inviting the viewer to enter into a fascinating journey of discovery, full of hidden messages full of irony and humour. The composition of each painting becomes a guide, diverting attention away from the main theme and drawing the viewer into the secret messages hidden in each scene. The choice of colour plays a fundamental role in this series, as a specific colour predominates in each work.
The distance between the work and the spectator becomes a determining factor when it comes to perceiving the hidden messages. Depending on the distance, different aspects of the pieces will be revealed. From a long distance, the collection as a whole will be appreciated, presenting itself as a study of the chromatic circle and its variations. At a medium distance, the details and hidden scenarios that Urdiales’ ironies contain will be revealed. Finally, at close range, the hidden messages will be fully revealed, challenging the viewer to interpret the hidden language of the work.
HIGHXTAR (H) – For those who don’t know you yet, who is Jaime Urdiales?
JAIME URDIALES (J) – First question and I’m already using GPT chat. Here goes; “Sorry, but I have no information about an artist named Jaime Urdiales in my database until my last update in September 2020. He may be an emerging artist or may have gained notoriety after that date. If you have any further details or questions about contemporary art, I will be happy to help as far as possible.”
(H) – What was your first contact with the art world like?
(J) – I have always been seduced by all kinds of visual stimulation, I am fascinated by everything that surrounds the image. I am a product of my generation, after all, I think we have been brought up with more images than any other.
I have been drawn to art in an emotional-vocational sense, wanting to share it with others. Music is the clearest example of what art can generate in the masses. It’s easy to tell if you like a song or not. If it makes you dance or not. If it makes you cry or if it lifts your spirits.
I want painting to be the same. I want people to transmit their feelings when they see my work, in the end, just like a billboard, my aim is that my work doesn’t go unnoticed, that it has a message and that it generates a memory.
(H) – Where does all the imaginary of your artistic work come from?
(J) – I think my greatest influences are somewhat unsuspected. I am a connoisseur of art history and especially of the most representative artists of the 20th century. I’m fascinated by advertising, mass culture, junk culture…. Those kinds of things that are so reviled and that nobody wants to pay attention to and that seem to have no place in the world of art and culture? Those are the things that attract me. Of course you can talk about Warhol, Hockney, Hopper or West Anderson. Anyway, I think my influences are quite obvious. I don’t do anything to hide it in my work.
(H) – Your day to day in the studio, what is your creative process like?
(J) – The day to day in my studio I don’t think you can define it in one answer. There is no routine. There are days that are full of contemplation, watching memes, looking at photographs I’ve taken in the US, watching TV or ending up watching videos that warn that aliens are coming on TikTok. I don’t apply a very specific filter, I trust YouTube’s algorithm and limit myself to absorbing information that will later end up in the works.
There are other days when my studio looks like Patricia’s Diary; a run-down set where things are happening all the time.
Other days I have deadlines and pressure to finish the work on time. Depending on when you visit the studio I can have the face of a 20 year old or look like my father who is 59 years old.
(H) – What techniques do you use in your work?
(J) – I had always heard that once you try oil painting and make it your own you never use any other technique. If this was the game of your life I would say; That’s… bullshit! But it is true that oil painting is alive and it seems to me that other materials are less so. I mainly use oil and acrylic depending on the sheens and textures I want to achieve. I also use spray paint, felt-tip pens, pencils…
(H) – What have been some of your most important projects so far?
(J) – All of them have been important but perhaps the ones I’ve enjoyed the most are the last solo show I did in New York in May and recently ESTAMPA has been incredible.
(H) – You’ve just presented your Solo Project at ESTAMPA Contemporary Art Fair 2023 with Galería Poncea+Robles and you’ve already sold out. What does this mean for you?
(J) – It scares me to think about sales, numbers, prices… luckily my brother Andrés is in charge of the business project of this small company. Thanks to this, I can dedicate myself body and soul to create, to be documented and to research. I’m very grateful that people are taking such an interest in my work and I also love meeting collectors and finding out a little about why they decide to buy my work.
(H) – What differences have you found in showing your work in a fair and in a gallery?
(J) – The spaces are totally different. A gallery is a container where there is a relationship between gallery owner, artist and collector and it’s more intimate. The fair is alive, I enjoy being a guide when they let me use the microphone and tell the jokes and secrets that my paintings hide. The fair is an open space that exposes me, they know that I am the artist and that allows me to infiltrate, observe and listen.
(H) – “Hidden Scenarios” is the title, why this name?
(J) – All the works are inspired by realities, often hidden or reviled for not being in accordance with the creative lines of current advertising, but they are nonetheless part of the social imaginary. In all the pieces there are hidden messages that the spectator must decipher, which is why they are a full-fledged wake-up call, just like advertising in all its epochs. By means of two scenarios (the main one hidden), the spectator was invited to investigate and return attention to these advertising spots abandoned by society.
(H) – What is the main theme?
(J) – The main theme is the advertising of the end of the 20th century, cheeky, direct, clear and concise. Nowadays many of these outdoor advertising formats are part of the cities, without going any further, what would some of our landscapes be without the Osborne bull, the Schweppes billboard, the Tío Pepe billboard… they no longer have a commercial function, but a patrimonial function. This happens to me in all my travels and in the international lifestyle that this profession has made me adopt over the last few years.
(H) – On what basis have you generated this body of work?
(J) – The works revolve around the chromatic circle, each work has a specific colour and order. I use billboards, signs, neon lights to establish a visual dialogue with the spectator, to draw their attention and literally get them to approach the piece and discover the irony of the hidden messages.
(H) – Hidden messages and secrets are some of the elements that stand out in your work. What meaning do they have? How do they relate to each other?
(J) – These hidden messages and secrets that I include in my works are rewards for curious people.
(H) – Future plans.
(J) – With Health; to continue creating all my life. Based on the strategy we have developed this year, my future plans are between London, New York, Dubai and Spain. The project I’m starting to work on now is Feria ARCO with Ponce + Robles.
Estampa Contemporary Art Fair 2023: everything you need to know.
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