Doña Casilda (2009)
Oil on board
40 x 40 cm
BA Collection
Inventory No.: 2009.183.1
The work Doña Casilda is part of a series of ten 40 × 40 cm paintings produced between 2009 and 2010. The series is structured around two fundamental aspects: the theme depicted and the artistic exploration behind each piece.
These paintings are from a period of searching that focused on the artist’s everyday settings. They all start from photographs taken in common settings: urban landscapes of Bilbao, views captured on the journeys between the Faculty of Fine Arts in Leioa and the city, streets, parks, trees and pavements. In this specific case, Doña Casilda is inspired by a photograph taken in the spring of 2009 in the park of the same name in Bilbao. The photo shows a woman from behind, sunbathing in a bikini on the grass. In the painting, light takes on a leading role: it is a study of colour, contrast and saturation, but also an evocation of the beginning of a new cycle of the year, of the return of heat and good weather. The composition and point of view were selected from numerous photographs, taking into account their pictorial potential.
The second aspect, the use of visual arts, also defines the series. These works belong to a stage of experimentation in which the theme functions as a starting point to unfold the language of painting itself. At this early stage of his training – coinciding with the start of his PhD – the artist considered painting a space for play and testing: fluorescent colours, slides, empty backgrounds, strange compositions, loose brushstrokes, and a naïve figuration combine to build the experience of the piece.
Iker Serrano Robles (Pamplona, 1982) has a PhD in Fine Arts. His work seeks to reflect on the language of art, the context of painting and its relationship with the viewer and the artist alike. Thus, painting is again the theme of the work in a subtle symbolic play, depicted through the pictorial narrative. His work has been exhibited at institutions of the ilk of Utopía Parkway Gallery (Madrid), the Museum of Navarra (Pamplona), Artium Museum (Vitoria-Gasteiz) and La Casa Encendida (Madrid).