Manolo Vellojín
The Spiritual Side of Geometry
Catalogue essay by Alvaro Medina
November 14, 2014–February 15, 2015
Opening reception: Friday, November 14, 7–10pm
Durban Segnini Gallery
3072 SW 38th Ave.
Miami, FL 33146
Hours: Monday–Friday 9am–5pm,
Saturday 10am–4pm
T +1 305 774 7740
gallery [at] durbansegnini.com
Manolo Vellojín wrote that his intent with his geometric paintings was to “transfigure emotions.”
Colombian artist Manolo Vellojin’s (Barranquilla, Colombia, 1943–2013) first solo show in United States is an anthology of 62 artworks created between 1970 and 2006. This exhibition recalls the 1987 retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Bogotá, where 130 artworks from important private collections were shown. Throughout his life, he distinguished himself as a quiet artist who worked isolated from the world and its potential honors.
Autodidactic, he defined himself towards the mid-1960s, as an abstractionist who identified himself with some of the proportions of Frank Stella and the Minimalists, always adhering to such coherent growth that it made him a painter of lines without becoming a draftsman in the orthodox meaning of term. The symbolism, composition and color of a good portion of his works were inspired by religious ornaments.
“…A good portion of his production identifies itself with titles that have obvious spiritual connotations linked to the realm of the religious—although without any liturgical intentions—the notions of transfiguration and emotions that he mentioned acquire a special transcendence when it comes to analyzing his legacy.
Expressing poetic emotions, whether through music, the written word or visual images, is a habitual practice that does not surprise. But in some instances, the type of emotions that the artist may bring on may cause surprise. What emotions did Vellojín, who passed away in 2013, express in his best pieces? With admirable sophistication and obstinate persistence, Vellojín would express emotions linked to the grief resulting from the permanent absence of a loved one. In this sense, the titles of the works assembled for this first solo exhibition in the United States are eloquent: Sudario, Responso, Viacrucis, Cruzada, Ofrendas, Vanitas, Beato and Templo. This repertoire of references so precise has been summarized in the general title of the exhibition: El lado espiritual de la geometría [The Spiritual Side of Geometry].
This exhibition summarizes in various ways Manolo Vellojín’s trajectory by showing his early works but also works from 20 years later, allowing us to study the artistic evolution and coherence of the Colombian artist. Although not a retrospective, it presents significant samples of the painter’s different stages.”
–Alvaro Medina
About Durban Segnini Gallery
Cesar Segnini, Director and owner, founded Durban Segnini Gallery in Caracas, Venezuela in 1970. The gallery specializes in contemporary painting and sculpture with particular emphasis in artists who have worked with abstract expressionism, abstraction, constructivism, geometric and kinetic art. Simultaneously, the Gallery strives to promote and diffuse new artistic values as well as the historical vanguards that have influenced them. Since 1992 exhibitions are open to the public all year round in the gallery in Miami, Florida. Worldwide, Durban Segnini Gallery is known for its expertise in such areas as the integration of artworks to architectural spaces as well as for its customized consultant services to private collections.
