Show Preview | Jesús & Iban Navarro - Southwest Art Magazine

Santa Fe, NM
Gallery 901, July 28-August 28

Jesús Navarro, Lemon Scent, oil, 28 x 39.

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This month Gallery 901 presents the hyperrealistic works of father-and-son Spanish painters Jesús and Iban Navarro. In this, their first United States show, the artists each present 10 to 12 new works. Oil & Water: The Masterful Works of Jesús Navarro & Iban Navarro opens on Friday, July 28, with an artists’ reception from 5 to 7 p.m. The artists journey to the City Different to attend the reception, and they return to the gallery on Saturday afternoon from 1 to 3 p.m. “Both of these artists are hyperrealists,” explains gallery owner Sherry Ikeda. “Their extremely detailed paintings almost mimic what they do with photo-realism, but they actually take it even further. It’s almost a surreal look.”

: Iban Navarro, The Greatest of Memories—YY, egg tempera/watercolor, 30 x 35.

: Jesús Navarro, Among Friends, oil, 28 x 20.

: Jesús Navarro, Healthy Choices, oil, 20 x 24.

Sharing a studio in Barcelona, Jesús says that he and his son Iban “are each other’s teacher and student, as we share and learn from each other. We enjoy exhibiting our work together.” For this show Jesús presents a dozen new still lifes and urban scenes in oil. Included are lush floral arrangements, with every petal and water droplet depicted; ceramic bowls overflowing with fruits or berries, in which a lemon peel is rendered so realistically that the texture can almost be felt; and urban scenes of some of the artist’s favorite cities, including Los Angeles and New York. One painting depicts Paris’ Rue Saint-Dominique at dusk, the darkening street illuminated with shop signs and streetlights and the Eiffel tower looming in the distance, like a beacon in the fading evening sky.

: Jesús Navarro, Love & Vanity, oil, 39 x 31.

: Iban Navarro, Not Far Away, egg tempera/watercolor, 17 x 28.

: Jesús Navarro, Paris, oil, 20 x 31.

Iban has been painting alongside his father since he was a boy, and while he follows his father’s hyperrealistic style, he opts for egg tempera and watercolor; instead of still lifes and urban scenes, the younger Navarro leans toward nautical themes. Born and raised in Barcelona, one of Spain’s northern coastal cities, Iban has an affinity for scenes that look outward from the shore, where small, empty watercraft bob upon aquamarine water under blue skies brushed with clouds. “You won’t see this with other artists,” says Ikeda, “paintings with egg tempera, where water looks like water.” For collectors familiar with Iban’s work, these new pieces show a shift in focus “to the aged rocks and stone in the Mediterranean, with its tranquil waters,” Iban says. “I also did one scene of the Barcelona harbor with the statue of Columbus facing the Mediterranean. My other works are figure studies from live models.” —Laura Rintala

contact information
505.428.0279
www.gallery901.org