Armando Rabadán
Armando Rabadán
Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain
About Armando Rabadán
Spanish purism painter Armando Rabadán uses geographical themes laced with the simplistic beauty of Japanese origami. His enticingly modern works appear to be wholesomely textured and three dimensional, even though they are in fact, completely flat upon the canvas. His “preferred medium of spray, oil, and acrylic on canvas” along with computer sketching allow Rabadán to achieve the unique effect of his earthy and conceptual pieces. Art has influenced Rabadán’s life from earliest years; he spent weekends with his grandfather, a keen painter. “I remember the smell of turpentine from his studio since I was a child.” His keenness to create was obvious, and he soon chose to follow a creative career path; “when I was in high school I decided I wanted to be an architect. Finally, I realized that I was just interested in the creative side of that profession.” He went on to complete his Art’s Degree at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University in Istanbul, where he has lived and worked as an artist for 4 years. Rabadán’s magnetism to the sacred geometry of the earth combines with his love of nature, something a bustling city usually lacks. Focusing on landscapes was a way for him to rediscover his relationship with nature whilst in the concrete city, exploring the relationships between the two seeming opposites, and his current style is a result of this interesting fusion. Rabadán finds comfort in simplicity and applies a minimalistic aura to his pieces. “I reduce the landscape to simple and geometric shapes looking for its essence.” The theme of looking from afar seems finely woven into these beautiful, refreshing landscapes; “they look like images taken by a drone”, where color and simplicity are paramount, rather than referential accuracy. “The works of this series go through a stage of sculptural modeling, which I work with folding patterns from Japanese origami”, Rabadán then applies his unique marriage of synthetic color, oil, and varnish to achieve desired volume and shape on the canvas. Rabadán hopes to touch those who view his art with his ingenious creation of depth, texture, and shadow; “the canvas seems to generate relief, and the viewer feels the intuition of touching the texture, but the painting is totally flat.” His clever application of paint and shape creates a strikingly photorealistic, yet abstract depiction of land from a distance. Recognizing the transient effects that art has on different viewers, Rabadán acknowledges that art may not hold a particular answer the observer is looking for. “In my opinion, artists make questions to themselves or to others but they do not have any answers – they just have the right duty to follow their instincts and, thereby, they are witnesses of their period of time.” He believes that modern artists are a part of modern culture, and thereby “are a reflex of its culture, which is the only thing that can bring hope to save this society.”
Education:
2011 Fine Art degree, Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts, Istanbul, Turkey.
2010 Fine Art degree, University of Seville, Spain.
Academic Affiliations and Residencies
2014 Course IV curator in Valentin de Madariaga Foundation, Sevilla, Spain.
2011 Associate Artist, Tres Culturas Foundation, PLEIN AIR Art /– Huelva / Cádiz / Córdoba / Sevilla, Spain.
2010 Artist Residency, Tres Culturas Foundation, PLEIN AIR Art– Aix -en-Provence/ Marseille/ Nice / Lyon, Avignon , France.
Events:
Awards and Grants
2014 First prize, XIV Contest of Young Creation, City Hall of Sevilla, Spain. (Acquisition)
2014 Recipient, Saatchi Art, Artist of the day.
2014 Nominee, Saatchi Art collection, The Life Aquatic.
2014 Nominee, Saatchi Art collection, Inspired by Gaugin.
2012 Nominee, Saatchi Art collection, AWLTW11/23/11.
2012 Honorary Mention “Aires de Córdoba”, Spain.
2011 Nominee,“Art We Love This Week” Saatchi Online 23rd Dec.
2009 Nominee, V Young Art Competition. Ministry of Transportation, Sevilla, Spain.
2009 Nominee, II “Todotuyo”. City Hall of Sevilla, Spain.
2007 Nominee, III Young Art Competition, Ministry of Transportation, Sevilla, Spain.
Collaboration
2010 Performance, “Memento Mori Istanbul” Art project by Natalie Skobeeva, Istanbul, Turkey
Select Publications
2014 Artam magazine. Istanbul, Turkey.
2014 Milliyet Sanat magazine. Istanbul, Turkey.
2014 Instanbul Art News. Istanbul, Turkey.
2014 Catalog of Exhibition supported by Cervantes Institute, Art350 Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey.
2013 Bali Aution /April, Istanbul, Turkey.
2013 Alif Art Aution /February, Istanbul, Turkey.
2013 Boga, Diciembre/ Mexico.
2013 Herald Turk/January/ Istanbul, Turkey.
2013 FashionandTravel/January/ Istanbul, Turkey.
2012 TASARIM, November/ Istanbul, Turkey.
2012 Maison Francaise, November / Istanbul, Turkey.
2012 AlifArt/11.11.2012/ Istanbul, Turkey.
2012 Dancing in the Darkess, Francisco Pérez Valencia / Cajasol, Seville, Spain.
2010 ″IKAS- ART 2010″ / Koldo Santiago / Publisher Grafilur , Bilbao, Spain.
2010 ″Modus Operandi, Rafa Prada / Publisher La Vectoría , Seville , Spain.
2009 ″Art Joven Edition 2007″: Miguel Ángel Marín / Escadón Publisher Sevilla , Spain
2009 ″Art Joven Edition 2009″: Miguel Ángel Marín / Luque Córdoba Publisher/ Seville, Spain.
Exhibitions:
Select Solo Exhibitions
2017 El lenguaje del centro. Arquemí. Sevilla, Spain.
2016 Memory of nonexistent landscapes, Ap Contemporary gallery, Hong Kong.
2015 Una historia muda, La Galería Roja, Sevilla, Spain.
2014 Lands; Essay of a physical description of the Universe, Art350 Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey.
2014 “Crossroad”, Commercial and Industrial Circle, Sevilla, Spain.
2013 Micro-chromes, Troy Gallery. Istanbul, Turkey.
2012 The chrome, Art Minium Gallery. Istanbul, Turkey.
2011 “Flashback”, 24 Sanat Gallery. Istanbul, Turkey.
ART FAIRS
2016
Contemporary Istanbul, Mixer gallery, Istanbul, Turkey.
2015
Context Art Miami, Ap Contemporary, Miami, Florida, United States.
2015
Art Taipei 2015, Ap contemporary gallery, Taipei, Taiwan.
2015
Kiaf Art Seoul, Ap contemporary gallery, Seoul, South Korea.
2015
Bazaar Art Jakarta, Ap contemporary gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Select Group Exhibitions
2018
Mirando a Murillo, Valentín de Madariaga, Seville,Spain.
2017
Artists against hunger, Sala Atín Aya, Seville, Spain
2016
Cervantes 6, Oviedo, Spain.
2015
Shuffle, 42 MASLAK, Mixer gallery, Istanbul, Turkey.
2015
Open space, Mixer gallery, November, Istanbul, Turkey.
2015
Open space, Mixer gallery, March, Istanbul, Turkey.
2014 Spain and Elgiz’s colletion,Proje4L, Elgiz Museum of Contemporary Art, Istanbul, Turkey.
2013 “We are one”, Arte Aula. Sevilla, Spain.
2013 YAZsummer, Art350 Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey.
2013 “Fusión”. Wabi&Sabi Shop- Gallery, Sevilla, Spain.
2013 St George Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
2012 Dancing in the Darkness. Cajasol Cultural Center, Sevilla, Spain.
2012 Contemporay Art Fair Tüyap. Istanbul, Turkey
2012 Rengin doğası doğanin rengi. 24 Sanat Gallery. Istanbul, Turkey.
2011 Artist İstanbul Art Fair Istanbul, Turkey.
2011 ″Spontaneously”.24 Sanat Gallery. Istanbul, Turkey.
2011 ″The King is Naked”.Asma Sanat Gallery. Istanbul, Turkey.
2011 ″Exhibition of Printmaking 1 “. Fulya Fair and Congress Center. Istanbul, Turkey.
2010 IKAS – ART, Art Fair. Bilbao, Spain.
2010 ″Modus Operandi”. La Caixa. Spain.