Interview with Antonio Vidal

(L-R) Cuidador Amamantando (Breastfeeding Caretaker), 2024. Acrylic on canvas. 36 x 54 in. La Luna y la Bestia, 2024. Acrylic on canvas. 20 x 24 in. Photo courtesy of MAMA Projects

By CLARE GEMIMA July 22, 2024

In dialogue with Clare Gemima, Antonio Vidal delved into Liquid Thicket, his debut solo show, recently on view at MAMA Projects.

Vidal's most striking paintings, like Cuidador Amamantando (Breastfeeding Caretaker), and La Luna y la Bestia, as mere examples, use archetypal iconography and mythological themes to visualize hallucinatory intersections of reflective reality, the artist’s personal philosophy, and playful myth and folktale.

The painter and I discussed the concept of the “potential honesty of paint”, as touched upon by the exhibition’s writer, Giorgia Alliata. Vidal explained how his technical manipulation of transparency and color, achieved by applying thin layers of hyper-liquid paint, reveal his painting’s material history through exposing and concealing different aspects of the work's surface, resoundingly coloring her metaphor.

The conversation also examined how the mirrored and refracted treatment of figures in Vidal’s much larger works served to de-emphasize individual identities, while in contrast, his series of small-scale portraits featuring lovers and friends adopted a distinctly different approach.

Vidal’s use of techniques in Liquid Thicket showcased a collection of works that overflowed with a warm fluidity between self and other, and underscored how the painter’s on-going conceptual and technical strategies shape his own, and other’s evolving interpretation of his paintings.

Clare Gemima: Antonio, how does your use of archetypal iconography shape the interplay between religion, reality, and myth within your paintings? Are these archetypes intended to be universal symbols, or do you tailor them to specific cultural contexts?

Antonio Vidal: I understand Archetypes as universal symbols that traverse through religion, cultures and individual symbology. Even though the use of archetypes in my work are derived from my relationship with personal narratives and mythologies, my intention is for them to resonate with the individual experiences that the viewer might have, regardless of the cultural context.

Clare Gemima: Similarly, your use of mythological and erotic elements seem central to this body of work, seen particularly highlighted in works like Cuidador Amamantando (Breastfeeding Caretaker), and La Luna y la Bestia, (both 2024). How do these themes interact with one another, and what insights do they offer into the human condition?

Antonio Vidal: I am thinking about both things constantly, and therefore it is hard for me not to see one in the other. It is also important that the correlation between the two is not as direct in the paintings – they exist as parallel lines that fly along very close to each other, but never touch. I need them to operate more like puns where sometimes they hit and sometimes go over your head. I am not sure what insight they offer into the human condition, but they offer a lot into my own condition, and hopefully this resonates with whomever encounters it.

En 4 (In 4), 2024. Acrylic on canvas. 49 x 86 in. Photo courtesy of MAMA Projects

Clare Gemima: The press release for Liquid Thicket, written by Giorgia Alliata, mentions the “potential honesty of paint.” How does your technical manipulation of transparency and color serve to explore this concept? In what ways might the materiality of paint itself inform this metaphor?

Antonio Vidal: The way I construct the elements in these paintings is by layering very thin coats of hyper-liquid paint on top of each other. This reveals the history of the painting, from the underpainting, the mistakes that were “fixed”, the final surface, and everything in between. I think Giorgia is referring to that, everything is concealed under a transparent veil that is not trying to hide anything.

Clare Gemima: Alliata also suggests you use your own body as a reference for the anthropomorphism of your characters. Is there a performative aspect in your process that informs the final result of your paintings? What role does your physical presence play?

Antonio Vidal: My intention behind this is to remove the relevance of the identity of the subjects. Whenever we see a figure we have a tendency to assign a specific identity to it, and by repeating the same “generic” features in the characters, it makes their identity less important. This is also the reason why the characteristics of the portraits are so different from the larger works, because they are referencing real people in my life.

Clare Gemima: Your figures are described as multifaceted and often mirrored or refracted. How does this type of treatment of the human form influence your viewer's perception of identity and subjectivity within your work? How do you approach self-representation?

Antonio Vidal: I think a recognition of the self in a reflection will always generate a refraction of the persona; it's you…but it isn't. The way the subjects are presented as a watery reflection of the “original” subject creates the illusion of the reflection being more real than the real. We consistently recognize ourselves in external objects, and it's certainly enhanced with social media. The other side of Narcissus losing himself in the reflection of the pond.

In regards to self representation, as cliche as it may sound, every painting is a self portrait. I am old school in that way.

Disfraz de Primate (Primate Disguise), 2024. Acrylic on canvas. 62 x 72 in. Photo courtesy of MAMA Projects

Clare Gemima: Your paintings often blur the lines between abstraction and figuration. How does this merging influence the narrative quality of your work? In what ways does the tension between abstract forms and figurative elements contribute to the overall psychological impact of your paintings?

Antonio Vidal: Blurring the lines allows one to forget the rules of conventional representation. It gives me permission to do whatever I want, and to make the paint look as sexy as I can. The forms emerge from the paint instead of the paint rendering the forms. I think this gives breathing room for multiple lectures infused in its surface.

Clare Gemima: Your work involves a deliberate exposure of similarities between different aspects of nature. How does this approach challenge or reinforce existing dichotomies between the natural and the human-made, the familiar and the alien?

Antonio Vidal: The distinction between nature and human-made is such a complex subject. On one hand, since we are part of nature, the ways in which we transform the world should be part of the same. On the other hand, this is a dangerous idea because we can use it as an argument to justify almost any transformation or destruction of the natural world. The flora I use in my work is a suggestion of nature. A tree trunk is a tree trunk regardless of it being a palm, willow, or pine. It's a caricature that, even though we cant spot it in the real world, will be recognized as flora in an open scene. The intention behind this is positioning the setting within an ambiguous and temporal space. It can exist in the distant past, the present, or the future.

Tronco que se dobla pero no se rompe (Trunk that bends but doesn’t break), 2024. Acrylic on canvas. 83.5 x 53.5 in. Photo courtesy of MAMA Projects

Clare Gemima: Your work has been described as engaging with play, blasphemy, and imagination. How do these elements manifest in your work, specifically in Tronco que se dobla pero no se rompe (Trunk that bends but doesn’t break), 2024, and what commentary might they offer on the sacred and the profane in contemporary culture?

Antonio Vidal: Yes, I think these three elements exist recurrently in my work. One of my favorite quotes is Donna Haraway’s “Blasphemy is not apostasy.” In Tronco que se dobla pero no se rompe (Trunk that bends but doesn’t break) in particular, I took inspiration from an archetypical childhood game where the floor is lava. Players simulate the reduction of available ground, and have to jump around elements in order to avoid touching the floor. The disappearance of the floor is something that emerges in stories like Noah's ark, but also speaks to realistic and urgent ecological threats. The fact that the painting’s figures are all avoiding the floor and hanging from a very phallic trunk is something, at least in my mind, that sets my two conceptual inquiries in equal parallel.

Clare Gemima: Considering the themes and techniques present in your paintings, how do you envision your next iteration of work? What do you plan to build upon or diverge from?

Antonio Vidal: This is an exciting time for change in my work as I pursue my MFA. Experimentation has been a massive part of my practice, both materially and conceptually, and this is the best time to mess up, and build up again. I can’t say with certainty how the work will evolve, but I am excited to see where it will take me. WM

Andrius, 2024. Oil on canvas. 8 x 8 in. Photo courtesy of MAMA Projects