Why do I draw? José Guirao explains
José spent his childhood in Arles. In Spain, where his family was originally from, he got his first real emotion generated by pictorial creation: each summer he visited during a day stop his father’s cousin who was a painter in Valencia. He always wanted to sit with him, but a child has to go to bed… and the vacation destination was Murcia.
Does this delightful annual stopover, broken off at night, explain his need to draw in the evening? As if to delay the moment of falling asleep?
José explains that drawing allows him to clear his mind, to drive away the fear of boredom and death, the fear of the evening and of his own night.
Energy of line and warmth of southern colors
In his work, José Guirao mainly uses thick colored pencils, a little graffiti pencil and sometimes acrylic paint.
The vivid, deep and precise gesture of the colored pencils builds a tangle of characters, animals and plants.
The artist puts his powerful, colorful stamp on paper, where enchanting universes take shape, with simple shapes coherently interwoven.
His inspiration comes from his childhood memories and moments in life, as well as from literary works such as François Rabelais’ Gargantua and Homer’s Odyssey.
Scorpions, orange trees, atmospheres heavy with heat and shadows
Experimental film and photography were his first modes of expression. In 2015, he concentrated passionately on drawing, which he had always practiced.
From his studio, he has a bird’s-eye view of Paris. But the Parisian gray doesn’t settle on his paper. Only the vivid colors take hold.
Urban density shines through in his compositions, which feature a large number of details and sometimes a series of houses set against solid backgrounds or crossed ballpoint pen strokes.
His creations occupy space: is it a fear of emptiness or a reaction to the lack of space felt in the urban landscape?
He recently began a series of drawings with scorpions, animals that terrified him as a child in Arles.
The majestic trees that lavish their shadows and fruit in the southern heat provide a restful note. But hands, bones and shadows lurk and are always ready to remind us that the frightening night can spell the end of the joy of color.
Without a doubt, José Guirao is a Singulier artist. As early as 2015, Création Franche n°42 published an article on him, and in November 2020 Track magazine highlighted his work.
Thirteen of his drawings were exhibited in May 2024 at La Halle Saint Pierre bookshop, thanks to Pascal Hecker, the institution’s former bookseller.
The editorial team
The thrill of artistic discoveries
