Account Alfredo Álvarez Plágaro (Vitoria, 1960) that the vocation of being an artist comes from his family. His father painted pictures “for the love of art” and his brother, Moisés Álvarez Plágaro (1946 – 2011) was a professional painter recognized by the VII Grand Prize for Basque Painting in 1974, so in their house the “ “perfume of turpentine.” With that background, his destiny seemed set and Álvarez Plágaro has been known for decades for his “Equal Pictures”, some apparently twin works, but they are not entirely so. A master of repetition who has become the protagonist of monographic exhibitions such as the one that took place a few months ago in Naharro gallery (Madrid). We spoke with him about his work, his inspiration and his upcoming projects.
– What were the main influences on your initial work, when you used expressionist language in your works?
In the mid-80s, German neo-expressionism and the Italian trans-avant-garde, the return of painting-painting, were in fashion. I remember that, in my first individual exhibition, which was at ARCO in 1987, everything was full of half-figurative paintings, painted in oil with brownish tones due to the mixture of complementary colors and a finger of paste. Fashions always influence. The problem is when these fashions adulterate your creative line and you stop being you.
– What motivated you to change towards a more abstract approach starting in the 1990s?
At first until my calls Equal Pictures They were figurative, then the signs of those figures remained to gradually evolve towards a fully abstract painting. It began to give me more pleasure to play with shapes, colors, compositions and to focus on the repetition of what was painted outside of the representation.
And what artists influenced you for this change?
For a long time now, in order not to be influenced by anyone in particular, I have tried to be influenced by everyone at the same time. The technique is to see everything and forget everything. Therefore, I don’t know exactly who has influenced me, but I do know who I like, here are some: Rothko, Christopher Wool, Michael Borremans, Juán Uslé, Palazuelo, Philip Guston, Oscar Murillo, François Morellet, Lee Ufan, Oteiza, Richard Serra , Rachel Whiteread, Christian Marclay, Santiago Sierra, Wilfredo Pietro…
– What does the repetition of works mean in your art?
If not everything, almost everything. The game of repetition was not an imposition, but rather arose from the evolutionary dynamics of my work. That is why it has always been a solid approach and not a temporary game. Georg Baselitz said that a “fixed” idea can last a long time in an artist’s work, even a lifetime. I think that’s my case. My first works as a professional, starting in 1985, had a composition determined by a grid in which all types of images were inserted.
The problem (or, seen over time, the advantage) is that each painting, due to that iron composition, looked very similar to the next. I had a struggle with the work in the late 80s to differentiate each painting, but in doing so I noticed that I lost my personality. In a dream the solution came to me; What would happen if I repeated in another painting what I had just done in the first? This is how my Equal Pictures.
– How would you explain the dialogue between repetition and difference in your works? What relationship do they have?
I never consciously look for the difference between paintings from the same series, but since they are made “by hand” and with sometimes very accidental techniques, equality is totally impossible. In 2020, an interesting event occurred in relation to this dialogue. Since I made the first two Equal Pictures I had never had any interest in making different paintings like the others. That’s how it was until these “sad twenties” began.
– One of the things that stands out about your works is that they are object paintings. Could you explain it a little?
I like the materiality of my paintings, painting on a solid base, not on a stretcher with the fabric shaking. I like that they have a thickness (5, 7, 14 cm) that makes them stand out from the wall, that gives them entity as objects. In this way I achieve sculptural qualities in them that enhance them.
– What creative moment are you in? Do you live in constant evolution? What will be next?
In that of uncertainty, as always, like everyone. Creating always implies evolving, it is impossible not to do so. When you are young you evolve faster and then more slowly. Rothko said that “the progression of a painter’s work will be towards clarity, towards the elimination of all obstacles between the painter and the idea and between the idea and the observer.” That’s where we are, here we go.
Eduardo Infante is a journalist specialized in lifestyle, specifically in topics of design, interior design, architecture, crafts and decoration.
For almost a decade he has focused his career on selecting and writing about the most interesting developments in these fields: from the renovation of a home to the inauguration of a new hotel, including the latest collection of outdoor furniture or the launch of a book. specialized.
Graduated in Journalism from the University of the Basque Country, before joining the Elle Decor Spain team he worked as an editor at AD España, Tentaciones magazine and the Europa Press agency. As a collaborator, his signature has been common in media such as El País, Arquitectura y Diseño, Vanity Fair or El Confidencial.
In addition to his work as a journalist, Eduardo Infante has worked as a communication consultant and content curator for interior design and architecture studios and as creative copy for brands in the sector. He has also taught classes in several courses aimed at interior design professionals and is a professor of the Project Communication subject in the Master of Interior Design at IED Madrid.
In his free time, he declares himself a fatal fan of The Simpsons, true crime podcasts, Italo Disco music and vermouth.
