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Musalán was born in Caucasia, but almost his entire life went by in Medellín. It was between these two Colombian places that he bloomed. His beginnings in painting were thanks to his mother and the need to entertain himself in his childhood, being the only child at home.
To be born where and how is the most beautiful of circumstances. Then I discovered painting through synchronicity, and today, I live to paint, and I paint to be and be».
Musalan.
The talented Colombian chooses to move away from the artist title and prefers to also refer to himself as a person who paints since he considers that calling himself an artist is pretentious. For him, everything is creation, and there is only one creator. However, he assumes himself as a recreator. On his canvas, he recreates what already exists.
Art came into his life through his impulse and the desire of his mother, who was stubborn to keep him away from the so-called Gamines, or little bums as we know them in Mexico, and given the lack of entertainment options, sitting in a chair to draw was the young kid’s escape. With a restless mind, confidence, and desire to see the world, Musalán left home at fourteen and found his first adoptive home at a young age.
The color, malleable and soft, surrenders to the harmonious direction of the brush baton on the accommodating canvas.”
Musalan.
His talent was received with success in the equestrian world, thanks to his undeniable talent for painting horses. It is thanks to the inspiration of great personalities such as Avelina Lesper, who, in an article, mentioned that modern art lacks two things: school and creativity. And if I had something to spare, it was school. I painted my horses’ hair by hair, and I had a lot of technique. That made me realize that beyond that, I did not offer anything, and that was when I started making more conceptual art. I also understood that art must be functional. That unleashed chaos within me, in which I began to work more conceptually on balance. I have had a reputation for being very extremist. I have gone through several processes to reach this moment, and in all those changes, I experienced an internal fight in which I concluded not to consider myself an artist because I paint for myself. I need to paint. I do not need to be in exhibitions, although I value sharing my work and meeting people who encourage me.
When he started painting, Musalán painted trucks, cars, Transformers, and metal things. His first commission was at the request of a cousin, who asked him to draw Snow White and her seven dwarfs. From there came the first paid billboards, who, at a young age, taught the Colombian talent that painting could be his way of life. Facing a lack of encouragement and support from his family, Musalán made a brave choice. To leave his home behind and find his path.
At almost fifty years old and with plenty of life experience, Musalán recognizes himself as lucky. He has learned that life gives you everything, and inspired by the wisdom of his mother, who told him to Start weaving your web, God will provide you with the thread you need. Musalan reflects on the words of his older sister as she used to say that his mother did not raise him but trained him. And in a way, he recognizes that it was so. She prepared me to go out on the street and never be hungry or needy. Even on my days as a student of Fine Arts, I had to eat only bread for some time, but as such, I have never suffered from hunger. I have always liked to work and do things well. I have never had bad things in life.
The cadence of the brush baton guides this chromatic dance, creating a visual spectacle where colors intertwine in a symphony of creativity and artistic expression«.
Musalan.
In April, it will be five years since I arrived in Mexico, but six years ago, I started working with another gallery. I like the effect that this country has had on my work. Because as I told you, all my painting work is personal. First, I start all work on balance. They always teach you that extremes are not good. So, in working on that, I made a series called Transference. From there, I have ventured to simplify my work – and I continue in this process – and by simplifying it, I understand that as an artist, when you are in a vertical line, the center is the worst point. That gave way to a series titled The Dance of Balance, in which I humanized that pen stroke, and now it is dancing, and the line is no longer vertical but dancing. These works made me understand why they usually make you start from the center point. It is easier than teaching yourself to have the ability to know that you can be at both extremes without being caught by either. The center end is the easiest and becomes the third and worst end; It is the worst because it is one of the mediocre ones. It makes you stay static and stops you from going further. Stop being dual teaches you to be free.
Mexico has freed me. When I painted horses, I was a slave. I painted hair by hair and did not know that I was a slave. I was obsessed with detail and painted in a very different technique because I painted with pitch or tar. So I was looking for a complicated subject like horses and with unusual material, and that was my life. Difficult. Upon arriving in Mexico, shortly before the pandemic, through the gallery, a rare commission arrived to paint a Pink Panther; then, her husband asked for a Speedy González, and thus, that led them to begin to suggest I paint Pop Art. That gave rise to a great crisis since, after a long conceptual, spiritual, and internalization work, all this went out the window. I called my loved ones, like the mother of my child, a great friend, and more. And they told me: Musalán, you are capable of doing whatever you want, so I started searching and started working on Pop, which, although I have never liked, led me to make pop art that was a little more satirical, more sarcastic and far from the characteristic pop that criticizes brands and consumerism.
I do not paint what I see. I paint what I feel».
Musalan.
Arriving in Coyoacán and starting to take photos with my cell phone sparked the concern to begin my series with all these customs and colors that I describe in my curatorial text: My mind and my hands allow this amalgam of sensations to flow onto the canvas, complicit and witness of the revelation of that other painter whom he did not know. Today, with love and humility, I share with you, a valued observer, the painter who has emerged on this journey.
I am working on a new series where nothing will ever be the same again. Stop being a slave to start living the famous Here and Now we have heard so much about. We have always known this, but understanding it is very complex, and adopting and adapting it is even more so. For me, there is nothing that makes me more aware of this than my work. Mexico has allowed me to be free. It has taken away my desire to please myself every time and has surrounded me with wonderful people who have opened their hearts to me.
In the pieces at the Bloomberg Gallery, we can find works that show the path I have taken to discover my verticality and take it from a fixed point to evolve to encounter the consciousness of realizing that you no longer need to be a slave to anything but rather be conscious.
His works invite you to reflect on deep themes such as philosophy, sarcasm, virtue – the ability to distinguish what is correct for you and your environment – self-knowledge, customs, and the opportunity to be and be. Do what you like, and do it with love. Over the years, this Colombian talent has learned to live in the moment and share it in his paintings.
This collection is the fourth exhibition of the Bloomberg Gallery, curated and presented by the doctor, collector, and gallerist Juan Manuel Chaparro and his wife Rebeca Silva, who opened this exhibition space for established and emerging artists in a novel forum that promotes artistic and cultural exchange in Mexico City. Visit this space on Av. del Conscripto No.13, Gral. Manuel Ávila Camacho in the Miguel Hidalgo Bureau in Mexico City.
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Statement, Alan González S. ©
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