Benedormiens Castle honors José Guillén "Pepu"

On October 7 at 7:00 p.m., the tribute exhibition was inaugurated with a selection of 60 paintings by José Guillén, better known as "Pepu", which can be visited until November 19, 2023 at Castle of Benedormiens in Castell d'Aro. During the inauguration, the commemorative catalog published by the council for this exhibition was also presented.

At the same time, on the top floor of the castle you can enjoy a selection of pieces from the Municipal Art Fund, made up of works by the artists who have been exhibited there for four decades. It must be said that this is the fourth exhibition of the year at the castle and the seventh of the annual plastic arts cycle in the municipality. According to the art critic Alexandre Roa: "the artist and the model, a motif that is part of the myth of art - especially from two centuries ago - can also be a pictorial subject; in fact, for this very reason it is a subject that does not require explanation, as it is decoded by itself.

This advantage, to which genres in art always have access, serves the artist both as a corset and as a liberation: it gives him a subject to occupy himself with and thus frees him from this first problem to be able to focus se in the form and the execution. Specifically, we are dealing with a self-referential genre: the artist treats art as a subject, and specifically his relationship of gaze towards the represented model.

He does so, however, without resorting to autobiography but by making the characters that will embody these generic figures emerge from his imagination." And he still adds: "at other times, the viewer finds himself mimicking the model, since this he collects the gaze and projects it inside the painting, by means of a very common resource of representing the figure from the back, establishing a bond of gaze with the viewer of the work.

We also find other elements represented there, such as bicycles, which tend to become a fascinating element that speaks of movement and the possibilities from stillness, or of other motifs that the artist has integrated into his work in based on references or personal interests, such as musical instruments or literary fictional characters".

This painting exhibition can be visited on weekends and holidays (11:00-13:00 and 17:00-20:00 h).

José Guillén, teacher and artist

José Guillén, better known as "Pepu" (Málaga, 1948), changed his vocation as a teacher for his creative passion until he entered the Complutense University School of Fine Arts in Madrid. After his degree, he resumed teaching at the secondary school for five years, before returning to street portraiture in Madrid, Peñíscola and Les Canaries, until settling in Platja d'Aro in the mid-80s. since then he has combined exhibitions with personal commissions and also for years with classes at the Municipal Art School of the municipality at Espai Masia Bas. For its part, the Town Council of Castell Platja d'Aro, Platja d'Aro and Sagaró promotes an exhibition calendar for 2023 with eight proposals in three spaces. The Castle of Benedormiens in Castell d'Aro has hosted two collectives: Art Pyramid and Tapestry Exhibition; and the simultaneous painting, drawing and sculpture proposals of Jordi Amagat and Pep Admetlla. The Parc dels Estanys de Platja d'Aro is the scene of two large-format sculpture exhibitions: first the works of Aramis Justiz (from March to June), and currently the pieces of Dolors Puigdemont (until February 18, 2024 ), who at the same time also exhibited sculpture, drawing and installations in the summer in the art rooms of Espai Masia Bas de Platja d'Aro; where in its outdoor gardens you can see this autumn the installation-exhibition of the winning and finalist works of the 10th International Educating La Mirada Photography Competition.