'Zona Mona', by Francesc Daranas

Primates come to life in the Espai Eat Art of the Fundació Lluís Coromina (Banyoles) with a new exhibition created by the artist Francesc Daranas. Entitled 'Zona Mona', the exhibition includes a set of works inspired by the primates of the Recovery Center of the Mona Foundation.

The exhibition, which will open today , September 27 at 7 p.m. , offers a wide range of works, ranging from initial sketches to more elaborate pieces, made with techniques such as dry point and monotype. This last technique has represented one of the great challenges for the artist, since the process involves an inherent uncertainty: the final result is not revealed until the print, and this brings a component of expectation and risk that has defined much of it of the creative process.

Daranas, with a solid background in illustration, uses ink and anilines to create compositions that oscillate between illustration and painting, with a characteristic gestural line that defines his style. Over the course of almost two years of intense observation and work, he began the project at the Fundació Mona's Recovery Center, documenting himself and creating the first sketches before finalizing the works in his workshop in Banyoles. This long and immersive process has allowed the artist to develop a proposal different from any other he had made so far.

Although he already presented a series of preliminary sketches a few years ago, Zona Mona goes further, moving away from traditional naturalism. Daranas recognizes that there are already many artists who specialize in the accurate representation of animals, and with this exhibition he wanted to explore a more free and expressive approach. Thus, the balance between naturalism and abstraction, with more spontaneous and imprecise strokes, becomes one of the central elements of his work, which stands out for its ability to transmit emotion and movement beyond the faithful representation of reality.

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