The Venezuelan artist believes in the restorative power of art, its mystical power and humanistic mission.

by Betty Aguirre-Maier
Entremares Magazine

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Leer esta entrada en castellano.

It’s worth taking a phrase from the novel “Doña Barbara” by Rómulo Gallegos to illustrate the dialogue of the Venezuelan painter JC Pino with his canvas: «Things are back to the place of departure.» And the paintings of Pino — rich in color and texture — speak of a fantastic world populated by nature, women, myth, winged beings, and beasts on the run. They are all embedded in the mist of memory, memories of generous, bright and lush worlds like his home: Venezuela.

From here, from this alchemical, dreamlike space where everything changes, Pino extracts preciousness and sometimes ghosts. In his latest collection, composed of nearly 60 paintings of various formats, Pino experiments with a new technique: the use of glass painting, which gives each canvas a powerful play of light and fantasy.

The subject of media and pigments, Pino is able to achieve a symphony of shades and hues, ranging from airy pastels to vibrant colors. The brush strokes in many of his paintings are undefined and unfinished, causing a melting effect as if the memories do not materialize.

Pino’s pictorial world is influenced by several masters, such as Gustav Klimt, Velázquez, Monet, Degas, Tiffany, Trompiz, among others, which can be seen in some works, especially in the various splendid Meninas costumes and their abstract or enigmatic faces. Menina 14, for example, evokes powerful emotions of sensuality, passion and flirtation.

There is in the work of Pino an intense search for images that bridge the arid and rugged landscape of northern Utah and that of his Southern and Caribbean homeland — a necessary search to recover memories, and transform and translate them onto a canvas.

Juan Carlos Pino (Venezuela, 1963). J.C. Pino, como se lo conoce, reside en Salt Lake City, Utah. Tiene una maestría en administración y publicidad. Ha expuesto en varias ciudades norteamericanas y la mayoría de sus obras están en colecciones privadas.