Guatemala: For Some Artists, Picasso was Wrong

Pablo Picasso, considered to be one of the finest artists of all time, said: “Computers are useless. They can only give you answers”. However, forty years after such statement, computers and the Internet are tools being used by Guatemalan painters and are hosting the galleries of the future.

Many of these artists are living and painting abroad. They use their blogs as a space to show others their work and stay in touch with their community.

Sebastián Sarti is Guatemalan, but was born in Costa Rica, where his Guatemalan father was exiled and married his Puerto Rican mother. He grew up in Nicaragua, lived for a while in Guatemala, and now he is dedicated to his paintings in Aix et à Marseille. He is sharing his works on his personal blog El Desorden de la Cabeza [es] (The Mess Inside My Head).

Le voleur d´animaux by Sebastian Sarti.

Le voleur d´animaux by Sebastian Sarti.

Based in Brooklyn, NYC, Juan Carlos from Historiando [es] has many talents to share with his readers. A painter and activist, he uses his works for exhibitions in galleries but also for demonstrations. He created a John Lennon poster using recycled tickets from the metro, to protest against the high fares of public transpot in New York. In this link, you can see some of his exhibitions.

Artwork by Juan Carlos

Artwork by Juan Carlos

Elvira Méndez is a talented painter, based in Antigua, Guatemala and shares her work with the world. Her blog Pintura [es] (Paint) shows her collections of paintings, expressing herself with different shapes, colors, and textures.

Collage by Elvira Méndez

Collage by Elvira Méndez

Alejandro Marré is a poet, a performer, but also a creative painter as his Arte Marré blog shows. Pop culture elements are remixed and retouched to have results, such as this:

Walking around by Alejandro Marré

Walking around by Alejandro Marré

Erick González is in Montmartre, the place any painter in the world dreams about. He is creating interesting pieces, expressing in images through recycled materials that contrasts the most complex topics in Guatemala, from violence against women to the increasing number of bodyguards and firearms. His blog [es] hosts critiques and pictures of his paintings.

Here is a sample:

"I am a Product" by Erick González

I am a Product by Erick González

There are few galleries or public spaces for young artists in Guatemala to showcase their work. There are also little resources for invitations to exhibitions and the art critics rarely highlight little-known artists. For that reason, blogs are providing the opportunity to young artists to display their artwork, express themselves and share and interact with those who visit their sites to see their pieces of art.

All images used with permission or under a Creative Commons license.

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