ANTHROPOMORPHICS

Solo exhibition of Eric Aman, curated by Conchi Alvarez.

This is the third solo exhibition that Eric Aman has presented with STOA, and the very first-time in which the entire work displayed is purely pictorial. The first one, “Power of plastic”, was made up of both sculptures and paintings, and the second one, “Iconology”, was an exhibition made up solely of bronze sculptures.

In “Anthropomorphics” we have on display 17 watercolours and 3 pencil drawings. Small sized artworks intended by the artist to be his preparatory work (studies, sketches and notes) but with such a high level of quality that, without a doubt, they deserve an individual display in order to be able to appreciate their full potential.

The title summarizes the bouquet of portraits that Eric´s prodigious creativity has produced.

They are, then, figures, and they are anthropomorphic because the humanoid features are recognizable coexisting with the fauna members of the terrestrial, aquatic or galactic world. Individual figures predominate, but there are also beings with two heads, or with double-faced heads.

The guiding idea of ​​this entire gallery of strange, suggestive and attractive beings, starts from the saga that´s already begun and shown in the “Iconology” exhibition. Some years ago, Eric decided to reinterpret the descriptions and advice that Cesare Ripa once wrote at the end of the 16th century, in the homonymous book, “Iconology”, an authentic manual for the plastic representation of allegories. The work of embodying concepts, values, ideas, virtues, vices… is difficult and burdensome, but it has been a challenge that Eric has successfully faced. On top of the initial inspiration in Ripa’s book, Eric has added elements from classical mythology, film mythologies, and even the world of video games, and… much of his own imagination.

The titles of the artworks and the annotations that some have, demonstrate the creative force and originality of this artist. The fast but precise execution reveals the important academic training of this French artist born in Algeria. First came the French classicism which he later completed in Italy, where he lived and worked for 17 years, to finish off, the apprenticeship in Spain, where he currently lives. He is a master of drawing and the shapes that you can appreciate in the cleanliness of the lines, the security of the strokes and the cleanliness of the colour. Small large artworks that, although developed in the sculptural process, as support and preparation for it, have achieved enough entity to have their own space.