DIRECTORY 2024

Agustín Pontesta Icuza | Painting

Agustín Pontesta, born in San Sebastián in 1963, is a versatile artist blending Zen and Tibetan Buddhism, Victorian painting influence, and extensive solo travels. As a drawing and painting teacher in San Sebastián, he challenges societal norms, evident in his alternative lifestyle. Pontesta's biography is adorned with numerous awards and competition recognitions.

In his artistic practice, Pontesta embraces chance and the Chaos theory, aligning his creative process with randomness and the universe's hidden spirit. Nature, science, and astronomy serve as recurring themes, explored beyond simple reproduction. In his studio, Pontesta experiments with pigments, binders, and various materials, allowing accidents on the canvas to give rise to natural phenomena.

Pontesta's landscapes depict extreme and dramatic scenarios, evoking an apocalyptic beauty. He employs fragmented pieces of wood, symbolizing creation from destruction, with cracks and holes becoming significant empty spaces. His techniques range from drip painting to expressionism and collage, culminating in precise and delicate brushstrokes that unify the work.

Through artistic retreats in painting and solitary long trips, Pontesta seeks a primal spirit, emphasizing simplicity often forgotten in modern times. His travels contribute to his art, using abundant blues to capture the imprint left by natural wonders like mountains, lakes, stars, and storms. He creates imaginary landscapes and scenarios, crafting his cosmos from the infinitely small to the infinitely large. Pontesta's art reflects a profound connection with the universe, embracing an inner void that allows everything to fit, harmonizing with the melody created by the wind.

agustinpontesta.com

@a.pontesta