Golucho Title, size and date unknown
Golucho is a painter I ran across online a couple of years ago but have never found out much information on him. Surprising that such a masterful painter with such intense imagery has gotten relatively little attention in the U.S. compared to Antonio Lopez Garcia, who one might first think of when looking at this work. If anyone knows of any information on this painter or when his work might be showing in the US please comment here. The little I have been able to find out is Golucho (Miguel Angel May) was born in Madrid, Spain 1949 and started painting at 12 years old, in 1964 he studied in Paris at the Place des Vosges for 6 years and is reported to have studied master works at the Prado and at Buen Retiro Palace. Golucho is well known in Spain as a contemporary figurative painter, showing in numerous venues including Madrid, Paris, Brussels, Philadelphia, and New York. He was a visiting artist at the New York Academy of Art in Spring 2009.
Little information is available on his rather unusual website but if you read Spanish there are a number of poems that accompany his paintings (sadly google translate doesn’t do the trick – unless the poems are wildly surrealist!) Not much more information is found on his gallery’s website, la Gallina Ciega, who also shows work by Antonio Lopez Garcia as well as other Spanish realist painter, sculptors and photographers. However, they have a wonderful high resolution PDF catalog of their artists that you can download and is well worth the look.
bodegon inacabado (Unfinished(?) Still-life) Oil on Panel (size and date unknown)
detail view
liliana Luminta Oil on Panel 29,5 x 24,2 cm Fall 2008
gordi grande mujer Oil on Panel
Oil on Panel 2008
Alma en el estudio. 1999 Oil on Panel 110 x 109,5 cms
El mundo y Alicia 2004 Oil on Panel 81 x 73 cms
“retrato de insomnios” pencil and watercolor, 104 x 140 cm, Spring 2006
Painting Perceptions was started in 2009 by Larry Groff to promote the ideas, practice and experience of painters working from observation in a modernist vein from around the world through interviews, essays, videos and community. It later evolved to include imagination-based and abstract painting as well.
Great find, I have a book on Spanish realists but he was not included. I have met Giorgio Ortona, who is one of the artists in Gallina Ciega. He is an italian painter who met Lopez Garcia at his show in Rome and ended up joining his students in Madrid.
I believe Lopez Garcia is the inspirator and perhaps tutor of the whole group, including Golucho.
Well, yes, the poems are pretty surrealist. Translating poetry is really difficult
This is my best with the one next to “Alma en el estudio” (by the way, ‘Alma’ may mean ‘soul’ but it is also used as a female first name in Spain, so it’s very likely the name of the girl).
Don’t be afraid, they are weaker than her appearance,
her confidence, your hesitation,
your dreams, her insomnia,
Don’t be afraid; look at how they form a pile over the black poplars.
high, white, unachievable.
It is there just for you,
it escapes with its freedom, don’t be afraid. Follow it.
Love your blog!
Loved learning about this painter, thank you again. Something very special has been developing in Spain , not just through a mastery of realist technique but also through a sort of psychological explosion on the canvas. I really think that the artists there are having a major influence on the history of art. I think similarly about Alex Kanevsky in his own perceptual approach, and then this brings me back to thinking of Cezanne’s vision.
I agree, there is something brewing in Spain that is so lovely. There is so much to enjoy about the works you have shown here, but also, there are areas that seem so half hazard (or as you said, potentially unfinished?). The paint is so boldly applied in these areas that they are hard to ignore. The detail image of ‘bodegon inacabado’ seems to work better (for me, at least) on it’s own with out the distraction of the background.
Contemporary Spanish realism in the vein of Antonio Lopez Garcia who apparently was either Golucho’s teacher or at least had some influence from what I can see and from what Ilaria (posted before) wrote. I saw the big Lopez Garcia show at the MFA in Boston and many of his larger works were unfinished. One of his major works (the dinner table with the little girl and women seated with food and some raw beef) he spent like 10 years or so off and on working on but still is unfinished. (one thing not readily visible in reproductions (or even in real life) is that the raw beef isn’t painted – its a photo that he collaged onto the painting – I suspect to see if having the beef there would work compositionally. I guess he never got around to taking it off or felt it worked ok as is… Anyway, he stated something to the effect that its the process of painting that drives him, the journey is more important than the destination… maybe something like that also enters Golucho’s mindset.
I like the unfinished aspect of Golucho’s work – but I would have a hard time leaving my own work like that. But perhaps my way of painting is also an unfinished work in progress and that there is still hope I can be open to new ways of thinking about my own work.
I had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with Golucho. I arranged to have him come to my school at the time (New York Academy). He is good friends with Lopez who has served as an inspiration for him as well. The man is vastly intelligent, a serious thinker, and knows no limitations in terms of painting techniques.
-cheers
I have only recently found Golucho, and also find it incredible that he is not more well known, his work is incredible , as a great admirer of Lucian Freud , Golucho has now captured my imagination. I have been very lucky to spend time with some of his paintings which are in spain, even slept with two in my bedroom whilst visiting Morocco. incredible incredible artist, there is a large painting in spain , which I cannot find on any websites, of a woman laid across a table with mountains in the background , in the foreground is the artists paints, brushes and glasses etc , the detail is amazing, I would love to know more about it.
hola soy Juan Carlos Camacaro desde Venezuela.. realmente sorprendido al ver estas obras … me gustan por el manejo de la composision y la sutileza y ajuste de los colores …
Love this painting, hauntingly beautiful.
I discovered your work moments ago and I am already in love. Your paint, your spirit, everything about your work just speaks to me. Thank you for inspiring me first thing this morning before I go paint!
This is a very good Spanish artist. His colors look solid. I know that he offers workshops in Spain and that his works can be seen at the Museo Casa Ibanez. This artist should be more popular worldwide. His paintings are amazing to look at live in person.
Hi, I think he is a marvelous painter and he might be coming to the NW to do a workshop next year at our school.
We are very excited as we think he is an amazing artist with so much to contribute to the world of realism..
Let me know who likes this and will sign up for his workshop at http://www.whidbeyislandfas.com soon!!!~
Some videos on Golucho: https://vimeo.com/search?q=golucho
Golucho’s “retrato de insomnios” was recently shown at Barcelona’s MEAM or Museau Europeu d’Art Modern. See info@MEAM.ES for today’s enjoyable representational art. Thanks for your wonderful site!
Hello, I´m Alma the little girl in the painting and Golucho´s dauther you can write me to alma.mayo@gmail.com for any question you have, I´ll be happy to answer you.
Thank you for this article about Golucho. We are showing one of Golucho’s drawings in an upcoming exhibition called MONOCHROME at Chauncey Stillman Gallery at Lyme Academy in Old Lyme Connecticut. From November 11th to February 19, 2022/23.