‘The bewitched landscape’ that the artist Servio Zapata presented in Guayaquil

The flora and fauna of the enchanting Zaruma (province of El Oro) awoke in the plastic artist Serbian Zapata a particular interest, who grew up surrounded by trees, which adorned -or enchanted- the landscape of his life. “They were always part of my existence”, points out in dialogue with this newspaper. This wonder of nature not only remained in childhood memories, but they were taken to paintings that have traveled through countries such as Norway, Spain, China, Hungary, among others.

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This Wednesday was the closing of his exhibition the haunted landscape, which was exhibited for almost two weeks at the Art Gallery of Guayaquil Country Club. This collection was also exhibited last August in Budapest, in the palace of the Instituto Cervantes, under the auspices of the Ecuadorian ambassador to Hungary, José Luis Salazar Arrarte.

The exhibition, which brought together fourteen works using the acrylic on canvas technique, was the closest thing to a road trip where the majesty of the trees prevails along the way, revealing their charm and leafiness. “Many people who have seen my paintings, when they travel, see my paintings in the landscapes that they observe. It’s like teaching him to see people in a different way.” He says.

Humboldt’s vision in an exhibition by David Moscoso and Servio Zapata

Zapata brings together in a single painting, not only the different shades of green, but other colors, as if playing with the seasons in a single scene. “The change that is taking place (in this series) is that I am introducing colors that I did not use in my montages, now I am putting colors that I did not dare to place before and that are now on the palette”, mentions the artist, who at all times is studying, through observation, the trees to treasure it in his memory. “When I see a tree, I see the branches, I see the tones, I see the light, the shadow and it stays in my memory.”

And it is that, for the creation of each of these paintings, he only relies on his memory, his impulses, and creativity, since he says that he never works with a sketch. “I start blank and it is the same painting that guides me”, ensures.

Zapata does not believe that what happens in him is inspiration, he prefers to call it discipline. From his workshop located in Los Ceibos (also with trees around him) he paints every day -as if it were a ritual- from 07:00 to 22:00. “I get up in the morning, I dress as if I were going to an office, but my suit is a torn shirt, pants full of paint, slippers, music, and I sit in front of the painting… it is discipline because I paint every day without stop”recounts.

“It is a necessity for me to paint, it is distressing at times, I cannot be without doing it, that is my voice of vocation. It is unavoidable”, indicates.

This exhibition was presented by the ProArte Foundation, since this institution seeks to promote art in all its aspects. “What we want is to encourage emerging artists, artists who need a space, and through the spaces that we can find, local or international, to exhibit their art”express Cesar Salmonfrom Fundación Pro arte.

One of its future purposes is to create a video library. “We are going to make a donation of about 800 films to an educational institution”.

So far the foundation has presented three exhibitions at the Guayaquil Country Club Art Gallery: ‘Great Masters of Modern and Contemporary Art’, Enrique Tábara – ‘From Barcelona to the Country’, Esteban Jácome – Pop Art. (YO)