This was the ‘Art Route from Madrid to Milan’, with which seven Ecuadorian artists enchanted Europe

“The art of Ecuador is always something exotic; Even for Ecuadorians it is difficult to define it”says visual artist Maureen Gubia, one of seven Ecuadorian creatives who toured Europe last month with their works in the so-called exhibition Art route from Madrid to Milanwith support from the Proarte Foundation.

The specific pieces were created by Gubia, Esteban Jácome, Jimmy Lara, Chay Velasco, Elio Wong, Erick Franco and Poli Lunarwhich will be exhibited in the gallery of the after the trip abroad Guayaquil Country Clubin Samborondon.

“Our art has a lot of color and psychedelia in some ways; That attracted the attention of visitors of all ages: children, young people, adults and seniors; They were very curious about this Ecuadorian DNA,” Gubia recalls of the international experience. They exhibited at the Hybrid Festival in Madrid and at the Once Fair in Milan.

According to the painter, the paintings share a style characterized by the influences received by the generation of children and adolescents towards the end of the 1990s, such as the technological transition, the end of the century, the new millennium. ; as Ecuadorians, the crisis of ’99 and dollarization.

“These paintings reflect this shock of identity. In itself, we don’t know what it means to be Ecuadorian; We have a fragmented national identity. Living in Ecuador is so unpredictable, but we like it because we are in the middle of nature. And there is something incredible about not being able to define Ecuador, because it gives it more mystery; and that’s what I like: the mystery, the ethereal and sometimes psychedelic. It seems that we are living a dream, and for foreigners it is very difficult to understand what Ecuador means. So we try to show what it means to be Ecuadorian.”

Maureen calls this all a wonderful experience. “We were the only Latin Americans at the fairs, because there were a lot of Asians, Europeans, especially Italians… Europeans like to see a lot of art and buy art; we have sold a lot. And this helped us in our development, to learn how to sell our works. There are artists who already have their collectors and sell everything. But there are artists who are just starting out, like me. And in Europe we could sell without people knowing us.”

This Wednesday, September 27, will be the last day they will be on display at the Guayaquil Country Club gallery, located at km 9 of Samborondón Avenue (Nuevo Samborondón). Entrance is free.