The Ecuadorian artist José L. Toaquiza and his American baroque in Cuenca

It is motivated by nature. His works are like a call to raise awareness among those who see them. Landscapes, animals, plants, pure mother nature is the main reason for the works of José Luis Toaquiza, an artist who did not go through the rigor of academics. He got it all from his father and uncle, who initially taught him the use of noble materials, such as sheepskin, in order to capture his art and leave it on the retina of those who have seen his exhibitions inside and outside the country.

Toaquiza is heir to a recognized family tradition of indigenous painters from the community of Tigua, Cotopaxi province. It started at 8 years of age. At 33, he has an outstanding career in the art of Ecuador. In addition to individual exhibitions, Toaquiza participated in 2012 in the First Continental Biennial of Indigenous Arts, convened by Conaculta in Mexico. In 2015 he was invited to the Dominican Republic, where he received recognition from the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo, Faculty of Arts. And recently, in 2019, won the Wilson Prize – the highest award – at the 12th International Naif Art Festival in Poland – Katowice of the Szyb Wilson Gallery.

“For 2020, the organizers of that festival developed in Poland invited me to make one of my works the image of the event. I designed the work, but due to the pandemic, the new edition was not made ”, says Toaquiza. However, his work will be in an exhibition as a parallel activity to the International Biocene Biennial: ‘Change green for blue’, as it has been called by the Municipal Foundation Biennial of the Azuayan capital, and which has been developed since December 10 to February 22, 2022.

There will be present Toaquiza with The other kingdoms, baroque Toaquiza, a plastic proposal that transcends the narrative art of manners. “It is like a rebirth at a time when the pandemic has not yet given up. It’s a new beginning, but with God’s blessing, we are here. It is a way of retaking in this century. The pandemic left us with an intrigue of whether we pass or not, whether we will live or not. Faced with the COVID-19 emergency, I had to move away and sought refuge where I feel most comfortable. I moved to a farm far from the city, but for me it was something wonderful, because I was surrounded by animals and plants. It was something magical, because that concern I had about contagion disappeared when I settled there. Practically what I have been painting suddenly became my refuge”.

The artist calls for conservation: “It is my only way of telling the world that nature is the most valuable thing we have in this life. It is the lung of the planet, but a large part of the people still do not understand it. I have seen in the news how the ecosystem is changing due to erosion, earthquakes, landslides … It has begun to destroy uncontrollably, without any type of ecological management. As an artist, where I walk I always see even the smallest thing to realize how beautiful nature gives us. What I want with my painting is to convey the times I have had those emotions, those sensations”.

“The multiplicity of figures that fill the two-dimensional spaces of the painting alludes to an American baroque, innocent or naive, but also exalts the mastery of the pictorial craft, focused by the artist on the need to survive the beauty and biodiversity of nature”, says Madeleine Hollaender, the curator of the solo exhibition that can be visited from this Saturday, December 11 at the Miguel Illescas Gallery in Cuenca.

“My father, Luis Toaquiza, who with care and a lot of discipline guided me with very wise phrases, such as ‘a true master of art or music is trained by practicing since midnight!’ Day by day I received his teachings and put it into practice, I understood that imagination has no limits, and much more for an artist: the artist must be infinite to always create something new ”, recalls Toaquiza.

“It is time to reflect, protect what we have left, thus curb our own destruction and continue to enjoy Mother Nature for a long time. My experience with Madeleine Hollaender, a person with extensive experience in art, has been wonderful, she has been like my second mother. Since he met me he has always valued my art; he had a great friendship with my father. She told me: ‘José Luis, you have a great future in art.’ He was always promoting my work in his gallery and in other exhibitions ”.

Opening: Saturday, December 11, 2021, at 11:00

Place: Miguel Illescas Gallery

Direction: Calle Larga 1-209, 100 meters from the Pumapungo Museum, Cuenca-Ecuador.