ARTGAYSEL 2021
ROOM SHEET. BIO AND SYMBOLS DICTIONARY BELOW.
Soy un fantasma, sólo existo bajo tus sábanas (I'm a ghost, I only exist under your sheets)
Oil on Canson paper.
330×487 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
I found myself, without noticing it, covered with the sheets of your contempt, loving you only when you allowed me to. Existing only when you wanted me to. I was a ghost. I only existed under your sheets.
16 Latigazos (16 Lashes)
Gouache on blue Pankaster paper.
200×250 mm.
Signed on the front.
Sometimes the loneliness and pain that we receive is marked on our skin forever, but it can become signs of learning, of freedom, like swifts that learn that they should not touch the ground, and have always to fly.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in the Bran Sólo Symbols Guide.
Aire (Air)
Oil on Canson paper.
310×410 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
Model: @jongomezdelap
In Spain we have a plant called «Amor de hombre». It is a red plant, which grows anywhere with a little water. If it doesn’t get much light it turns red, and its stems grow and hang down the facades of houses to the ground. For me, this plant represents the emotions, often romantic, that try to escape from the body, as if sprouting from a crack in a rock. Many try to prevent it from growing, from being visible, but in the end it is inevitable. It always grows.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in the Bran Solo Symbol Guide.
Beso Azul (Blue kiss)
Gouache on blue Pankaster paper.
200×250 mm.
Signed on the front.
A kiss is a kiss, and it cannot mean anything else but love.
In my work I usually show the male figure in the nude, and one might think that I make works with erotic or sexual themes. However, for me there is nothing sexual in my works, even in this one. What I am talking about is masculinity, the frustration it imposes, its beauty. It’s not about sex, it’s about being yourself, real and complete.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in Bran Sólo’s Guide to Symbols.
Calígula
Acrylic on Canson mi-Teintes Ivory 160gr. paper.
297×210 mm.
Matte varnished. UV and powder protection.
Signed on the front.
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (Latin: Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus; Anzio, August 31, 12-Rome, January 24, 41), better known as Caligula, was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 to 41.
As a child he accompanied his father on his military expeditions in Germania (14-16), where he wore the legionaries’ caligae, who gave him the affectionate nickname «Caligula», which literally means «little boots».
Where some may see a murderer, there is still a child.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in the Bran Solo Symbol Guide.
Caricias (Caresses)
Gouache on blue Pankaster paper.
200×250 mm.
Signed on the front.
Trust, control, affection, hate: love.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in the Bran Solo Symbol Guide.
Conmigo (With me)
Acrylic and graphite on Canson mi-Teintes Ivory 160gr. paper.
200×250 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and powder protection.
Signed on the front.
Come with me.
In my work the nude male figure usually appears, and one might think that I make works with erotic or sexual themes. However, for me there is nothing sexual in my works, even in this one. What I am talking about is masculinity, the frustration it imposes, its beauty. It’s not about sex, it’s about being yourself, real and complete.
Conversaciones (Conversations)
Oil on Canson paper.
310×410 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
At the wrong time, we have loved each other. We have loved the same, but at the wrong time. We have spoken, or kept silent, at the wrong time.
This work is about communication in a couple’s relationship. The frustration of wanting to be understood without having to speak. The desire to be guessed.
Crop Top
Ink, graphite and acrylic on Canson mi-Teintes Ivory 160gr. paper.
297×210 mm.
Matte varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
This work is about masculinity and the frustration it can produce. A man’s obligation to be strong, brave, determined. The obligation to have no feelings, to depend on no one, to be able to take care of oneself and others…. What is expected of a man kills many men.
Cub
Ink, graphite and acrylic on Canson mi-Teintes Ivory 160gr. paper.
297×210 mm.
Matte varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
This work is about masculinity and the frustration it can produce. A man’s obligation to be strong, brave, determined. The obligation to have no feelings, to depend on no one, to be able to take care of oneself and others…. What is expected of a man kills many men.
Big red ears are a symbol of goodness. Surely a child who has suffered insults as a child for being different, or for example for having big ears, has become a good man and capable of understanding the suffering of others.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in the Bran Sólo Symbol Guide.
De la mano (Hand in hand)
Ink, graphite and acrylic on Canson mi-Teintes Ivory 160gr. paper.
297×210 mm.
Matte varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
This work shows two men holding hands, naked, ready, however, they are not facing each other, but looking towards the viewer, a third person, you. They hold each other tightly as a symbol of their union, of their trust, of the fact that nothing can separate them.
De las venas (From the veins)
Ink, graphite and acrylic on 180gr. Kraft paper.
297×210 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
From the veins the inevitable seems to grow, as if my body wants to extend to yours, and join it to continue living.
The black molars, in the air, signify the pain that the process entails.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in the Bran Sólo Symbol Guide.
Dime que sí (Tell me that you do)
Oil on Canson paper.
200×250 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
Turn your back on me if you want to, don’t look at me if you don’t want to, hide it if you can. But you can’t help it.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in the Bran Sólo Symbol Guide.
Dime que sí (II) (Tell me that you do)
Oil on Canson paper.
200×250 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
Turn your back on me if you want to, don’t look at me if you don’t want to, hide it if you can. But you can’t help it.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in the Bran Sólo Symbol Guide.
Dime que sí (III) (Tell me that you do)
Oil on Canson paper.
200×250 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
Turn your back on me if you want to, don’t look at me if you don’t want to, hide it if you can. But you can’t help it.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in the Bran Sólo Symbol Guide.
Di que no (Say no)
Ink, graphite and acrylic on Canson mi-Teintes Ivory paper 160gr.
200×250 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
This work is about the fear of rejection. The struggle to be understood.
One of the characters is reprimanded for his emotions towards the other.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in the Bran Solo Symbol Guide.
Pedro
Acrylic on Canson mi-Teintes Ivory paper 160gr.
297×210 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
I often like to play with the idea of the sea out of the sea.
The body is the sea, in this work.
It’s a kind of transformation where the body doesn’t matter, and becomes the pure and infinite element that is water.
The sea is the home, the calm, the magic.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in the Bran Sólo Symbol Guide.
Enséñamelo (Show it to me)
Ink, graphite and acrylic on Canson mi-Teintes Ivory paper 160gr.
297×210 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
This work is about the fear of rejection. The struggle to be understood.
One of the characters hides his emotions from the other.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in the Bran Sólo Symbol Guide.
Esperar sentado (Waiting seated)
Oil on Canson paper.
310×410 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
You cannot just wait, sitting, patient, when what is at stake, what you are waiting for, is yourself.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in the Bran Solo Symbol Guide.
Frank y el color del fuego (Frank and the colour of fire)
Acrylic on Canson paper 360gr.
297×210 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
This work was commissioned for the book LGBT+FILMS.
It is a version of Frankenstein according to Bran Sólo, in which the monster is a being capable of controlling a coloured fire that scares everyone.
Gracia (Grace)
Ink, graphite and acrylic on Canson mi-Teintes Ivory paper 160gr.
297×210 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
A hug in time can heal many wounds.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in the Bran Solo Symbol Guide.
Te doy mi corazón (I give you my heart)
Ink, graphite and acrylic on Canson mi-Teintes Ivory paper 160gr.
200×250 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
Love is many things. This is one of them.
In my work the nude male figure usually appears, and one might think that I make works with erotic or sexual themes. However, for me there is nothing sexual in my work, even in this one. What I am talking about is masculinity, the frustration it imposes, its beauty. It’s not about sex, it’s about being yourself, real and complete.
Imagina (Imagine)
Ink, graphite and acrylic on Canson mi-Teintes Ivory 160gr. paper.
250×200 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
A glance at infinity can mean seeing nothing, or suddenly seeing everything.
This work is about masculinity and the frustration it can produce. A man’s obligation to be strong, brave, determined. The obligation to have no feelings, to depend on no one, to be able to take care of oneself and others…. What is expected of a man kills many men.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in the Bran Solo Symbol Guide.
Jon
Oil on Canson paper.
200×250 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
This work is about masculinity and the frustration it can produce. A man’s obligation to be strong, brave, determined. The obligation not to have feelings, not to depend on anyone, to be able to take care of oneself and others… What is expected of a man kills many men.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in the Bran Sólo Symbol Guide.
Model: @jongomezdelap
La cita (The date)
Ink, graphite and acrylic on Canson mi-Teintes Ivory paper 160gr.
200×250 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
I brought you flowers, and it turned out you already had your house full.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in the Bran Sólo Symbol Guide.
Llorando (Crying)
Acrylic on Canson mi-Teintes Ivory paper 160gr.
250×200 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
You don’t cry if no one sees you.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in the Bran Sólo Symbol Guide.
Lucha (Fight)
Ink, graphite and acrylic on Canson mi-Teintes Ivory paper 160gr.
200×250 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
This work is about the fear of rejection. The struggle to be understood.
One of the characters is reprimanded for his emotions towards the other.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in the Bran Sólo Symbol Guide.
Mientes (You lie)
Ink, graphite and acrylic on Canson mi-Teintes Ivory paper 160gr.
297×210 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
This work is about the fear of rejection. The struggle to be understood.
One of the characters is reprimanded for his emotions towards the other.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in the Bran Solo Symbol Guide.
Monseñor (Monsignor)
Ink, graphite and acrylic on Canson mi-Teintes Ivory paper 160gr.
297×210 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
This work is about masculinity and the frustration it can produce. A man’s obligation to be strong, brave, determined. The obligation not to have feelings, not to depend on anyone, to be able to take care of oneself and others… What is expected of a man kills many men.
Big red ears are a symbol of goodness. Surely a boy who was insulted as a child for being different, or for having big ears for example, has become a good man, capable of understanding the suffering of others.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in the Bran Sólo Symbol Guide.
Nido (Nest)
Oil on Canson paper.
266×379 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
This work is about a private scene, a couple spends the afternoon at home, with the blind half-lit, smoking and chatting, no barriers, no fears, just them.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in the Bran Sólo Symbols Guide.
Nilo
Acrylic on wood.
300×400 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
This work is about masculinity and the frustration it can produce. A man’s obligation to be strong, brave, determined. The obligation not to have feelings, not to depend on anyone, to be able to take care of oneself and others… What is expected of a man kills many men.
Big red ears are a symbol of goodness. Surely a boy who was insulted as a child for being different, or for having big ears for example, has become a good man, capable of understanding the suffering of others.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in the Bran Sólo Symbol Guide.
Ofrenda (Offering)
Oil on Canson paper.
200×250 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
This work talks about the naturalness of the male body, the hair, the shapes.
There is a scar on the model’s chest, as if his heart had been stolen some time ago. Perhaps he feels empty since then, perhaps he feels that now he is only a body.
In my work the nude male figure usually appears, and one might think that I make works with erotic or sexual themes. However, for me there is nothing sexual in my work, even in this one. What I am talking about is masculinity, the frustration it imposes, its beauty. It’s not about sex, it’s about being yourself, real and complete.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in Bran Solo’s Guide to Symbols.
Outsider
Ink and graphite on Canson mi-Teintes Ivory paper 160gr.
297×210 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
I’ve always felt like an alien. I don’t fit in anywhere, no one is or feels the way I do. I don’t connect with the people around me. Or I connect in a way that is not reciprocal. Instead of integrating, I end up forming and leading groups that, in the end, make you feel just as lonely. Since the bullying and the death of my father when I was 14, the world has become a hostile, uncomfortable place that can make you suffer at any moment and forever. And even though I am now a man and I am in control of my life, I live as I want and I am a strong person, I always feel that I am out of reality, somewhere where no one sees me, and where I will be completely alone until the end. In three days I will lie down in an operating room to have the contents of my eyes replaced with a man-made plastic lens. Then it is possible, but not certain, that I will begin to see the world the way you do. So far my world has been a blurred, ghostly reality, where things change shape and few people have faces. It is another attempt to achieve what I have always pursued for no apparent reason: to be normal; like everyone else. I’m not afraid of the intervention, it will be a moment. What scares me is to remain the same after it. To remain trapped in this reality of shadows and black holes.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in the Bran Sólo Symbol Guide.
Palomo
Ink, graphite and acrylic on Canson mi-Teintes Ivory 160gr. paper.
250×200 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
This work is about masculinity and the frustration it can produce. A man’s obligation to be strong, brave, determined. The obligation not to have feelings, not to depend on anyone, to be able to take care of oneself and others… What is expected of a man kills many men.
Big red ears are a symbol of goodness. Surely a boy who was insulted as a child for being different, or for having big ears for example, has become a good man, capable of understanding the suffering of others.
In Spanish, the term «Palomo» is used as a derogatory term for homosexuals, and «Tener pluma» (To have feathers) means to be effeminate in behaviour or dress. The birds here are a symbol of both repression and freedom.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in Bran Sólo’s Guide to Symbols.
Por ti (Because of you)
Oil on Canson paper.
320×240 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
Loneliness lurks especially at night, in bed, when one would like to be able to embrace someone who protects you, who makes you feel loved, but can only feel the cold and the silence.
In this work the character imagines being accompanied, cutting the work from the right, and making it appear from his back.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in the Bran Sólo Symbols Guide.
Pure
Oil on Canson paper.
200×250 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
This work talks about the calm of water, the silence of the bath, a ritual of purification based on solitude, reflection, the reflection of oneself in the mirror.
It is about masculinity and the frustration it can produce. A man’s obligation to be strong, brave, determined. The obligation not to have feelings, not to depend on anyone, to be able to take care of oneself and of others… What is expected of a man kills many men.
Model: Ahmed, Photography: @berlinlandscapes
Pure (II)
Oil on Canson paper.
200×250 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
This work talks about the calm of water, the silence of the bath, a ritual of purification based on solitude, reflection, the reflection of oneself in the mirror.
It is about masculinity and the frustration it can produce. A man’s obligation to be strong, brave, determined. The obligation not to have feelings, not to depend on anyone, to be able to take care of oneself and of others… What is expected of a man kills many men.
Model: Ahmed, Photography: @berlinlandscapes
Rendición (Surrender)
Oil on Canson paper.
330×487 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
This work talks about the naturalness of the male body.
In my work, the male figure usually appears naked, and one might think that I make works with erotic or sexual themes. However, for me there is nothing sexual in my work, even in this one. What I am talking about is masculinity, the frustration it imposes, its beauty. It’s not about sex, it’s about being yourself, real and complete.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in Bran Sólo’s Guide to Symbols.
Original photo: @manelortega
Reunión de amigos (Friends' meeting)
Gouache on blue Pankaster paper.
200×250 mm.
Signed on the front.
In my case, I didn’t discover and accept that I was homosexual until I was 21. In adolescence, at some point when I was able to integrate into a group of friends, sometimes I had the opportunity to find myself in one of those teenage gatherings where there were videotapes for adults and few clothes.
It was a moment when it seemed that I was really integrated, that I was like them… actually nobody knew, not even me, that it was different for me than for them.
In my work the male figure usually appears naked, and one might think that I make works with erotic or sexual themes. However, for me there is nothing sexual in my work, even in this one. What I am talking about is masculinity, the frustration it imposes, its beauty. It’s not about sex, it’s about being yourself, real and complete.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in Bran Solo’s Guide to Symbols.
Siesta (Nap)
Gouache on blue Pankaster paper.
200×250 mm.
Signed on the front.
The siesta is that intimate moment, in the half-light, where there is nothing else to do but to feel, to be.
In my work, the nude male figure usually appears, and one might think that I make works with erotic or sexual themes. However, for me there is nothing sexual in my work, even in this one. What I am talking about is masculinity, the frustration it imposes, its beauty. It’s not about sex, it’s about being yourself, real and complete.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in Bran Solo’s Guide to Symbols.
Son Ilusiones (Daydreams)
Oil on wood.
180x240x20 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
This work talks about the naturalness of the male body.
In my work, the male figure usually appears naked, and one might think that I make works with erotic or sexual themes. However, for me there is nothing sexual in my work, even in this one. What I am talking about is masculinity, the frustration it imposes, its beauty. It’s not about sex, it’s about being yourself, real and complete.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in the Bran Solo Symbol Guide.
Model: @fleshytone
Starry Night
Ink and graphite on Canson mi-Teintes Ivory paper 160gr.
297×210 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
The shapes that the hair on the man’s body sometimes follows are mysterious to me. I like the way it follows a direction, as if someone had decided that they should follow that path. Sometimes they remind me of Van Gogh’s impressionist brushstrokes, of his starry night, of the ripples in the water, of the clouds in the sky.
I can see my sky, my water, in your body.
Toujours Bleu
Oil and acrylic on canvas.
600 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
I am always sad, always blue. I can’t stop my branches from growing, spreading, and trying to reach the unreachable.
This work has been previously exhibited at the Salon d’Art Contemporain de Montpellier, France.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in the Bran Sólo Symbol Guide.
Triste (Sad man)
Ink, graphite and acrylic on Canson mi-Teintes Ivory paper 160gr.
297×210 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
I am always sad. I can’t stop my branches from growing, spreading, and trying to reach the unreachable.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in the Bran Solo Symbol Guide.
Tu sonrisa (Your smile )
Oil on Canson paper.
330×487 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
Your smile is the only thing that calms my fear. It’s the only thing that brings me back to my childhood. It is the only thing I want to see, and the only thing I don’t see.
This work has been previously exhibited at the Salon d’Art Contemporain de Montpellier, France.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in the Bran Sólo Symbol Guide.
Visiones (Visions)
Acrylic on Canson mi-Teintes Ivory paper 160gr.
230×230 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
I often like to play with the idea of the sea out of the sea.
The body is the sea, in this work, and the fish float in the air.
It’s a kind of transformation where the body doesn’t matter, and becomes the pure and infinite element that is water.
The sea is the home, the calm, the magic.
Y no lo ves (And you can’t see it)
Oil on Canson paper.
310×310 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
Loneliness, reflection, fear.
This work speaks of the feeling of not being understood, of not connecting with anyone, of wanting to isolate oneself in order to live peacefully, to die peacefully. However, although the character does not see it, there is a small branch growing in the air, still looking for hope, nourished by the desire that still lives in him.
Model: @rafarakkaus
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in the Bran Solo Symbol Guide.
Capitan (Captain)
Acrylic and ink on Canson mi-Teintes Ivory 160gr paper.
297×210 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
I often like to play with the idea of the sea out of the sea.
The body is the sea, in this work, and the fish float in the air.
It’s a kind of transformation where the body doesn’t matter, and becomes the pure and infinite element that is water.
The sea is the home, the calm, the magic.
Al Aire (On the air)
Acrylic and ink on Canson mi-Teintes Ivory 160gr paper.
297×210 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
I often like to play with the idea of the sea out of the sea.
The body is the sea, in this work, and the fish float in the air.
It’s a kind of transformation where the body doesn’t matter, and becomes the pure and infinite element that is water.
The sea is the home, the calm, the magic.
Sea of tears
Acrylic and ink on Canson mi-Teintes Ivory 160gr paper.
297×210 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
I often like to play with the idea of the sea out of the sea.
The body is the sea, in this work, and the fish float in the air.
It’s a kind of transformation where the body doesn’t matter, and becomes the pure and infinite element that is water.
The sea is the home, the calm, the magic.
Soledad (Solitude)
Acrílico y tinta sobre papel Canson mi-Teintes Marfil 160gr.
210×210 mm.
Barnizado mate. Protección UV y polvo.
Firmado al frente.
Don’t try to stop it. You know it will grow in you.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in the Bran Solo Symbol Guide.
Bailando (Dancing)
Ink and graphite on Canson mi-Teintes Ivory paper 160gr.
297×210 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
This work is about the fear of rejection. The struggle to be understood.
One of the characters is reprimanded for his emotions towards the other.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in the Bran Solo Symbol Guide.
Vergüenza (Shame)
Ink and graphite on Canson mi-Teintes Ivory paper 160gr.
297×210 mm.
Matt varnished. UV and dust protection.
Signed on the front.
This work is about the fear of rejection. The struggle to be understood.
One of the characters is reprimanded for his emotions towards the other.
This work includes symbols that can be consulted in the Bran Solo Symbol Guide.
⚫ Key to symbols in Bran Sólo ‘s work ⚫
 | The sea: Infinite place of calm, love, perfection, home. |
 | Teeth: Pain. |
 | Tentacle: Attempt to reach, to contain, to catch. |
 | Houses: The home that is left behind and to which we can never return. Sometimes it burns and disappears, sometimes it waits to be engulfed by a wave. |
 | Hand with open eye: Hope. |
 | Key: Secrets. |
 | Couple of swifts: Love, dependence, union, partnership. |
 | Big ears: It shows that the character must undoubtedly be a good person. A child with big ears has to learn to be a good person in order to survive. |
 | Marks or shadow under the eyes: Sadness. |
 | Neck markings: Beard, maturity, manhood. |
 | Circle in the throat: Anguish, mute. |
 | Narwhals: Narwhals cannot kiss each other. |
 | Shipwreck: The frustration of unrequited love. |
 | Constellations: A guide to understanding the incomprehensible. |
 | Red plant (Amor de hombre): Emotions that try to escape, to grow. |
 | Deformed, blurred eye: Reference to the artist’s visual disorder. Fear of blindness. Single point of view. |
I paint to never die
Born in Abarán, Murcia (Spain), in 1985, Bran Sólo defines himself as a “Good person, painter, illustrator, designer and photographer, as well as many other things I never wanted to be“.
Graduated in 2006 in Computer Applications Development and Database Analysis, he worked for seven years in the technology sector.
In 2010 he participated in the official programme of parallel events of the European Biennial of Contemporary Art Manifesta, in its eighth edition, with an exhibition at the Casas Consistoriales space in Mazarrón.
In 2012 he decided to abandon his work as a computer programmer and lifestyle to devote himself to drawing and enroll in the School of Art of Murcia, leaving behind family, couple and home and moving alone to a studio in the city of Murcia.
It is in the same school where he discovers that an eye disease, of unknown origin, conditions his perception from childhood. A macular lesion, formed by scars in the central area of the retina, distorts the images in a way that it describes as “kaleidoscopic“, sharply multiplying the images with high contrast or brightness. In this way, he discovers that he cannot certainly find the line that separates a white area from a black one, confuses volume with emptiness, the positive with the negative and, except in specific light circumstances, perceives all objects multiplied up to eight or ten copies, depending on distance, and especially those that are luminous, making it difficult to visualize screens and projections as well as elements that emit or reflect moderate amounts of light. This condition, which forces the brain to interpret reality very subjectively, gives it a “unique vision”, which he sustains with humour “is the most important quality that an artist must have“.
He finished his studies in 2014 and graduated in Plastic Arts and Design in Illustration, presenting in his final project the Tarot de Laguna by which he is qualified with the highest score of the jury, which grants him an Erasmus scholarship that takes him to Oporto.
After his stay in the Portuguese city, he moved to Madrid where he officially began his artistic caree. He moves in 2015 to Barcelona where he continues his work.
In 2015 he holds his first solo exhibition: “Perfume de flor de cuchillo” in Kipfer&Lover, Malaga, which is a great success.
He returns to Murcia in 2016 where he currently resides.
From that moment on, his career advances exponentially and in a short time he manages to show his work at the Carmen Thyssen Museum in Malaga, at the ESTAMPA fair in Madrid, at the gallery NB7 of the FLECHA fair in the same city, as well as in other spaces such as Échale Guindas Galería, Matraca Gallery, VillaPuchero Factory, Factoria de Arte y Desarrollo, Swinton & Grant, The Folio Club, The Folio Club, Nigredo Espacio, El Gallinero or Vergel Espacio.
In addition, he collaborates with the publishers of 180hilos, exhibiting works in serial edition at MACBA and CCCB in Barcelona, CAIXA Forum Madrid and at the Centre Pompidou in Malaga, as well as ARCO Art Fair 2018 (Llibreria Laie Stand) and manages to find a niche in specialised shops and art galleries inside and outside Spain.
In 2018 he publishes for sale the Tarot de Laguna, a research and personal development work based on the fundamentals of psychoanalysis.
He is currently researching the relationship between science and art, which he says is “inseparable from me“, as well as being interested in the graphic study of other subjects such as masculinity, fear and human emotions, love and blindness.
Subjects
The protagonists tend to be characters from his surroundings and models that he usually photographs in his studio, predominantly men, with a melancholic, pessimistic and solitary character, which is the main subject dealt with in most of his works.
Bran Sólo is a lover of the sea, linking its color palette to the Mediterranean.
He usually replaces the shape and colour of the human body with a blue colour like the sea, on backgrounds reminiscent of the fine sand of some of the Mediterranean landscapes in which he gets inspired.
MASCULINITY – MACHO IS DEAD
It’s one of the reasons he says he’s here.
“We all know the stale stereotype of the IBERIAN MALE. The strong man, hard, determined, powerful, sexual, a little bit bull, a little bit pig. In Spain, men are educated in this way, to be insensitive beasts that can work twelve hours, earn nine hundred euros, carry a family with many children, copulate when asked and close their mouths to any personal problem. If there is any sorrow, they should go to the bar to drink and watch football.
I have grown up in a society (using the term society as WE, and not THE OTHERS) that has imposed values on me without considering their weight. I am expected to be strong, brave, without fears, without complaints. I have to protect others, lead the group, be the alpha male everyone expects, raise a family, pull everything forward and never waver.
I have no choice but to refuse.
The feminist movements that resurface, by fortune and necessity, at the end of this decade as well as the discourses of gender liberation and sexual identity reveal the new scenario in which the man finds himself.
It is a reality that there is a consciousness of NEW MASCULINITIES, where a man can be a man, and that means, if you want to, be sensitive, be afraid, be fragile, need help… or be whatever you want to be as a man, as if that means being what we think a woman should be.
My discourse is this, as is my work. Free men, strong or not. Whatever they choose to be.“
CONTEMPORARY SADNESS
The idea, based in part on the essay by the Belgian philosopher and art historian Hippolyte Fierens-Gevaer entitled Contemporary sadness: essay on the great moral and intellectual currents of the nineteenth century, inspires Bran to work on the feeling of loneliness, of feeling different, excluded and rejected in a pessimistic, exhausted environment, where faith in humanity, and therefore in oneself, has been lost.
“To doubt, not of the existence of God, but of the presence of a divine virtue in human acts, is the highest form of contemporary sadness”. (Hippolyte Fierens-Gevaer)
The 2017 Ansak series of illustrations reflects this pessimistic character through his inexpressive, slightly melancholy, dark portraits of faces that, although deformed by the emotions of the portrayed character, do not fail to convey the forgotten beauty behind the pain and fear that seems to drown the model.
LONELINESS
The theme that worries the painter the most is solitude, reflecting it even in his name with a “o” with a tilde (the one of “Sólo”) that more reminds to an adverb of quantity than to an adjective of company in the spanish language.
“It is not about loneliness in the context of dependence on a partner or family, but it refers to the feeling of being unable to find or return home, to connect with other people or simply to feel overwhelmed by the brutal scenery that nature, as majestic as it is perverse, holds for us”.
It is possible that the visual circumstance that characterizes Bran’s personality aggravates this feeling of loneliness, creating a ghostly and hostile scenario, empty of humanity.
LOVE
Is this characteristic, which makes any person who moves more than a few centimetres away into a shadow, reaffirms the painter’s need for the physical, for touch as a substitute for vision (hence symbols such as the hand with an eye in the palm), and for the value of the company and the exchange of visions.
Affection, admiration, connection, protection and commitment are recurring themes and inspirational motives for the symbology that appears in his works.
Paloma Negra collective
In 2017, together with his inseparable partner Daniel “El Dibujo”, he founded the Circulo de Artistas Paloma Negra, with the aim of giving visibility to a group of artists with a message and a concept of similar artistic work, fleeing from the artistic emptiness created by the Contemporary Art Market.
Paloma Negra’s discourse begins with the phrase “Not everything is worth”, as a reference to the loss of meaning that the art of the contemporary movement has experienced after the rise of the artistic avant-garde.
In addition, Paloma Negra focuses on the figure of the artist as an experienced composer, a being with a different sensibility that far from pursuing fame, profitability and recognition at all costs, focuses its attention on his work, providing it with message and technique, emotion and meaning, and returns the value to the artistic work, giving it the unique and personal impression of the composer.
Initially they are members of the collective artists such as Espinaca Explosiva, Fran Munyoz, Alejandro Llamas, Jaume Mora, Dino Galvagno, Pablo Álvarez, Jav Rubín, Julia Navarro, Vorja Sánchez and Oct Streitenberger.
Trajectory
Academic Qualification:
2014 Completion of Higher Technical Studies in Art and Design in Illustration at the School of Arts of Murcia. / Técnico superior en Arte y Diseño en Ilustración por la Escuela de Arte de Murcia.
2006 Completion of Higher Technical Studies in Software Development and Database Analysis. / Técnico superior en Análisis y Desarrollo de Aplicaciones Informáticas.
Exhibitions:
2021 Participation in LGTBQ Art Fair ARTGAYSEL 2021, at Hôtel Gaythering in Miami Beach. Miami, Florida.
2021 Participation in the Montpellier Contemporary Art Salon, with the gallery Patrick Bartoli, from Marseille. Montpellier, France.
2021 Group exhibition TAKE A PAGE curated by Sara Torres Sifón and Plataforma de Arte Contemporáneo on the occasion of ESTAMPA 2021 FAIR. Madrid. Spain.
2021 Group exhibition PRIDE on the occasion of the LGTBI+ PRIDE of BARCELONA 2021 held at Bar La Federica, Barcelona.
2021 Group exhibition PRIDE BY YOUR SIDE, the exhibition in support of the LGBT+ community online. In collaboration with QUEEF MAGAZINE, PRIDE MAGAZINE and FALO MAGAZINE. Curated by FMB Art Gallery, shown online and at Afnakafna gallery and Freeda gallery, Rome.
2021 Group exhibition Una Mirada LGTBI+ organised by Joan Martí i Ventura (cultural manager) and Simón Perera del Rosario (secretary general of PRISMA, LGTBIQA+ association), directors of the exhibition project Una Mirada LGTBI+, at Taller Balam, Barcelona.
2020 Exhibition The (Re)Making of a Native Language curated by Laurence Ross, at Woodland Pattern Book Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. USA.
2019 Exhibition in art fair ArtGaysel 5, during ArtBasel Miami, at Hotel Gaythering, Miami Beach, Florida. USA.
2019 Group exhibition on the occasion of the Wizard of Oz 80th anniversary at Ficciones, Murcia. Spain.
2019 Group exhibition on the occasion of the BARCELONA ORGULLO LGTBI+ held at Bar La Federica in Barcelona. Spain.
2019 Group exhibition on the occasion of the ROMA LGTBI+ PRIDE celebrated in LARGO VENUE, in Rome. Italy.
2019 Group exhibition at the BERKANA Bookstore Stand on the occasion of the Madrid Book Fair for the signing of the book “Call me by your name” by André Aciman, Madrid.
2018 Individual exhibition in Art Fair “ArtGaysel 4”, organized by Hôtel Gaythering of Miami Beach, Florida. USA.
2018 Group Exhibition “ORGULLO”, organized by Paloma Negra, in the space Nawalis, Chueca, Madrid. Spain.
2018 Individual exhibition “Dragones“, in the restaurant Sr.Ito, Chueca, Madrid. Spain.
2018 Group exhibition “UNICON – Unique Art Condoms“, THEREDOOM Gallery, Madrid. Spain.
2018 Exhibition “FRENTE A FRENTE” together with Daniel “El Dibujo” and curated by 180 hilos at Café Miau space, Madrid. Spain.
2018 Group exhibition “LIBRA“, organized by Paloma Negra in the space Librería El Público, Elche. Spain.
2018 Group exhibition in the space Arquitectura de Barrio, Murcia. Spain.
2018 Collective exhibition “MUSA“, organized by Paloma Negra in the space Bacanal Café, Barcelona. Spain.
2017 Group exhibition “UNFOLLOW“, organized by Paloma Negra in the space The Rubias, Valencia. Spain.
2017 Individual exhibition at ArtGaysel fair in Hôtel Gaythering, Miami Beach, Florida, USA.
2017 Individual exhibition “Ansak“, in Kipfer&Lover, Málaga. Spain.
2017 Group exhibition on the occasion of the 5th Anniversary of 180 threads, in Swinton&Grant, Madrid, with sales in Llibrería Laie stores in Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga and Seville and museum stores Centre Pompidou Malaga, Caixa Forum Madrid, MACBA Barcelona, CCCB Barcelona and Laie stand in Feria de Arte ARCO Madrid. Spain.
2017 Individual exhibition “Azul“, in El Gallinero Café, Murcia. Spain.
2017 Group exhibition “The Red Blue Chair“, organised by the Paloma Negra collective in LPS, Murcia. Spain.
2017 Group exhibition “StickersArt” organized by Plataforma de Arte Contemporáneo (PAC) at the edition fair ESTAMPA, Madrid. Spain.
2017 Group exhibition “Frankenstein is not the monster“, curated by Zony Gómez at the Nigredo Espacio gallery, Madrid. Spain.
2017 Group exhibition “Hotel x Hotel II“, in Factoría de Arte y Desarrollo, Madrid. Spain.
2017 Group exhibition “Cabra de Lado“, in VILLAPUCHEROFACTORY, Málaga. Spain.
2017 Group exhibition “Humanize a non-human being” in El Gallinero Café, Murcia. Spain.
2017 Group exhibition “The Free Wee Project” organized by Plataforma de Arte Contemporáneo (PAC) at Swinton & Grant. Madrid. Spain.
2017 Group exhibition “Hotel x Hotel” curated by Guillermo Martín Bermejo for Art&Breakfast3 at the Carmen Thyssen Museum, Málaga. Spain.
2017 Group exhibition “Mayo a Frida” in Vergel Espacio, Murcia. Spain.
2017 Group exhibition “WHEN YOU ARE A STRANGER” in Échale Guindas Gallery, Madrid. Spain.
2017 Individual exhibition “El hombre perfecto” together with El Dibujo and Fran Munyoz in La Matraca Gallery, Málaga. Spain.
2017 Exhibition “Habibi” of limited edition portrait next to Daniel El Dibujo in El Gallinero Café, Murcia. Spain.
2016 Group exhibition of Christmas in Gallery NB7 FLECHA (Organizer of Fair of Art FLECHA) participating with four works, Núñez de Balboa 7, Madrid. Spain.
2016 Group exhibition “CienxCien” in the gallery The Makers participating with the work “Rojo como los labios de quien yo sé”, Madrid. Spain.
2015 Individual exhibition “Perfume de Flor de Cuchillo” in the space Kipfer&Lover, with residence in VILLAPUCHEROFACTORY, Málaga. Spain.
2015 Group exhibition “Espejo de Sombras” curated by Guillermo Martín Bermejo in Factoría de Arte y Desarrollo, Madrid. Spain.
2014 Group exhibition of photography and illustration on stone DISONANTES, organized by the photographer Lorena Velasco in the space LAB (Laboratory of Young Art), Murcia. Spain.
2014 Group exhibition CREAJOVEN 2014 Photography in the space LAB (Laboratory of Young Art), Murcia. Spain.
2014 Selection of the jury as finalist in CREAJOVEN Murcia 2014 in the photography category.
2014 Scholarship of illustration with Inês Oliveira in Porto, Portugal.
2014 Group exhibition on the occasion of the Woman Day by the School of Art of Murcia in the Centro Cultural El Carmen, Murcia. Spain.
2013 Prize Christmas competition Murcia School of Art. Spain.
2010 Group exhibition “Inake“, Official Program Parallel Manifesta 8 Biennial, in Casas Consistoriales, Mazarrón, Murcia. Spain.
Workshops:
2015-2018 Image transfer workshop, organized in Barcelona, Girona, Madrid, Valencia and Seville.
Mentions in the media
