Marcos Palazzi's daily life goes onto the easel. He doesn't know how to define his painting but he does know that it is in full harmony with his literary and musical tastes. Kitchens, bars, and the interiors of vans are perfect settings to let his imagination fly. Now we can enjoy his latest harvest thanks to the exhibition Música de paseo which is at Sala Parés, on Petritxol street, until next February 5.
When he was a child, his parents gave him a box of paints that he never used. "I was always drawing with a pencil and I started painting at eighteen when I entered the EINA school thanks to one of my teachers, Serra de Rivera. I entered EINA with the idea of doing design but soon switched to art. Then I enrolled in La Massana and later in La Llotja. In all the schools I went through I had very good teachers. I also loved comics and I really liked going to exhibitions and museums like the old MNAC that was in Ciutadella. There I soaked up painting. I was alone and spent hours in front of a painting."
Marcos Palazzi remembers that his first exhibition was in Carlos Barral's bar gallery in 1985. "The first thing I showed were drawings. There was no color. I'm just starting to understand color now," he jokes. The Parés gallery is a big deal. "I entered a painting competition at Sala Parés in 1991 and won. Since then I have had many individual and collective exhibitions in this gallery. I have also exhibited at N2, at 3 Punts and at Alcolea. I was lucky enough to exhibit in Berlin with the 3 Punts gallery, and in Madrid, with Alcolea. You learn from everything. Everything is an experience."
Constant painter during the months of the state of alarm, he obtained a permit to go every day to his studio on Sant Pere Més Baix street, number 42. "This exhibition, Música de paseo (Walking Music), is the result of two years of work. Don't look for paintings about the pandemic… I paint every day. Most are everyday situations. My family and my cat are a constant in my paintings. There is a series on interiors and a series dedicated to music. There are also unsettling landscapes such as a wedding in Scotland or the mountains of Asturias from a family trip. And Marta, my wife, I portray her a lot, but this naked girl on one of Menorca's beaches is not her. We used to go to Menorca a lot but I went back this summer and to my surprise, I discovered that many beaches had disappeared because the storm had washed them away. There are also faces of friends like Miguel Gallardo, which is one of the most amusing portraits in the exhibition, or Helena Vázquez, whom I felt like drawing with a toothpick in her mouth.
Like life itself
--- How do you define your painting?
--- I don't know how to define it. It's quite similar to the music I listen to and the books I read. I can say it's somewhat eclectic. I like to vary the classical view of what surrounds me. Light is key. I like artificial light and I focus on what I want to show.
--- As a studio painter, what is your workplace like?
--- My studio is right next door. It's very large, which is why I share it with Juan Escudero. Next door is Xavier Solá and above is Artigau. I'm surrounded by painters. I wake up very early and walk down to the studio. It takes about forty minutes. I spend all day there. From eight to eight. Many times we eat with colleagues.
--- Painter and teacher.
--- I teach classes on Thursdays from half past four to half past eight. The students are more or less my generation. I make them draw and we work with oil. Always from life. We have a very pleasant time.
"This exhibition, Música de paseo, is the result of two years of work. Don't look for paintings about the pandemic… I paint every day. Most are everyday situations"About technology applied to painting, Marcos Palazzi highlights that he does not use the computer as a tool, but respects artists like David Hockney who use a tablet to draw"The problem is that all drawings look very similar. But the iPad is a tool like a pencil or an engraving…".
"I don't like to talk about my essentials, but I admit that what remains of Matisse and Hockney is super cheerful. Among the greats, I like Bacon, Velázquez, Titian, Tintoretto, all the Italians. If you go to the museums in London or Edinburgh, you'll be amazed. There are infinite painters. I don't commit to anyone. I like painting that is good."
If someone wants to see Marcos Palazzi's work, they can go to Can Framis, Sala Parés, or his studio on Calle Sant Pere Més Baix.