Spanish artist adds an 'Explosion' of color and 'Kaos'

Spanish artist Okuda San Miguel's colorful work is being shown in Shanghai for the first time at the Kaos Trip: A Colorful Journey by Okuda San Miguel exhibition at the Bund 18 Jiushi Art Gallery.

The exhibition opened on Aug 21 and will run until Oct 24.

One of the most influential contemporary artists in Spain, San Miguel's public art creations have been widely viewed around the world. His Shanghai showcase features 17 sets of paintings, sculptures and installations.

The 40-year-old has a distinctive artistic vocabulary that "blends classical theological themes with different visual and cultural elements such as contemporary street art, pop art, surrealism and even mystical aesthetics", says Zhu Ling, curator of the exhibition, which toured Guangzhou, Guangdong province, and Shenyang, Liaoning province, last year.

Kaos Trip takes up much of the public space on the second floor of the gallery, a historical structure built in 1923. Zhu hopes that the colorful nature of San Miguel's artworks will "penetrate the century-old brick walls" and add new vitality to the building.

Stepping into the first chapter, visitors are greeted by the iconic installation, Explosion Head. Laid on the ground, the 6-meter-long artwork forces visitors to turn their heads and change their perspective to view it.

To the artist, this inflatable installation is "a metaphor about the pressure to think, observe and share the space we are in under the conditions of uncertain disadvantage, but with a clear sensory advantage due to the sheer volume of objects displayed by the subject".

This new relationship between "seeing and being seen, the exhibits and the exhibition space", embodied by the chain reaction between the works, the space and the audience, is the most characteristic and powerful part of the artist's visual world, says Zhu.

Other works, such as the Kaleidoscopic Tunnel, an immersive installation that invites the audience to experience his surrealistic and metaphorical universe, are also popular with visitors.

For many people, the rich colors, geometric patterns and familiar icons, such as the skull, the winged angel and Mickey Mouse, are ideal subjects for photography and provide an interesting background for selfies, too.

"I see lots of life and energy in his art," said Gu Yu, a visitor, at the opening. "It lightens up your mood, and then makes you think about serious issues such as life and death, nature and destiny."

Born in 1980, San Miguel was in 1997 recognized for his creations along the railroads and in abandoned factories in his hometown. Since then, he has developed a distinctive style featuring multicolored geometric structures and patterns that are coupled with gray bodies and organic forms. In his paintings, skulls are symbols of life, while doves represent freedom.

"I like to explore the potential of mutations between them, as well as between animals and humans, playing with their scales and creating impossible digital creatures," the artist wrote in a message to Chinese audiences.

If you go

Kaos Trip: A Colorful Journey by Okuda San Miguel

Bund 18 Jiushi Art Gallery, 18 East Zhongshan No 1 Road, Huangpu district, Shanghai.

10 am-6 pm, Tue-Sun, Aug 21-Oct 24.