Victor Hugo Zayas

Figurative Movement Mariana #55 

2023

Oil on canvas

48 x 60 in.

Courtesy of the artist

To purchase this work of art please join us at our LIVE AUCTION event on March 1, 2025 by purchasing a ticket at https://lagunaartmuseum.org/art-auction or schedule your PROXY BID by reaching us at artauction@lagunaartmuseum.org or 949 494-8971. 

About Artwork: The Movement Series represents the continued exploration by Victor Hugo to express the profound underpinnings of the natural world, physics, the cosmos, and the role the human figure plays in reflecting our reality in a vibrant, kinetic way. Each painting is an exploration of movement through line, working with a live model to capture sometimes dozens of poses in one singular composition. At times the work is simple, three motions of grace, and at other times frenetic in the ways in which human energy is captured. As expressed by the art critic Peter Frank in an essay entitled Polydextrous: The Unified Styles of Victor Hugo Zayas, In Zayas' hands, material seems to dictate not only technique, but visual language. Metal demands a geometric abstraction of considerable visual dynamism and physical poise. Paper and the substances applied to it invite a supple line combining with an economy of form in the revelation of sensuous figural volume.

About Artist: Zayas was born in Tijuana, Mexico, and spent his early years in Mazatlán on the West Coast before moving to San Diego in 1977, where he earned his BFA at United States International University. At 18, in 1981, he traveled to Europe with only enough money for two weeks, determined to visit the great art collections of the West. During his first week on Spain's Costa Brava, he painted watercolors of the landscape and sold them to survive, which allowed him to continue traveling and experiencing art firsthand, seeing masterpieces by Velazquez, Goya, Rembrandt, Picasso, and others. This transformative journey confirmed his dedication to art, providing him with the confidence to pursue it as a lifelong path. After returning to California, Zayas earned a second BFA from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and began working on abstract geometrical paintings, eventually attracting the attention of influential gallerist Jan Turner, who offered him a solo show in 1991. However, Zayas's focus shifted when he began painting the industrial landscape near his studio, inspired by the environment of the L.A. River, leading him to create more figurative, oil-painted landscapes. When Turner saw his new works, she immediately recognized their superior quality, and these paintings became the centerpiece of his show.