4 - EUGENIO SIMÓ (Valencia, 1972)

EUGENIO SIMÓ (Valencia, 1972) Untitled, 1997, Acrylic on canvas mounted on board. Signed and dated on the reverse. Measurements: 81 x 81 cm. In this visually striking scene, Eugenio Simó reinterprets Bibendum, the famous Michelin character, against a hypnotic background of orange and fuchsia circles. The figure appears to be running toward the viewer while holding a club from the Spanish deck of cards, introducing an unexpected element of popular culture. The work connects with pop art aesthetics, both through its appropriation of a recognizable icon of mass culture and through its use of intense colors, graphic forms, and an image with an advertising-like quality. Simó thus transforms an everyday character into a scene brimming with humor, strangeness, and ambiguity, where advertising, popular tradition, and contemporary visual culture converge. A visual artist and graphic designer, Simó studied at the San Carlos School of Fine Arts in Valencia and at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia. His work combines painting, collage, illustration, and techniques typical of graphic design, with a critical eye toward visual culture and contemporary society. Since 1993, he has built an extensive exhibition and professional career, which has also involved collaborations with cultural institutions, museums, and graphic identity projects. In 2023, he presented *Fake Gate* at the Espai Metropolità d’Art in Torrent, an exhibition that brought together three decades of his artistic work.