139 - MANUEL PÁEZ ÁLVAREZ (Calasparra, Murcia, 1976).

MANUEL PÁEZ ÁLVAREZ (Calasparra, Murcia, 1976). "The Visit." Oil on canvas. Measurements: 114 x 147 cm; 122 x 155 cm (frame). Manuel Páez Álvarez earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Carlos in Valencia. In 1999, he joined the prestigious Valencian gallery Val i 30. With this gallery, he has held numerous exhibitions and participated in art fairs such as ARCO and Art Madrid. He creates narrative paintings. These works revisit classical paradigms—both technically and stylistically—while addressing contemporary themes. To this end, he uses archetypes—primarily those drawn from mythology—as his context, recognizing that they continue to reflect the men and women of our time, thereby seeking to better understand aspects of what is happening to us that we believe to be disconnected from the past. In this vein, he has revived technical processes from the classics that are now completely obsolete, with the aim of restoring a strictly pictorial character to figurative art—one in which the image created by the painting possesses its own distinct character in a world oversaturated with images. He currently works in Murcia, where he has two studios—one dedicated to painting and the other to sculpture—and where he teaches as an associate professor in the Fine Arts department (in the Painting Workshop course). His professional practice focuses both on creating his own work and on fulfilling commissions, in which the client plays a significant role in the conception of the piece. Most works of art throughout history have been created under these parameters. It is, in short, a momentary return driven by a desire for renewal. Far from believing that “art is dead,” he believes that society needs a respite in which slow, careful, and thoughtful processes—along with the uniqueness of pieces that comes from handcrafted work—humanize our environment, even if only a little.