Last Friday night, Alicante painter Daniel Escolano Cárcel passed away. He was born in 1954 in his beloved San Gabriel, but previously enjoyed recounting that he was born at Racing de San Gabriel in a “magical” and loving dance of his parents. From the windows of his studio, located in this trendy neighborhood, he simultaneously watched the vast horizon of the sea and its almost imperceptible border with the endless blue sky. Not in vain did he really enjoy diving to the seafloor, observing and contemplating the vitality of his own species, especially shellfish, seahorses, and striking butterflyfish in this volatile and fluid environment, which open their scales as if they were unflagging. they were birds and octopuses were “more intelligent” animals. He also looked at the birds—pigeons, seagulls, birds…—their agility, their freedom, and their desire to cross the sky and rise above the earth—doves, seagulls, birds… So all these sea and winged beings showed him the beauty of life, its disturbing flow and extinction.
Daniel placed most of the colorful, creative, and overflowing imaginations in these two regions. They were fantastic beings whose forms were stylized, diluted or elongated, sinuous and unstoppable, generously unfolded at the bottom of the sea or in the sky, without barriers or borders. Sometimes these worlds were divided, leaps in the gap that opened between them, sudden breaks in the ground, or bottomless abyss; at other times it was the other way around, as these disparate entities from very different places exchanged their geographies as if a strong and cohesive unit had inextricably linked them. And the merging and breaking was a manifestation of both Daniel’s polarized consciousness and his intense desire to transcend the division of his mind with the world, to reunite them through a pure love of sexuality and cosmic scope. In this last sense, I think, the land of the imagination symbolized his father—the sea—and his mother—the sky—who were, deep down, nothing more than a replica of the boundless love they had. the artist expressed them.
In any case, with his technical mastery of drawing, I agreed to emphasize that; with its perfect line made with a solid, energetic and synthetic pulse; colors, celestial and teal blues, sunrise or sunset oranges, greens of plants, yellows of the sun and reds of fire, passion and emotional turmoil; and thanks to new materials such as cardboard recently imported from Germany, and the emergence of methacrylate and new paints on the market, aerosols and brushes…; With all this, Daniel has left us with a strange and original plastic transcription of this universe of imaginary beings, which, though heirs of surrealism, psychoanalysis, Zen philosophy, Christianity, Western and Eastern myths, and sci-fi cinema, bears the singular stamp of his extraordinaryness. and bright personality.
Daniel, on the other hand, can be considered the hero of the “movida alicantina” of the 80s and 90s of the 20th century, with his air of freedom, his sensitive and perfect treatment of the human body, male or female, and in a time of historical transition, free from prejudices. his conscious defense of sexuality is still prudent and not free from oppression and censorship.
In summary, I honestly but firmly believe that Daniel Escolano Cárcel is an indisputable representative of our country’s contemporary artistic panorama, and that his ever-forgetful memory requires an ethic of constantly remembering him. The University of Alicante, to which Daniel has generously donated his collection, bears a large part of the responsibility of continuing the legacy of this brilliant artist, and his family, especially his brother José Luis, have always been generous and attentive in care and needs. For Daniel, the time has come once again to fulfill the dying wish of an artist who, above all else, wants to put his painting work together so that it is not left to the dust of time.
Rest in peace, dear and appreciated Daniel, as part of your magical world, you have become another character of it.
Source: Informacion
