I Hear a Symphony (2022) exhibited at Elastic Arts
By Alonso Galue and W. Madrigal
29 x 7 feet
Acrylic on Heavy Weight paper

 

I Hear a Symphony is a collaborative project in which W Madrigal and Alonso Galue created two ephemeral murals showing the mix of cultures Venezuelan-American and Mexican cultures, on heavy-weight paper.

The oversized figures remind us of the work of Mexican muralists like Orozco, Siqueiros, and Diego Rivera following a similar structure in which the colliding images create multiple sequential narratives that end in a portrait of the artists.

Contrary to the work of the social realist painters the work features strong and vivid colors; at first sight, one thinks it is a happy portrait, but when we look closer we find the Venezuelan National Guard shocking a protester while W bites them in the back, two smiling protesters now refugees smile in the front layer of the image, with that constant happiness in the adversity that characterizes the South-American population.

A burning head lies on the floor and from the smoke the brushstrokes insinuate walkers losing themself in the dark. Portraits of protesters, W and Alonso stand in the first layer defying the viewer to confront these images.