SENS Gallery is pleased to announce Running on Fumes, a solo exhibition of Spanish artist Andrés Lozano. Through a spontaneous process, Lozano reflects on the mundane aspects of life in solitude, derived from his own experiences. The visually impulsive images he creates are comforting, absurd and fantastical all at once, gallivanting between seemingly familiar exteriors and interiors that encompass the imagination of the artist.

A repose from chaos, and the coexistence of the ‘disarray’ and ‘the quietude’ best describe the vivace of the scenes portrayed within Lozano’s work. Objects and sceneries of nature and indoor settings provide feelings of security and relaxation from the outside world. Yet, these are perfectly in tandem with a pandemonium of burning objects, messy interiors, and an astounding presence of greenery. “Running on Fumes” attributes to the presence of smoke in his paintings: a semi-abstract resource, the element reflects the “recycling” of oneself. Despite its transience, the motions that constantly flow through signals introspection and the warmth of a home. Smoke flows without restraint, like the imagination of the artist and his conception of the artwork.

Lozano draws away from the traditional usage of oil paint, instead using the medium to solely create new layers and takes advantage of its ability to blend well with itself to create subtle variations of colour and create details of lights and shadows. Using oil and spray paint to bleed through the canvas and paint through these textures, he works on large canvases to allow the freedom to play around with the content and elements of the composition, Lozano had previously relied upon drawings and photography to construct his landscape, but later abandoned these methods for a more direct and spontaneous process in which the image is created directly on the canvas.

The paintings are a semi-autobiography: Lozano searches for source material through his own experiences and memories, and the presence of the lonely figure is likely a representation of the artist. He finds interest in the idea of imagination, exploring the Surrealist qualities of the unconscious mind and personal memories, but dismisses the movement’s ethos of bizarre assemblages, distorted figurations, and unexpected juxtapositions. Although spontaneous, the style Lozano evokes in his paintings shows similar characteristics - from the exuberant colour palettes and compositions to the two-dimensional shapes - to the figurative works of Gauguin and Matisse.  

Lozano creates to elicit feelings of solitude within chaos through impromptu, wondrous depictions of settings familiar to the viewer. Preferring the process to the result, Lozano’s improvisational approach to painting allows him to subconsciously manifest themes of reclusion and comfort reflected from his own observations and experiences.