Alzueta Gallery presents the first solo exhibition of Richard Zinon in our Turó Park gallery. 'Shared Mindscapes' brings together the body of work that the British artist worked on during his stay at Alzueta Gallery Artist Residency during the month of March 2023.

Richard Zinon has 20 brushes. Approximately. Give or take. Although he usually uses about three.

Throughout his career, since he crossed Europe diagonally to move from Manchester to Florence and then settled in Snowdonia, Richard has been reducing more and more the forms of his work. We wouldn't say voluntarily but we shouldn't dare to say that this is a completely involuntary act either. With 'Shared Mindscapes', the artist establishes a conversation with the viewer where he tries to shed some light on why at some point in his career he decided that brushstrokes were for him what treble clefs were for musicians and why, over time, his aesthetic keeps changing and evolving.

To understand Richard Zinon's work, if one really feels that one needs to draw some meaning from the oil paintings, one must let go of the idea that each canvas is a canvas. You have to think in a more literary way. Assume that each of the works is a kind of diary entry. A period of time encapsulated in about 170 x 140 cm.

According to the artist, although he takes his time preparing the canvases, the brushstrokes themselves must, of necessity, be done on the same day. This is because each one, he believes, must encapsulate the energy of those 24 hours. What he felt, why, why that and not something else... This methodology allows him to avoid a sort of emotional cross-contamination. It enables him, although the works are not dated in detail, to recognize years later what is behind each layer of oil paint and why the composition is the way it is. Why it was not meant to be any other way.

The absence of reference behind abstraction frees the mind, allowing for deeper concepts and revelations that defy the boundaries of conventional representation to be given voice. Richard Zinon's abstract works serve as a means of expressing what nature cannot capture. His art unveils a realm of boundless imagination and unexplored territories. It is these territories that, he argues, he only manages to reach through the use of brushes.

Pencils have a finite mine; sprays have a limited radius of range; words, no matter how many languages one knows, only cover certain concepts. Brushes, somehow, do not. Brushes have the habit of capturing one's mannerisms, personality and character much more precisely. Precisely enough, at least, to be able to give enough freedom and reassurance to the artist to enter an empty trance in which to lose himself safely, and then somehow keep this content fresh for the viewer to see.

But more importantly in this case, in a secretive manner. It is this secrecy that is essential in the body of work that the artist has been presenting in recent years. A work in constant and necessary evolution, a reaffirmation that he, too, has been changing. In the same way that a set of fingerprints can reveal who has been where, who has picked up which glass or who has opened which door. Each mark made on the surface reveals, for him, in a personal way, what version of himself he was at that moment. Even if we are talking about differences of days.All work has a special connection to its creator, but there are creators, in particular, specially protective of the reasons why one does what one does.

'Shared Mindscapes' is, in essence, a small crack in a window that allows us to see inside Richard's mind. It is by no means a statement of intention, or a pompous justification of why he does what he does. It is an intimate and limited conversation, a ''I paint for my own sake, yet I hope to ignite a spark of comprehension within you—a glimpse into the underlying motivations that drive your own pursuits, whatever they may be''. A necessary lesson on why, sometimes, things are done only because_they feel right_. That sometimes that's plenty of reason; sufficient reason. Sometimes no more is needed. Sometimes 3 brushes are more than enough.

Press release courtesy Alzueta Gallery.