Santiago Quesnel
Bio
Santiago Quesnel (1975, Buenos Aires) grew up in the pampas of rural Argentina, where he spent his time surrounded by an exuberant landscape that ultimately fostered his fascination with creations drawn from pictorial memory. Quesnel’s initial pursuit of filmmaking at university led him to explore painting and to develop unusual landscapes that emit a sublime yet strange aura, evoking at once a sense of solitude intertwined with either a divine or human presence.
Educated at the University of Buenos Aires, Quesnel studied with Jorge Demirjian and Héctor Destefanis, and participated in critique sessions with Tomás Espina and Fabián Burgos. He has held solo exhibitions at Centro Cultural Recoleta, Tramo, Galería Jardín Oculto, Galería Bacano, La Casa de Tucumán, and LUX Art Institute (California). His work is held in private collections in France, England, the United States, Argentina, and Uruguay. Quesnel is also an active participant in art criticism seminars and in educational programs focused on children’s art in Buenos Aires.
Statement
I am obsessed with nature. I paint landscapes that do not attempt to be realistic, but rather aim to reduce a scene to its essential qualities. This is what matters most to me: composing an atmosphere with the smallest possible number of elements. I try to create the surrounding scene through light, shadow, and even the aura that such a landscape might possess.
My work seeks to evoke a sense of suspension. They may be fragments of landscapes or simple details that repeatedly overlap in backgrounds and foregrounds—sometimes colorful—resulting in a melancholic landscape with a particular atmosphere. This may be perceptible in my process of creation, which consists of multiple layers, moving from darker values to highlights. I believe it is precisely these layers of oil paint that allow the work to breathe in this way.
I usually begin by drawing with almost pure turpentine, very lightly. Gradually I start composing the scene, where figures and background begin to appear—the spaces that will eventually support the figures and the foregrounds. I currently work with oil on semi-transparent Glamma Basic paper, which gives a sense of fragility that interests me.
2.5 x 4m / 98.4 x 157 in
