This is ‘Rome’, the bravest Sanz i Vila’s exhibition

This is Rome. A set of artworks where violence, pain and death are offered in the form of a spectacle, all of them merge with Sanz i Vila’s cheerful color palette. Ten exclusive and original pieces that represent a creative milestone for the Gunter Gallery’s artist, in which movement and strength are channeled through the fight of these gladiators. "This work brings us to a balance in order to forget horror for an instant and observe, as the Romans themselves did at the time, suffering as simple visual pleasure". The work of Sanz i Vila is one of the most recognizable in the spectrum of European illustrators, always working with yellow, pink and blue as the only three colors, to which, in rarely ocasions, he adds the outline of black. It is an optimistic and genderless work, between new pop and realism, a contemporary figuration that, in this exhibition, Rome, speaks of the reality of our time through gladiators from the 1st century BC.

Gladiators

“Gladiators gave people a spectacle that they craved in ancient Rome. Fights among animals, among people or even both offered the public the fun they needed to enjoy, let off steam and forget for a few moments a reality that was not always what one wanted. These spectacles finally ended with the arrival of Christianity as the official religion of the Empire, but our species has not changed so much in two millennia. We continue to seek happiness in the show and, on occasions, in the violence itself”.

Movement

Two bodies in torsion that use their movement as a weapon to win. “My life is always a quiet place, but, this time, I have decided to put aside who I am and have investigated what complements me, the characteristics that really offer vitality to an artwork, injecting a dynamism that has made this exhibition, probably, one of the best and most different I have done so far”.

"When dirty play begins, horror is the best begins for public".

"A tense silence, culminates in an applause after the final blow".

Color

“If there is something I agree with my audience, it is in the attractiveness of the balance that is created when I make, through pink, blue and yellow, scenes that are charged with violence and pain, feelings that are easier to relate to red and black. On this occasion, the harmony generated makes each of the artworks more gastronomic, easy to enjoy and contemplate, making us forget the negative part of that pain in order to simply enjoy the aesthetics".

Strength

"Many humans have the fortune of being born with a superior strength since childhood, while others must work hard if they are really interested in reaching something. In gladiators’ case, that brute force could not have been so useful without being handled by an intelligent mind […]. The best fights were carried out by strategic fighters, with great intellectual strength and mental superiority, although at first we could all vote in favor of who apparently was physically stronger”.

Masculinity

Physical strength, bravery and other concepts, traditionally related to masculinity, today sound outdated. "There are men who are afraid of dying in this exhibition, their faces show it, and women who are eager to cause the death of those who are in front of them".

"Looking at the past helps us to see that everything could have been different, but the solution always comes late".

"Knowing how to react quickly at the exact moment can change everything in a second".

"Two fighters know the end for one of them is close, and they will be linked for that moment forever".

Violence

"Today we are more empathic with human and animal suffering, even when there are practices such as bullfighting that continue seeking fun and spectacle in that feeling, one of the inheritances we have of that Roman spirit. Sports such as boxing and other hand-to-hand fights are also practiced today offering that enjoyment of the fight, although they do not end with a death. And there is violence in cinema, Internet ... All of them offer us the violent material and content we want to observe, at the level of realism that we decide and with the amount of violence we want. We are well served in the 21st century”.