Salustian

"SALUSTIANO"; SALUSTIANO GARCÍA CRUZ (Villaverde del Río, Seville, 1965).
“June Violet.” Diptych.
Pigmented ink on laid paper. Edition 42/50.
Signed and numbered in pencil.
Measurements: 14.5 x 14 cm (x2); 31 x 31 cm (frames, x2).
A diptych consisting of two symmetrically arranged portraits depicting a young woman rendered in an extremely refined aesthetic, characterized by formal clarity and a high degree of compositional control. The figure is set against a circular background that separates her from her surroundings and reinforces her iconic presence, focusing the viewer’s gaze exclusively on her face. This type of framing, common in the work of Salustiano García Cruz, reflects a visual strategy based on the elimination of the incidental to enhance the symbolic intensity of the image.
Within this approach, June does not function as a specific subject with her own identity, but rather as an archetypal construct that recurs throughout his body of work. In *June Black*, this figure embodies qualities associated with youth, purity, and serenity, presenting herself as an idealized representation of timeless beauty that moves away from the biographical to occupy a more conceptual realm. The diptych format also introduces a subtle interplay of duality and variation that reinforces the notion of a split identity.
Trained at the University of Seville and specializing in painting and fine arts, Salustiano has participated in numerous exhibitions both internationally and nationally, notably at the Fowler Museum in Los Angeles, the Luma Museum in Chicago, and the Vostell-Malpartida Museum in Cáceres. In the realm of international art fairs, he has participated in Art Cologne, the Armory Show in New York, Art Miami, the Moscow International Art Fair in Moscow, the Toronto International Art Fair, ARCO, the DIVA Art Fair in New York, the KIAF International Art Fair in Seoul, MODERN in Munich, ART FORUM in Berlin, and the SCOPE Art Fair in Miami and London, among others. Furthermore, Salustiano’s work has been featured on the covers of magazines and specialized publications, such as *Arte Al Límite*, *Artery Berlin*, *MU Magazine*, and the cultural weekly supplement of the national newspaper *ABC*. Salustiano has collaborated on projects with various internationally renowned charitable institutions, such as the Dalai Lama Foundation, the World Bank for Microcredit founded by Muhammad Yunus (Nobel Peace Prize laureate), and the Cisneros Foundation. Currently, celebrities such as Sharon Stone own works by Salustiano in their art collections.