Ceesepe

"CEESEPE"; CARLOS SÁNCHEZ PÉREZ (Madrid, 1958-2018).
"Seven days of July", 1982.
Acrylic on canvas.
Signed, dated and titled at the bottom.
With label on the back of the René Metras gallery in Barcelona.
Measurements: 120 x 120 cm; 123 x 123 cm (frame).

This painting is a vibrant and variegated representation of the spirit of the "Movida Madrileña". The work captures the essence of an era characterized by hedonism, creative freedom and a break with social conventions.

Ceesepe uses an intense chromatic palette, with a predominance of pinks, yellows, reds, blues and greens, applied in color planes defined by thick black lines, a technique that evidences his origin as an underground comic book artist.

The composition proliferates in micro-narratives, almost completely filling the canvas with a multitude of stylized figures in different planes that overlap, mixing indoor and outdoor scenes simultaneously.

The figures represent a modern and uninhibited youth. There are couples dancing passionately. Others embrace intimately, like the half-naked couple under the palm trees in the upper right or the two men in the lower left. In the center of the composition, a young man dressed in a dark green suit sits in a melancholy, reflective pose. His pensive expression contrasts sharply with the euphoria that surrounds him, introducing a note of introspection amidst the collective revelry.

The work is imbued with a sensual atmosphere: a blonde woman with her back turned in a bikini gazes into a mirror, another rests her face in her hands with a dreamy gaze. Small hearts appear tattooed or as details on the clothes of several characters, underlining the theme of love and desire in its many forms. The title evokes an urban summer, dedicated to an uninterrupted party.

Painter, illustrator and cartoonist, Ceesepe was one of the protagonists of the Movida madrileña, and began his career in the world of underground comics in the mid-seventies in Barcelona, in contact with Max, Nazario and Mariscal, among others. He published comics in the magazines "Star" and "Bésame mucho", and in 1980 he made the poster for Almodóvar's "Pepi, Luci, Bom y otras chicas del montón". In 1982 an exhibition was dedicated to him at the Menéndez Pelayo University, and two years later he became one of the best-selling authors at ARCO. Some time later he left the comic and focused on painting, exhibiting his work in Madrid, Amsterdam, Paris, Geneva and New York, among other cities. His work has been collected in books such as "El difícil arte de mentir", "París-Madrid", "Libro blanco" or "El arte de morir", and in 2011 the Spanish Council of Ministers awarded him the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts. Ceesepe is currently represented in several private collections, as well as in the Museum of Contemporary Art of Madrid, the Ateneo of the same city, etc.