Terán

TERÁN (Chile, 1974).
“Tribute to Banksy.” Tribute to the Geniuses series, 2026.
Oil on canvas.
Signed on the side. Signed, dated, and titled on the back.
Measurements: 60 x 60 cm.
This work takes “Parachuting Rat” as its starting point—one of Banksy’s motifs created in Melbourne, in which a rat is depicted descending with a mask used as a parachute. The image belongs to the artist’s unique symbolic universe, in which rats have become a recurring presence and serve as figures associated with marginality, the city, and urban culture.The motif also took on particular significance in the debate surrounding the preservation of street art. One version of “Parachuting Rat” was covered up in April 2010 during work carried out by municipal contractors, generating significant public outcry and sparking a debate about the preservation of urban artworks. Another version was accidentally destroyed in 2012 as a result of construction work.
Terán’s series *Tribute to the Geniuses* is built precisely on this idea of a dialogue between artists from different eras. As the exhibition catalog notes, Terán proposes a return to painting as a symbolic strategy, creating works that evoke admired artists without resorting to mere copying or pastiche. His interest lies not in reproducing the styles of others, but in establishing connections with those artists who have shaped his artistic training and sensibility. A graduate in Fine Arts and a resident of Spain for decades, Manuel Terán has developed an international career characterized by artistic experimentation and a constant dialogue with the great figures of modernism. From his first exhibitions in Chile in the 1990s to his most recent projects in Europe, his work has moved between figuration, the reinterpretation of historical images, and reflection on the very act of painting.