Sandro De Ponte

BIOGRAPHY

2009
- Create Gallery 21, Barcelona (Spain)

2007
- Exhibition at the Textile Museum, Barcelona (Spain)

2005
- Art Basel (International Contemporary Art Fair), Bâle (Switzerland)

2001
- Creation of the "lamalgamme" exhibition venue, Geneva (Switzerland)
- Individual exhibition, Hamburg (Germany)

1996
- Engraving workshop with master Giorgio Upiglio, Milan (Italy)

1994
- 1st exhibition at Casa Lamm, Mexican Cultural Centre (Mexico)

1975
- Born in Mexico (Mexico)

Sandro
DE PONTE

Born to a Mexican mother and an Italian father, Sandro grew up in the handmade paper workshop run by his father and brothers. This experience allowed him to be in constant contact with sculptors, teachers and students of the arts. At a very early age he experienced the need to create and took courses in drawing and printmaking. He experimented with a variety of techniques thanks to the paper that was at his disposal and found his style and artistic language very early on.
Sandro made several trips to Europe, including Italy and Switzerland. In Milan, he studied printmaking with master Giorgio Upiglio. In Geneva, he created "lamalgamme", an exhibition venue for his paintings. Although unfamiliar with the city, he settled in Barcelona where he found the inspiration and artistic activity that finally led him to stay. The circumstances were favorable; he fit in quickly and made his mark in Barcelona’s contemporary art movement.
Sandro likes warm colours and hues of "ochre" and "red" dominate his work. He paints with acrylic, and using water, reworks the material, creating works with an abundance of texture.
Man is at the centre of his work and is always represented with great tenderness. Virility is represented by male characters, while women symbolize the feminine side of every individual. He likes to paint couples, emphasizing values such as love and friendship. At times he paints single individuals in order to represent certain universal feelings such as fear, happiness, dreams, freedom, loneliness, sadness ... but sometimes they are just characters who observe the audience, inviting them to bare all and be honest with themselves.
Sandro also explores another mixed media, replacing paint with building materials like cement, plaster, asphalt, earth or sand. He uses this technique on wood and experiments with the abstract.
Passion remains the theme of predilection for this artist of humanity.