Germán Gómez ( born 1972 ) lives and works in Madrid. He has a very personal style : his way of using photographic images as the material with which to make artworks that are both painting and photography. Pieces of art emerging from collage and hard, individual work. Work that turns each of his pieces into something unrepeatable and unique.
In the series “ Condenados “ ( “ Damned “ ) Gómez brings the male nude as physical enclosure of a “ damned” soul into focus. Inspired by Dante’s “ Divine Comedy “ and Michelangelo’s fresco, the “ Final Judgment “ in the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican, nude male bodies wind their way through the photo collages of the Spanish artist in dramatic-poetical aesthetic – as if seeking salvation of the soul. Like in the work of Michelangelo, Germán Gómez has used friends and acquaintances to represent the judged protagonists involved in their struggle to survive.
With his series the artist comes back to aspects of the history of religion, a religion full of blame and the shadow of eternal sin. A religion that has turned us all into damned souls. In a sensual and voyeuristic manner, they not only reflect the “sin “ aspect of religion, but in a universal approach symbolize the pain and fear of our times.
Just as compelling are the portrait collages of the work series “ De padres y de hijos “ ( “ Of Fathers and Sons “ ), equally crafted in the “ 3-D patchwork technique “, in which Gómez has blended facial fragments of various men into a non-existent face. This allows the artist to emphasize the anonymity of these hybrid masks, while likewise, the underlying prejudices, longings, passions, lies and anxieties lend the newly constructed faces a certain familiarity. The face is the mirror of the soul, that is the key principle here, and it is mainly the depth of the gaze that reveals to the observer the complex personalities of the depicted persons.
Works by the artist are part of divers public and private collections across the globe.
