Santilari Brothers. The magic of line

From May 30th to June 29th. Galerie Artborescence, Paris.

For millennia, man has represented what surrounds him. He does this work to freeze a moment, an image that he considers worthy of interest. Honoré de Balzac gives this vision in his text The Unknown Masterpiece. “The mission of art is not to copy nature, but to express it !» Isn’t that the essence of man? Tame life through works, as he tames nature on a daily basis?

In today’s digital age (of which this catalog is not excluded), it is much more complex to break out of the artistic ordinary with works and a classic state of mind. We are no longer in a world where paintings and drawing are the only modes of visualizing objects, landscapes or people themselves. Today you have to be an exceptional artist to be seen, even better, watched, and above all to persist.

This is the case of the Catalan twin brothers Josep and Pere Santilari. presented for almost forty years, and only by the Barcelona gallery Artur Ramon Art. This longevity within a gallery which allows these artists to shine throughout the world, in private and public exhibitions, is proof of the talent of these men and the recognition of the public.

Their work, which at first glance might seem like photographs, is in reality the result of nearly a month of work to compose this image on cardboard at the point of a pencil. The subjects, mainly still lifes, are all perfectly reflected in their assemblages and lighting. They tell a story, often that of the cycle of life through vanitas or the quest for purity through immaculate flowers. Each object has a very precise position, an exact meaning, which these masters of realism sublimate.