An Abstract expression

When human being decides to bare his self, thoughts and habits, he also shades his tastes, likes and dislikes. When his state of self grows more and more quiet, he gradually loses his mental state and his spiritual dimension is more vivid; consequently, peace and serenity are more evident and tangible.

Abstract art and its pictorial representation entail not to observe objects; both, the painter and the observer of his art find spiritual connotations, understanding as spiritual all that which changes our inner-self, our consciousness of endless existence.

Reincarnation, as the philosophical foundation and reality of an endless existence, where birth and death are successive steps of a never-ending existence, influences the expression of abstract art.

Héctor Ramiro Monsalve is a Colombian artist who has shown his art not only in several Colombian cities, but also in the USA and India. In 2015 he had an exhibition at the Iris Photography Studio in Delhi.

"Maybe the observer, looking at my art, tries to translate his external world and starts exemplifying and coding my art according to his reality; nonetheless, as his observation goes on, he finds an inner explanation for it,"says Héctor Ramiro Monsalve, whose paintings will be at display at the India International Centre's Art Gallery.

"In my many trips and long stays in the Indian milieu, both the country and its landscapes, and the people and their lifestyle have influenced my art. Landscapes related to the countryside and Indian idiosyncrasy, and, most important, the Hindu philosophy, have left a deep imprint in my life as a yoga practitioner and on my pictorial art," he added.

The artist is known for his excellent abstract pictorial expression with the use of sgrafitto emphasizing on consciously executed white areas without using white pigment. Only around these areas show shades/tones, making his work attractively colorful and diversified.

Héctor started as a self-taught painter; then, he attended the workshop of a renowned Manizaleño painter, Oscar Naranjo, for 15 years. He has been a well-known university professor in the areas of cartography and ecology for 32 years while teaching Yoga and conductign self-realization and personal development seminars for many years, which has gained him a reputation in the region.

At Universidad de Caldas, Monsalve was not only a professor; he also directed the program of Social sciences, he was the dean of the Faculty of Education, and directed the Botanical Garden of the university. His workshops on ecological and environmental issues have earned him national and international recognition.

As an artist he has participated of individual and collective exhibits, as well as in the well-known art fairs in Manizales, in which several pictorial artists gather to offer their work at low cost, in an attempt to integrate society to the art world. The exhibition, Losing my mind–finding myself by Monsalve is open for all the art lovers from January 25 to February 1.