Giant yellow-eyed cats, angelic girls, and unknown creatures inhabit a haunting and delicate world, where beauty, horror, desire, fear, luxury, paranoia, and pleasure collide.
Guillermo Lorca Bio
Guillermo Lorca (Guillermo Lorca García-Huidobro) is a contemporary artist from Santiago, Chile taking the art world by storm. Moco Museum Barcelona is proud to premiere the exhibition Esplendor de la Noche by Guillermo Lorca. It is the first European solo show from the realist and romantic painter.
Artistic Impulses
As a child, Guillermo Lorca was enthralled by the illustrations in a book of fairytales by Gustave Doré. These stories, including Little Red Riding Hood, The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods, and Cinderella, sparked Lorca's interest in the ongoing battle between good and evil that exists in both life and the natural world. This delicate balance of power continues to inspire Lorca's art, which is characterized by beauty, horror, desire, fear, luxury, paranoia, and pleasure.
Did you know? Both Gustave Doré and Guillermo Lorca showed exceptional talent at a young age. Doré began working as an illustrator in Paris at the age of 15, while Lorca received training from the renowned Chilean artist Sergio Montero at the age of 16. In 2009, Lorca became the youngest artist to exhibit his work at the Baquedano Station of the Santiago Metro, where his six murals depicting Chilean people and subway users can still be seen today.
Timeless Style
The undeniably unique style of Guillermo Lorca Garcia, the artist, comes from studied skill by Old Master Painters, taking influence from Renaissance and Baroque periods. He mixes surrealism and dark contemporary fantasy to craft scenes depicting seductive luxury and raw violence.
"I'd been reading about the Victorian period when people were discovering new species for the first time, I wanted to convey that romantic, magical mood." - Guillermo Lorca Garcia
The Devil is in the Details
The monumental oil paintings of Guillermo Lorca present worlds filled with alien creatures, giant flowers and insects - mixed with magical rituals of milk and blood. Innocent-looking children amidst scenes of destruction feed into a delicate balance of power.
As visitors to Moco Museum Barcelona take their first steps and experience Esplendor de la Noche, they are surrounded by disturbing details. For example, The Little Gardeners show a scene of fierce carnage amongst big cats and other beasts. Amidst the chaos, a little girl plays in pools of blood - she is magical, says Lorca. Another, floats above in the clutches of a butterfly. Lorca prompts us to wonder, is she safe within its grasp, or can she be carried to safety?
Guillermo Lorca
Esplendor de la Noche
Guillermo Lorca
Birds of Paradise
"His virtuosity was fascinating - there are so many different elements from the history of art that are melded together." - Simon de Pury
Guillermo Lorca x Simon de Pury
Art dealer and auctioneer Simon de Pury originally discovered the talents of Guillermo Lorca Garcia on Instagram. That connection grew and exploded on the art scene.
Now, Moco Museum Barcelona proudly presents Esplendor de la Noche by Guillermo Lorca, curated by Simon de Pury. It is the first European solo show by the contemporary Chilean artist.
Experience Esplendor de la Noche by Guillermo Lorca and all other Moco Museum Barcelona Exhibitions. *1 ticket gets you entrance to all exhibitions.
Not all artworks are always on display.
Our collection exhibits artwork on loan and from the Moco Collection. We keep our exhibitions ever-evolving, so every visit is a fresh experience. Occasionally, this means some artworks online are not always on view in the museum. We appreciate your understanding.
