CamdenLock
Neus Martín Royo is responsible for this artistic and different journey through the daily life of some of the most popular London neighbourhoods. With a realistic style to say the least and a color management reminiscent of Edward Hopper, Martín Royo walks us with his paintings through Nothing Hill, Chelsea, Covent Garden, Camden and Hackney.
It was precisely in Hackney where this work was born, during an exchange trip that Neus made with her family. For a month, the artist, her husband and her two children stayed in a Victorian house and they were able to experience the city as true Londoners, discovering beauty in everyday matters close to them. She tells Traveler that it was not her first visit to London, but the first time she was with her family. Therefore, she wanted to portray the city that she found.
Hopp
"I wanted to reflect the London that is not so emblematic, the suburban, intimate, the daily life of the markets and the experiences we had" she explains. Thus, in the 25 paintings that make up London City, we admire the antique shops of Portobello Road and the elegant and colorful houses of Nothing Hill, the cafes, pubs and restaurants of the city...
All this with an element that is repeated in practically all the works in the exhibition . The lack of protagonists that is shocking in a city that is always so crowded . “I am interested in the theme of silence, of stillness. I want to reflect permanence and that is achieved with the landscape and an absence of figures”. Interestingly, this pattern is not repeated in her favorite painting, Balthazar, in which there is a human presence, which she uses to wink at the viewer and lover of Hopper's work. Doesn't the woman that appears remind you of the usherette from the New York Movie?
Balthazar
In this painting, the work of Martín Royo to transmit warmth through architecture and color is evident. The artist plays “with color to compensate for the weather. I counteract the grays of the sky with the vivid color of the facades” she says.
Behind these postcards that you, in love with London, are contemplating, there are two years of work. “I take photographs, which are like my notes, and then I work in the workshop. I use the technique of oil on wood for the smaller paintings and on canvas for the larger ones. The first thing I do is a very well elaborated charcoal drawing, taking into account the light and dark and being as faithful as possible to reality. Then I give it color, which is already more the fruit of my imagination”.
Hyde Park Gardens
Little Georgia Cafe
Net Print Cafe
Notting Hill
Portobello Estd
The Sun's
Sanderson Sweeting Antiques
Portobello Road