Juan de la Rica (Bilbao, 1979) is a Spanish painter based in Bilbao who presents us with an imagination far from any novelty but that continues to surprise and absorb us with each representation. Close to the sphere of pop artists such as Alex Katz or David Hockney, Juan de la Rica’s pictorial work appears to us as a breath of fresh air, dense and superficial at the same time. The protagonists of his paintings -whether humans, animals, gods or landscapes- are covered with a deep depth, accentuated by the use of color and the cleanness of the drawing. However, this introspection is combined with the superficial halo of pop art and a fine irony present in his work.

In his interview for Sirocomag he inquires about how he claims drawing as an enhancer of painting itself. He also clarifies that his themes, arduously used in the history of art, are not intended to overcome their superficial treatment, although he understands that they can arouse new readings.

The marked melancholy of his works is also given by the play of light and shadow, which, far from seeking realism, is the result of his intuition in painting. The contradiction continues, because despite his complex opinion about painting, he does not dispense with irony in his figures.