“I like to say that the subject is nothing more than a macguffin, to use Hitchcock’s language, a plot excuse for the painting to move forward. I see it a bit like the paradox of figurative painting: we painters are constantly looking for interesting subjects, when what is really interesting is the painting itself”.

Juan de la Rica (Bilbao, 1979) is a Spanish painter based in Bilbao who presents us with an imagery far removed from any novelty but which 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 – be they humans, animals, gods or landscapes – are invested with a deep depth, accentuated by the use of colour and the cleanliness 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 explores how he vindicates drawing as an enhancer of painting itself. He also clarifies that his themes, so often used in the history of art, are not intended to go beyond their superficial treatment, although he understands that they can be read in new ways.

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.