Oscar Sancho Nin

Oscar Sancho Nin

The Black Hole

I recently discovered the work of the Spanish painter Oscar Sancho Nin and was mesmerised by his work. His paintings have an immediacy to them, like the abrupt realisation of pain and suffering. It isn't hard to work out which artists have inspired him; Francis Bacon, Picasso and Goya are instantly recognisable. Nin states himself that these artists, among others, are major influences on his approach to painting.

 His paintings are subjects of his own imagination and subconscious; diving into the dark corners of his mind and swimming about for inspiration. For this reason Nins' paintings are highly personal, I don't think they necessarily need to be understood or overly analysed, you simply need to allow the paintings to scream for themselves. Many artists have used themselves and their subconscious as the basis of their artwork, and I feel Oscar Sancho Nin is on path to following in the footsteps of some of his own biggest artistic influences.

Five O'clock

His painting 'Black Hole' (featured at the top of this post) has the ability to make the viewer feel uncomfortable with what they are seeing. He focuses on social taboos such as sex, death and violence in a very direct manner. The character in 'Black Hole' bends over in a grotesque subversive manner, almost like a man having his first prostate exam. The asshole of the character pays a similar resemblance to that of a pig’s snout, which seems fitting to the large abstract woman and her piggish pink skin. The painting makes no attempt to mask any taboo or hide any evil, it is in its rawest form, perhaps even glorified by the vibrant colours of orange and pink.

Similarly in 'Five O'clock', Nin simply allows his dark repressed thoughts to flow outwards onto the canvas. There is an ambiance of violent barbaric tension illustrated by the exploding hand. Like a horror movie you want to look away but you can't. Nin masters the ability to disgust, intrigue and indulge his viewer.

The Candidate

 Whilst I was admittedly instantly drawn to his work because I adore this style of  abstract figurative painting I must pass my own criticism of his work. Yes his paintings have the power to make the viewer feel a strong sense of curiosity, fear and repulsion, however my main issue with his work is that it is far too similar of the style of Francis Bacon and Picasso. Nin's characters all bear an uncanny resemblance to that of the figures in Francis Bacon's paintings. For example in his painting 'The Candidate', the way in which he paints the teeth, the small bright dots of white, appear to be exactly the same as the teeth of any one of Francis Bacon's tormented figures. Nin's recurring use of bold colours are too close to those of Picasso's palette and colour scheme.

 It isn't just these small, yet clear, resemblances to other artists; his artwork is ultimately lacking something. To me this is that he needs to experiment more with a variety of elements and subjects in his work, as to build up a dramatic scene. Through integrating different characters and spaces his work can be given more of a context and meaning, it will become more layered and less simplified. Whilst his rather minimalist approach does seem to have an impact, I feel he is avoiding territory which will add maturity and drama to his paintings.

Francis Bacon - Three Studies for Figures at the Base of Crucifixion

Perhaps I am just nitpicking now, but what is clear to me is that Nin must try to separate his approach to painting from that of his artistic influences. It is important for all artists to be inspired by the works of others and use this as a source to develop their style, however the artist has to recognise that they must create their own approach and style to art separate to those of their inspirations. Nevertheless, I do not see this as a criticism of Nin's work, more an observation which will inevitably be overcome by Nin himself. It is the natural development of an artist to eventually detach their style from other artistic influences so that it becomes more individual and original; building a sense of artistic identity. Give Oscar Sancho Nin more time to discover and define his style and I think we will be seeing a lot more of his work on an international scale.

http://www.oscarsanchonin.com/

Share your own opinion of Oscar Sancho Nins' art and whether you agree or disagree with what I had to say.