Gallo Coliblanco: Work of the Month, February 2021

Fabelo bewitches us again with his roosters and female figures. The landscape becomes similar and unique at the same time, because although we have enjoyed for years of his works with similar characteristics, the artist always keeps a beam under the wizard to maintain the authenticity in each painting.

Gallo Coliblanco (oil pastel on canvas) is the Work of the Month for February chosen for the occasion. It is, in the first instance, an impressive piece of large dimensions with the same effect of a magnet: it attracts the eye with its high doses of poetics.

Like other great painters such as Wifredo Lam, Eduardo Abela or Mariano Rodriguez, Fabelo chooses the figure of the rooster to represent male virility. An elegant and striking rooster is observed, which represents the backbone of the work, since multiple possibilities and analyses emerge from it. The creator chooses with great care the tonalities to make his creation more striking. Edgar Degas taught us well that "a painting requires a little mystery, some inaccuracies and fantasies".

The white color represents mostly the animal, but from the center emerge in a state of boiling, an exquisite combination of carmelites, which are articulated with brushstrokes of blue and purple located in the front and tail of this figure.

It is a true spectacle for the eye. But there is another possible intention on the part of the author: Fabelo chooses the presence of colors of easy empathy, due to their continuous appearance in nature. Blue and carmelite, in their different variants, abound in the vegetation and it is easy to identify with them. Purple, on the other hand, is an exotic tonality, which enriches the pictorial scope of Gallo Coliblanco.

Two almost naked women share the limelight on a black background. Two women as they are, with wide arms and one of them with a few extra pounds. Both of them show off feminine eroticism, as a symbol of freedom and fullness. Man came into the world naked, according to the Bible, so why so many disguises? With no other clothing than a pair of stockings, shoes, hats and wings, both mount the rooster to set out on the road and although the painting contains doses of stillness, it is evident, within the interpretations, the probability of starting the march, the movement and, logically, the adventure.

Is a rooster served with his women on a plate or is it just the basis for the action? It seems a magical moment stopped in time, a scene from another world to remove the blindfold of routine, formalisms, rituals and inertia. We need to dream and see beyond the stigmas. The painting itself shows the magical realism characteristic of its author, seen in the spirituality of the piece, its transparency and the beauty with which it shows us the unreal as a common occurrence.

Gallo Coliblanco arrives at Maxima with a special light. We are talking about a work that fits in any place, as long as it has the minimum space to be placed. It stands out thanks to its lyricism, its dramaturgy and its capacity to move the senses in a world that seems to devour us without much effort. Therein lies part of its strength: to awaken tenderness through simplicity.