Octavio Garabello

Argentinian painter based in Berlin since 2013.

 

Octavio depicts everyday life in the city of Berlin with his unique point of view; a plethora of different scenarios ranging from busy parks to bubbling subway stations to more intimate, soft locations such as his own apartment. Besides having a curious eye for the city with a keen sense of humor, he also engages in more contemplative pieces over landscapes and nature or scenes that have caught his attention throughout different trips. A stranger in a known land but still very strange.

 

He does paintings using acrylic or powdered pigments on canvases or re uses pieces of donated clothes, ranging from a variety of dimensions.

In his artwork you can find traces of Matisse’s perspective, Derain’s brushstrokes or Van Gogh’s distorted scenarios, as well as traits from Hockney with a desaturated color palette, washed down with grey. Yet, his paintings are vibrant and uplifting.

An art history narrative of the most beloved artists of our time with a twist, bordering art brut and naïve art. Octavio has taken the au plain air spirit seriously and replaced the mountains for colossal Mercedes Benz buildings, the pastures for rows of Berlinischer housing and murky canals. Anything and anyone is worth painting, no one is left outside his marvel, or perhaps you’ll never find a cemetery in one of his paintings.

Look closer into his painting and what at first glance appears like a portrayal of ordinary life has a hidden story to tell: a train with several wagons all filled with different actions happening simultaneously.

An hedonistic approach to his subject matter which will leave wondering how come I never saw that before.

 

Ana Khatchikian