La fortune et le jeune enfant. 2019

Carlos Sablòn made this painting, La fortune et le jeune enfant, with oil on canvas. The classical scene and airbrushed finish is interesting, right? It’s like some kind of hyper-real, dream world, which is, you know, a total painting move. I can imagine him building up layers of color and meticulously blending them to achieve that super smooth finish. It reminds me of some early Renaissance paintings I saw once. Especially the statue. But what might Sablòn be thinking as he paints, so close to the canvas, brush in hand, trying to capture the light just so? Is he thinking about art history? About the old masters? Or is he just lost in the act of painting itself, in the sheer pleasure of creating this strange world? The mind boggles. There’s this ongoing conversation between painters across time, where the works build on each other, inspiring new ways of seeing and thinking. Each artist brings something new to the table, and it’s a really inspiring process to see.