La Calle del Ritmo (Rhythm Street)

La Fiambrera Art Gallery’s first exhibition of 2023 is “La calle del ritmo”. Artist Curro Suárez continues his illustrative tribute to the city that inspires him and the one he knows best. The city is celebrated in 36 original paintings on paper.

Curro’s individual style and trademark colour palette compose a visual pop symphony to the architecture and urban landscapes of Madrid. Bars, train stations, cinemas, monuments, city squares, restaurants… Suárez captures the emotions and unforgettable experiences of the sites he chooses to immortalise.

The artist loves music and here he explains the work as a parallel with the process of musical composition.

“In order to compose a perfect pop song with Madrid as the main theme, I’ve chosen buildings, streets and corners like a musician would choose words to fit perfectly with a melody. My technique is ink and gouache using only three or four colours as a musician would use basic guitar chords. I prepare a first drawing like a main melody, and finish with a more detailed coat of ink. From that, I add markers which are the embellishment that’s my equivalent of adding an arrangement, a choirs or instrumentation to make each illustration unique.”

Curro Suárez

The exhibit title is from the song “La calle del ritmo” (Rhythm Street), that was a hit for Madrid’s New Wave band Los Elegantes in 1990. Music is integral to Curro but coincidentally he lives on the street where one of Los Elegantes lived. Atocha, Canalejas, Sevilla, Mayor, Ventas, Sol… Botín, Café Gijón, La Bola, L’Hardy, Lucio, San Ginés. Take a complete tour of Madrid to the singular rhythm of Curro Suárez.

ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Curro Suárez works mainly in the world of advertising but he has also made inroads in children’s illustration, music, interior design, and editorial design. Curro is inspired by primitive art and also modern and contemporary artists such as Chagall, Savignac, Jim Flora, Charley Harper, Richard Scarry and Quentin Blake. He is a fan of the music and aesthetics of the 50s, 60s and 70s and the graphic design of Blue Note Records among others but always with an eye on the present. His work is colourful and lively with a predilection for architecture. 

Artwork available from the exhibition