Manuel Solano

Manuel Solano

BornNationalityBased In
1987MexicanBerlin
Biography

Manuel Solano is a multimedia artist who cross pollinates sensorial experiences of the natural world with pop culture references across video, painting, and performance. Muddying the supposedly separate arenas of palaeontology, queerness and ‘low brow’ culture, Solano troubles the hierarchy of ‘worthy’ subject matters. Portraits of Iggy Pop or Twiggy might sit in conversation with paintings of family members, or tongue and cheek scenes of dinosaurs flamboyantly dancing. Solano lost their sight in 2014 due to an AIDS related illness. At this point in their career they began to focus more exclusively on their figurative painting practice, drawing from memory, dreams, books, or films.Relying heavily on touch, Solano works with three studio assistants in Berlin. They sketch scenes Solano communicates to them and once a drawing has been approved by Solano who traces the pencil marks on paper, this sketch is then mapped onto canvas and marked out with pipe cleaners. Solano then paints with their hands, swapping fingertips and the curvature of their palms for brushes. This bodily relationship to the works gives each piece an immense sense of intimacy. Simultaneously traversing interior and exterior worlds, Solano continues to make work which expresses both the intricate development of the self, whilst curtly examining the peculiarities and biases which shape contemporary culture. ...

Selected Artworks
I Looked Like A Model
Manuel Solano
I Looked Like A Model, 2014
97.3 x 67.3 x 3.5cm
Please Send Help
Manuel Solano
Please Send Help, 2014
97.3 x 67.3 x 3.5cm
Welcome To Jurassic Park
Manuel Solano
Welcome To Jurassic Park, 2014
97.3 x 67.3 x 3.5cm
Lady Stark
Manuel Solano
Lady Stark, 2014
97.3 x 67.3 x 3.5cm
Bombi
Manuel Solano
Bombi, 2014
97.3 x 67.3 x 3.5cm
Robin Wright or A Beautiful Thin Actress
Manuel Solano
Robin Wright or A Beautiful Thin Actress, 2014
97.3 x 67.3 x 3.5cm
Life on Mars 2
Manuel Solano
Life on Mars 2, 2021
159 x 121 x 5cm
Siouxsie
Manuel Solano
Siouxsie, 2021
163 x 122 x 5cm
Flamingos 2
Manuel Solano
Flamingos 2, 2022
161 x 122 x 5cm
Flamingos 1
Manuel Solano
Flamingos 1, 2022
161 x 124 x 5cm
Dancing in the Desert
Manuel Solano
Dancing in the Desert, 2021
171 x 225 x 5cm
T-Rex
Manuel Solano
T-Rex, 2021
162 x 121 x 5cm
Oviraptor 1
Manuel Solano
Oviraptor 1, 2022
162 x 164 x 5cm
Twiggy or Oviraptor 2
Manuel Solano
Twiggy or Oviraptor 2, 2022
163 x 163 x 5cm
Cranes 2
Manuel Solano
Cranes 2, 2021
161 x 121 x 5cm
Dinosauroid
Manuel Solano
Dinosauroid, 2022
226 x 161 x 5cm
Leaellynasaurae
Manuel Solano
Leaellynasaurae, 2022
177 x 227 x 5cm
Diamond Dogs
Manuel Solano
Diamond Dogs, 2021
173 x 233 x 5cm
Nails
Manuel Solano
Nails, 2022
39 x 29.5 x 3.5cm
Sally
Tomb Raider (Black) or Functional Leather 2
Manuel Solano
Tomb Raider (Black) or Functional Leather 2, 2024
157 x 203 x 5cm
If You Need My Attention 2
Manuel Solano
If You Need My Attention 2, 2024
203 x 157 x 5cm
Gallery Representation
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