Luis Geraldes

Infobox Artist
name = Luis Geraldes


imagesize =
birthname = Luis Pereira Geraldes
birthdate = Birth date and age|1957|5|15|mf=y
location = Lisbon, Portugal
field = Painting, Drawing, Sculpture
training = Institute of Art and Design, Lisbon

Luis Pereira Geraldes (born May 15 1957), is a contemporary metaphysical Portuguese artist. He is more widely known for his oil painting although he has produced a vast amount of sculpture and drawing. His art can be labelled as metaphysical or spiritual. He has also produced a lengthy mural in Sydney which is on public display in the suburb of Petersham.

Biography

Geraldes was born in 1957 and went to the African country of Angola when he was about 3 years of age. He spent most of his childhood and adolescent years in Angola but in 1975 he had to flee the country as a refugee due to a the terrifying civil war. His long stay in Angola seems to have affected his style of art and he did indeed start painting when he was a boy.

He migrated to Australia in 1985. He became an Australian citizen in 1987 and has taught Art and Design at Footscray Institute of TAFE since 1988, RMIT (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) since 1991. And from 1995 at Central Gippsland Institute.

He now paints full time and regularly travels between Europe and Australia.

Oil on canvas

Geraldes is more famous for his oil painting. His style has dramatically changed over the years and we can see how Australian art has influenced his style.

His early interest in esotericism and spirituality can also be seen as a prime factor in his subject matter, painting geometric patterns involving cosmic imagery and symbolism of universal significance. We can see in some of his works the use of the chakra colors. In his book, Visions of the Esoteric Power, he asserts his "belief that art, science, and the spiritual do not exist in isolation."

He is exploring the 3rd dimension of human beings in relation to the spiritual Universe. There are four levels of movement in Luis works; EARTH, AIR, WATER and FIRE. All of them relate back to the beginning of mankind. Luis follows a two-dimensional path to the inner self by stating in his works the two levels of AIR, and EARTH, which are the most basic levels of man's existence. He then proceeds to lay over the emotions, which men carry within themselves. He uses the blues and greens of water and the warm colours for fire creating a feeling of completeness or as an ordered whole. Superimposed on that, Luis states the mystical or religious forms from the past and present. By this last statement he puts men in a total form of relationship to the four signs of water, air, fire and earth. Luis is able to put down his innermost involvement in life.

Geraldes' works are represented in the Haifa Museum of Modern Art - Israel. Contemporary (Chiado) Art Museum, Lisbon - Portugal. Caixa Geral de Depositos Art Bank Museum in Lisbon - Portugal. And many other important private and governament art collections in many countries.

External links

* [http://www.geraldes.com/ Official website]