Having exhibited a natural vocation early on in a life as an adept draughtsman and showing a keen visual sensibility for the painting , Juan Cossío went on to study Fine Art at the Complutense University of Madrid. Actively involved in the explosive Spanish art scene of the Eighties, Cossío’s tireless research and experimentation into pushing the boundaries of pictorial techniques led him to what is now more commonly known as “New Realism” . Relying on photography as his main means of support and using the timeless airbrush as his preferred tool, Cossío’s work continues to evolve through an openness to approach and his continual curiosity in employing whatever new techniques are at hand in order to achieve his unique contemporary aesthetic which look to the female figure as its main subject.
“The world today is changing very quickly, art is changing with the new technology. Writers, painters, photographers, actors, musicians…. all the cultural activity seems to collapse with smart-phones, everybody can take photographs, talk about politics or art or whatever, but really nobody stop to see a painting carefully, analyzing it or to read poetry, for example . New devices bring us a kind of “illiteracy”. Besides the ambiental degradation, there are a few “big fishes” and a lot of poor people increasing, so we are facing great challenges in our world. But I think, overall, art will remain, the things made with the hands and spirit always will remain, the future is primitive but in the meantime we must fight for a more equal society.”
(Juan Cossío)
