Travel diary​

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 Exploring South East Asia

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Aceves lives and breathes painting, he paints while he travels and, of course, he travels while he paints. Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Burma…there is no excuse to stop painting. A magical backpack with a traveling studio is all that is needed. The format of the pieces in this exhibition demonstrate this, yes they are paintings, but the are also ways of being, habits and customs, a way of orientating yourself in the wider world. This is how Aceves understands it. This is what he is sharing with us is the vistas which held his attention and curiosity. Landscapes, portraits, situations brought to life by the particularity of the environment, but also Aceves’ sensitivity as he lets himself be seduced by them. At midday, in the afternoon and at night, the sky between the ruins, civilization and its borders… images which become testimoni-als to a way of seeing which has not lost the capacity for wonder.

Aceves shows us his dedication to transmitting an image and its essence.

Nothing is easy in these attempts to capture the present. Over the years, his fluidity and gener-osity have allowed him to develop the capacity to create his paintings with such ap-parent easy and fluency.
Like Van Gogh, Aceves’ love and passion for painting and landscape and above all his love for the earth that he depicts allows him to penetrate the mysteries of the land-scape and its people, as like other adventurous spirits, he surrenders himself to seduc-tion. Therefore, it is not surprising that Oaxaca also becomes involved in Southeast Asia with the Char printmaking studio at the Royal Fine Art School in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. A wonderful collective project, which has started to come to fruition through his impetus.

Let’s get close to these paintings, see the instants held, see these shared scenes as glimpses into the vision of an artist. For Aceves the real world is not indifferent and through his images we can recuperate our capacity to wonder at the luminosity of existence.

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Francisco Castro Leñero.