Venezuelan artist Juvenal Ravelo has a large mural at the Venezuela pavilion, measuring around 4m x 14m, called ‘Colour Modules 2020-2021’, said to be inspired by nature, with blocks of green, orange, yellow and red mirroring the Venezuelan portion of the Amazonian rainforest.
But it is also an interactive piece, with visitors invited to paint small blocks of the mural themselves, under the direction of the artist.
The decision by Ravelo to allow others to contribute is to show that art is for everyone. “Some people might not go to an exhibition, as they feel it is not for them,” he says. “By allowing people to work on a piece of art, they can see and feel that it belongs to them, as they have put at least one colour on it.”
Ravelo is a follower of kinetic art, which celebrates motion, incorporating its effects. Often this will result in the artist creating mixed-media pieces, with lines and contours delivering a kind of optical illusion, where the shapes involved appear to move. “The fragmentation is based on colour and light, and the work of British physicist Isaac Newton,” Ravelo explains.
Born in Caripito in 1934, Ravelo studied at the School of Plastic and Applied Arts in Caracas, as well as the Martín Tovary Tovar School of Plastic Arts in Barquisimeto, and he was a professor at the Cristóbal Rojas School of Plastic Arts. In 1964, he travelled to France to learn about abstract art and constructivism.
Upon returning to Venezuela, Ravelo began integrating communities into his art, creating works in the middle of the road, seeking to develop a sense of the aesthetic in ordinary people. This he called ‘Art of Participation in the Street’.
Ravelo has this advice for young artists: “It’s important that you get your inspiration as young artists, as beginners, from the work of the masters, but you have to be aware not to copy, not to repeat the work of another artist or master – just try to be yourself.”
Expo 2020 is an important event for artists, says Ravelo: “Being here at this site, an international stage, is good for communicating with the entire world, so artists can be seen, read and remembered.”
