The celebrated Ecuadorian artist, Luis Millingalli Tigse, will show a total of 51 paintings in the embassy of Ecuador in Berlin. The paintings showcase the beauty of the flowers, landscape and mountains of his native country.

The artist’s style is often described as belonging to the ‘naïf’ tradition, a figurative style of painting which does not comply with the classical rules of perspective regarding the size, color depth and accuracy of the drawing. The result is a childlike representation of subject matter, hence the use of the term “naïf”.

The main aim of Millingalli’s painting is to show the loss of the natural patrimony of his home country as a result of the advance of technology in modern societies and the dogma of never-ending growth. In his opinion, the beauty of Ecuador’s mountains is disappearing with the proliferation of new mining operations and agricultural exploitations. Thus, he uses the ‘naïf’ style, to represent an innocent, almost childish view of the nature he remembers and he feels is in danger of disappearing.

Each picture is a natural history and its special feature is the use of intense colors. For example, the painting "Chrysanthemums Dorados". Here we find a variety of small flowers in different colors: yellow, red, orange, white, green or violet. These flowers take over the painting, as the moon takes over the darkness of the night sky.

The ‘naïf’ style has been used by a wide range of Latin American artists, although it is a tradition that originated in France in the 19th century. For Berliners and general art-lovers, this exhibition is a good opportunity to see the world differently, almost as if you could see Millingalli’s own childhood memories. Thanks to the Embassy of Ecuador, we can get to know an artist whose work is highly praised in his home country.

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News from Berlin
Nicolás Pan-Montojo, Berlin Global