REY VÉLIZ - Metrópolis, la gran torre

• Artist: Reinaldo Véliz (Havana, Cuba)

• Title: Metropolis, the Great Tower

• Year of creation: 2023

• Technique: Oil on canvas

• Dimensions: 81 x 46 cm

• Signature: Signed and dated by the artist in the lower left corner

• Condition: Excellent conservation state. Varnished, satin gloss. Direct provenance from the artist's studio.

• Presentation: The work is shipped unstretched, carefully packed in a rigid cardboard tube for maximum protection.

• Certificate of Authenticity: Includes a hand-signed certificate of authenticity by the artist. This certificate guarantees that the piece is an original, unique, and exclusive work, protected by intellectual property rights, and that it belongs wholly to the artist’s corpus. It is a valid document for collectors, galleries, auctions, and future appraisals.

• Shipping: The work is shipped with highly secure packaging, wrapped in protective glassine paper on the painted surface and bubble wrap, inside a rigid cardboard tube specially designed to protect the work during transport. This method ensures the piece arrives intact, without creases or damage, regardless of distance or destination country. The shipment includes a tracking number for total transparency in the process.

• Note: The photographs are illustrative and are to scale approximately; please check the real dimensions. Colors may vary slightly depending on the screen.

Rey Véliz

I am a visual artist born in Havana (Cuba) where I graduated in Fine Arts from the prestigious Provincial Academy of Fine Arts of San Alejandro. There I carried out several solo and group exhibitions, and some of my works have reached private collections not only in Cuba but also in different countries around the world such as Portugal, the United States, France, Spain, Mexico, and Brazil.

Since 2006 I have resided in Madrid (Spain) where I have continued pursuing Fine Arts studies at different academies such as the C10 Academy and the prestigious “Madrid Academy of Art.” This has consolidated my formation as an artist who navigates different painting styles and who can focus on figurative, realistic, and concrete art or surreal art with total flight of the imagination.

Metropolis, the Great Tower

As a Cuban painter, arriving in Madrid was a rebirth in my understanding of light and the urban space. From the first day, the Metropolis Building captivated me with its Beaux-Arts majesty, but it was after almost twenty years living and breathing this city that I felt the maturity needed to pour its essence onto the canvas. This work is not just an architectural portrait; it is my personal homage to the capital that welcomed me, merging the sensitivity and warmth of my Caribbean roots with the imposing and regal European history that defines this Madrid icon.

At the base of the painting, I wanted to freeze a historical testimony of our time: the presence of a solitary figure, seated and sheltered behind a medical mask. This character embodies the atmosphere of isolation from the 2020 pandemic, turning the painting into a visual metaphor of human resilience. I sought to capture that moving contrast where the eternity of limestone remains unmoved before the fragility, silence, and vulnerability of daily life under the Madrid sky.

For this work I chose oil on canvas, a technique that allows me to work in layers and achieve the density and volume needed to sculpt with the brush the reliefs, columns, and moldings of the façade. My brushstroke aims for a precise balance: it is rigorous and detailed when modeling the upper architecture and the dome, but becomes looser, fluid, and suggestive at the urban base. With this I pursue creating a realistic atmosphere where the viewer can feel the depth of the air and the movement of traffic.

In my palette I predominantly use nacreous whites, pearls, and bluish grays, a clean range with which I seek to capture the mythical Velázquez light of Madrid's sky. The great contrast and the visual force of the work are found in the dense blacks and ultramarine blues of the slate dome, crowned by the warm ochre and golden of the Winged Victory. To break the sobriety and connect the painting with the vibrant reality of daily life, I decided to introduce a bold splash of color with cadmium yellow for the quintessential mail box and the reddish accents of the cars, injecting a chromatic dynamism that fills the scene with life.

Rey Véliz

https://www.reyvelizart.es
https://www.instagram.com/rey_veliz_art