Cristian Mesa Velazquez - Apnea

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Current bid
€ 250
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Petra Skarupsky
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Gallery Estimate  € 1,000 - € 1,200
GR
€250
GR
€245
GR
€225

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Artist Cristian Mesa Velazquez, title Apnea, oil on canvas, 42 × 62 cm, 2026, original edition, signed by hand, includes certificate of authenticity, produced in Spain in the expressionist style.

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Description from the seller

Apnea
Oil on canvas · 42 x 62 cm · 2026

A swimmer descends toward the viewer in full breath-hold: eyes closed, a barely hinted smile, arms open in the propulsion of the stroke. The face, almost frontal, occupies the center of the canvas and is pierced by the surface light. Instead of a continuous modeling, the painter builds it with patches of pink, ochre, and turquoise that settle on the skin like the reflection of the pool itself.

Over that face float bubbles painted like tiny crystal lenses. One rests on the forehead, as a third eye, and others cross the nose and eyelid. Each has a border of light impasto and a pinpoint reflection that gives relief to the surface and invites a close look. They are breath made matter, suspended above a figure that remains calm, between restraint and surrender.

The rest of the composition maintains control: an intense cobalt blue, crossed by the turquoise light network of the pool’s bottom, and a single dark accent, the hair and the garnet swimsuit, which anchor the figure. The brushstroke is loose and confident, with the contrast of warm over cool recurring in his series of submerged figures, within the contemporary tradition of swimming-painting underwater.

Technique: oil on canvas
Measurements: 42 x 62 cm
Signed bottom left, 2026
Original work, handmade
Includes certificate of authenticity
Shipped unframed for maximum security in transport

Seller's Story

About the Artist Cristian Mesa Velázquez (Las Tunas, Cuba, 1994) is a contemporary Cuban painter currently living and working in Valencia, Spain. Trained at the Professional Academy of Plastic Arts in Las Tunas, Mesa Velázquez has developed a personal pictorial language that combines solid technical realism with a strong symbolic and emotional charge. His work explores themes such as the human body, sensuality, nature, and light, always with a marked chromatic and textural sensitivity. From a very young age, his talent was recognized in Cuba, where he participated in numerous national salons and collective exhibitions. Since 2020, his career has taken an important international leap, participating in major art fairs in Luxembourg, Paris, Germany, and France. His works have been acquired by private collectors in more than eight countries, including France, Italy, the Netherlands, China, Germany, the United States, Mexico, and Spain. His painting is characterized by excellent craftsmanship, an expressive handling of oil, and a unique ability to transform the everyday into images full of poetry, desire, and vitality. His series of figures in water, fruits and hands, as well as his bird portraits, stand out for their visual power and their capacity to emotionally connect with the viewer. Today, his work is part of important private collections around the world and continues to establish itself as one of the most interesting voices of contemporary Cuban realism in Europe.
Translated by Google Translate

Apnea
Oil on canvas · 42 x 62 cm · 2026

A swimmer descends toward the viewer in full breath-hold: eyes closed, a barely hinted smile, arms open in the propulsion of the stroke. The face, almost frontal, occupies the center of the canvas and is pierced by the surface light. Instead of a continuous modeling, the painter builds it with patches of pink, ochre, and turquoise that settle on the skin like the reflection of the pool itself.

Over that face float bubbles painted like tiny crystal lenses. One rests on the forehead, as a third eye, and others cross the nose and eyelid. Each has a border of light impasto and a pinpoint reflection that gives relief to the surface and invites a close look. They are breath made matter, suspended above a figure that remains calm, between restraint and surrender.

The rest of the composition maintains control: an intense cobalt blue, crossed by the turquoise light network of the pool’s bottom, and a single dark accent, the hair and the garnet swimsuit, which anchor the figure. The brushstroke is loose and confident, with the contrast of warm over cool recurring in his series of submerged figures, within the contemporary tradition of swimming-painting underwater.

Technique: oil on canvas
Measurements: 42 x 62 cm
Signed bottom left, 2026
Original work, handmade
Includes certificate of authenticity
Shipped unframed for maximum security in transport

Seller's Story

About the Artist Cristian Mesa Velázquez (Las Tunas, Cuba, 1994) is a contemporary Cuban painter currently living and working in Valencia, Spain. Trained at the Professional Academy of Plastic Arts in Las Tunas, Mesa Velázquez has developed a personal pictorial language that combines solid technical realism with a strong symbolic and emotional charge. His work explores themes such as the human body, sensuality, nature, and light, always with a marked chromatic and textural sensitivity. From a very young age, his talent was recognized in Cuba, where he participated in numerous national salons and collective exhibitions. Since 2020, his career has taken an important international leap, participating in major art fairs in Luxembourg, Paris, Germany, and France. His works have been acquired by private collectors in more than eight countries, including France, Italy, the Netherlands, China, Germany, the United States, Mexico, and Spain. His painting is characterized by excellent craftsmanship, an expressive handling of oil, and a unique ability to transform the everyday into images full of poetry, desire, and vitality. His series of figures in water, fruits and hands, as well as his bird portraits, stand out for their visual power and their capacity to emotionally connect with the viewer. Today, his work is part of important private collections around the world and continues to establish itself as one of the most interesting voices of contemporary Cuban realism in Europe.
Translated by Google Translate

Details

Sold with frame
No
Sold by
Direct from the artist
Edition
Original
Artist
Cristian Mesa Velazquez
Title of artwork
Apnea
Technique
Oil painting
Signature
Hand signed
Country of origin
Spain
Year
2026
Colour
Beige, Blue, Gold, Multicolour, Orange, White, Yellow
Condition
Excellent condition
Height
42 cm
Width
62 cm
Depiction/theme
Portrait
Style
Expressionism
Period
2020+
SpainVerified
694
Objects sold
100%
Privatetop

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