Yuni R. P (XXI) - Retrato Fauve

The painting by YUNI R. P. is built from a direct, physical relationship with matter. Working mainly with oil on canvas and dispensing with the brush in favor of the spatula, the artist develops a pictorial surface in which color is not limited to describing the image: it gains volume, direction, and movement.

The spatula allows him to deposit, drag, and overlay the oil through broad and decisive gestures. From this procedure arise surfaces of considerable material-choral richness, where the colors are partially on the canvas without completely losing their individuality. This feature constitutes one of the most recognizable elements of his language: intense blues, teals, solar yellows, oranges, reds, and whites appear opposed and intermingled in a highly luminous palette.

Although his production includes landscapes, gardens, figures, and urban scenes, in recent years the sea has become one of the great axes of his painting. Sails, ports, coasts, reflections, and horizons appear repeatedly, transformed by a gaze that privileges sensory experience over meticulous description. His residence in Havana and the daily proximity to the coastal landscape thus find a natural reflection in his imaginary.

Formally, his work dialogues with certain principles of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism: capturing changing light, chromatic fragmentation, and the will to convey an impression rather than a photographic reproduction of the subject. In some of his seascapes one can even perceive an affinity with Joaquín Sorolla’s luminist tradition, particularly in the interest in the radiance of the water and in the way whites, blues, and yellows turn the marine surface into a space of light. It is not about imitation, but an affinity within a long tradition of artists fascinated by the relationship between sea, color, and luminosity.

However, YUNI R. P. takes that tradition toward a more materially emphatic painting. The imprint of the spatula remains visible and turns each plane of color into a small structure. Up close, the painting can verge on abstraction; from a distance, those blotches and directions reorganize into sails, reflections, vegetation, figures, or horizons. That tension between abstraction and representation is one of the most appealing aspects of his work.

Photographs can barely convey this character. In front of the canvas, the relief of the oil and the changes produced by the incidence of light give the works a presence and a depth that exceed the two-dimensional image. The result is an immediate, vital, and recognizable painting, characterized by strong chromatic energy and a deeply optimistic view of the landscape.

The public trajectory of Yuniesky Rodríguez Peña includes solo and group exhibitions in Cuba and the presence of his work in international private collections. His work has also been disseminated internationally through platforms and organizations devoted to contemporary art. His works are collected in several places in Europe both at the private and institutional level.

Artwork by the artist Yuni created in the oil on high-quality professional canvas technique.
Dimension of 73 x 53 cm of painting.
Original edition.
Shipping will be carried out through United Parcel Service (UPS) for Spain and Europe, and through FedEx for the rest of the world. The work will be rolled and protected by several layers of packaging, bubble wrap, and placed in a sturdy tube. Once the work is paid for, three days are required for the packaging process and delivery to the shipping company. The piece will arrive within ten days, depending on the destination country.
“This lot contains visualizations made with AI. Check the original photographs to verify the actual condition of the work.”

This work presents an intense, expressionist foreground of a cat, executed with an oil on canvas technique that emphasizes texture and the vibrancy of color. The artist uses a bold and unconventional palette, dominated by deep blues and cobalt tones in the fur, which are contrasted by sections of warm yellows, bright oranges, and electric greens in the peripheral areas of the head. The stroke is energetic, thick, and gestural, giving the work a tactile quality and palpable dynamism that seems to make the image vibrate. The composition is anchored by the animal’s hypnotic and direct gaze; its eyes, rendered in luminous yellow-green tones, capture the light and serve as an almost electric focal point against the colorful background. A vibrant pink nose and the whiskers, defined by precise yet textured lines, complete the portrait. The work achieves a balance between the formal representation of the subject and an abstract explosion of color, capturing not only the appearance of the cat but a sense of its inherent energy and mystery.