A prodigy of Dance and Plastic Arts like Solea, there are no two in Saint Michael The artist's inspiration comes from divine origins, with Our Lady of Sorrows being his companion from a tender age, following him throughout his life and artistic exploration.
The two forms of expression by which Alexander He is known for flamenco and painting and he achieves the rare combination of being outstanding in both since his strokes in oil are unmistakable and his footwork on the tablao resonates like no other.
More than a response to the guitar or the singer, Solea's body becomes a vehicle that, beyond the limitations of the language of a response, becomes a contribution to what is being presented there.
Having different branches or sticks, the one that the dancer shows preference for and from which he adopts his name is called “Solea” which means solitude. Solitude can be approached from different points of view, such as that serenity and spiritual peace that comes from enjoying your own company or, in the extreme, that feeling of restlessness and deep uneasiness that accompanies those who long for company, and that is where the strength of Alejandro's flamenco lies, in its versatility.
Some other palos in flamenco are the Taranto, which also evokes tragedy and represents the dusty life lost by miners in tragedies within the earth, or in contrast, the guajiras, which have a very sensual touch and are a song of coming and going between Spanish and Latin lands, as well as notable African influences.
For him, performing this dance is like “a painting that is done in the moment and disappears in seconds” and it is this blank canvas and the ephemeral nature of the moment that makes it last in its viewers. Now, if he wants this painting to be transferred to a more tangible area, Solea’s talent is not far behind on the canvas and paints like a divine gift granted by Our Lady of Sorrows.
The devotion to the terrible suffering of the Virgin Mary through 7 tragic instances of the life of Jesus that awakened her deep suffering as a mother continue to inspire the painter since he was a child. It turns out that at an early age his maternal grandmother discovered his potential talent for painting, so she adapted her room for sewing with leaves and paints so that instead of doing his homework, Alejandro dedicated many hours of his childhood to exploring his talents in this beautiful art. From that painting hung an oval portrait of Our Lady of Sorrows who watched with “attention” the work that the little boy created and who at the same time sometimes served as a model for his gaze.
This genesis of admiration for his muse reaches its culmination year after year in the gallery of Alejandro and her husband “San Felipe and Solea"where on Good Friday, Alejandro paints the Virgin and also set up an installation "Mystical Conversations" where he made a kind of homage to the intimate altars that people usually set up on this Good Friday with objects that they usually find in their homes.
Beyond being considered Sacred Art, what the artist creates is felt to be a spiritual art that, while taking elements from sacred art, transforms them to tell a narrative and often autobiographical stories that refer to the paintings of biblical stories that seem so wonderful to us.
The artistic volcano inside Alejandro Solea is one whose fumaroles and eruptions do not go unnoticed and which, in addition to setting fire to everything in its path, awakens such passion in the spectator that the creative spirit takes hold of everyone who watches him dance.
