Juvenal Ravelo
1932, Venezuela
The exuberance and precision of Juvenal Ravelo’s work is characterized by two conceptual bases that he has worked tirelessly on over the last decades: on the one hand, the fragmentation of light and color, on the other, the active participation of the viewer. His most scientific investigations are nourished by kinetic art, taking as a starting point the discovery of the incidence of light by Isaac Newton and the rainbow, how the direction of light and movement condition the interpretation of the work in the viewer’s retina. The optical effect generated by the vertical line, metallic elements and the small mirrors require the movement of the viewer to achieve a complete plastic expression.
Mixed Media
Juvenal Ravelo
Mixed Media
Juvenal Ravelo
Mixed Media
Juvenal Ravelo
Mixed Media
Juvenal Ravelo
Mixed Media
Juvenal Ravelo
Mixed Media
Juvenal Ravelo
Juvenal Ravelo
“… The space occupied by the work and the space occupied by the viewer are no longer different. In this way, the subtle interplay between illusory space and real space, between illusory movement and real movement, becomes established.”
Juvenal Ravelo moved to Paris in the 1970s, where movements such as optical art (op-art), geometric abstraction, and kineticism were on the rise. The historical context and his close friendship with Carlos Ruiz Diez (1923-2019) consolidated his work, taking his work to different biennials, contests and museums in France, the United States and Venezuela. Ravelo continued to work from a more social point of view, creating urban murals in different cities, which makes his work a constantly evolving study.
