"CONTEMPORANEA" - personale dell’artista Miguel Gomez

On the morning of Saturday, the 20th, in 2025, I had the privilege of visiting the solo exhibition “Contemporanea: Present-Past and Future”, by the great artist Miguel Gomez, a long-time friend. The event was held at the baroque Church of Santa Teresa dei Maschi, located in the heart of the old town of Bari, which added another layer of weight to an experience already captivating in itself. Crossing the threshold of that sacred place, I was immediately enveloped by an atmosphere that seemed to fuse art and spirituality in an inseparable embrace.

Gomez's works have a strong visual impact, thanks to a skillful use of colors and shapes that can convey deep and complex emotions. The intense chromaticism of his canvases captivated me, making me feel as if I had physically entered the paintings themselves, transported into an emotional universe where pain, hope, and the struggle for social justice intertwine in a dance of light and shadow. Each artwork tells a story, and I felt like a witness to these powerfully visual and intimately human narratives.

I was particularly struck by how Gomez touches on painful and current themes with artistic delicacy that never dissipates the gravity of the content. I felt the pain of violated children, both in body and spirit, an unfortunately ever-current theme, represented so vibrantly as to become palpable. In his painting of the child bride, trapped between lost dreams and brutal reality, I saw reflections of broken hope, an innocence sacrificed on the altar of a world that often forgets the value of human life.

Migrants, symbols of a restless modernity, emerge in his works with faces marked by fear and suffering. I saw the figure of Charon, the ferryman of souls, pleading with someone from the depths of the poisoned water, a heartbreaking call that resonates like a song of pain, but also of resilience. The expressions on the trembling faces and the restless gazes of his subjects capture the essence of a humanity in distress, suspended between life and death, between hope and despair.

The artist does not limit himself to depicting horror; through his painting, he invites the viewer to participate emotionally, to share the experiences lived by his subjects. There is an urgency that transpires in every brushstroke, an invitation not to look away, but to face reality and reflect on our role as observers and citizens. Miguel Gomez manages to create a dialogue between his works and those who observe them, stimulating a sharing that goes beyond mere aesthetic appreciation.

The visit was a journey through time, where the passing of minutes seemed to adapt to the needs not only of the works but also of my personal emotions. Coming into contact with Gomez's work, I found myself reflecting on issues concerning the present and the future. In an era marked by conflicts and divisions, his art represents a beacon of hope, a reminder to never forget the importance of beauty and truth.

And then there was the final embrace with Miguel, a lover of beauty, a creator who, through his art, denounces the horrors of the evils that afflict our contemporary society. It is an embrace filled with emotion, an acknowledgment of the power of art to unite people, to appeal to collective conscience, and to promote necessary change.

Leaving the Church of Santa Teresa dei Maschi, I carried with me not only the images of the works but also a burden of reflections on the themes addressed. The “Contemporanea” exhibition was not just a visual experience but an invitation to look at the world with new eyes, to confront our responsibilities as human beings. Miguel Gomez, with his art, has left us a powerful message: art can and must be a vehicle of awareness and hope, capable of influencing the minds and hearts of us all.
Web: www.espressionidarte.eu/mig...