right eye. This painting in particular was painted six months before
Quino’s health issues, yet multiple elements in the painting visualize
what would happen to him. The horse, which was originally painted
to look sickly, overcame its weakness to become the driving force of
the image, yet, below the horse’s head, there is a wound that has been
sewn up. The most symbolic part of the image, though, is the head that
is missing its right eye. “Do you know the tarot cards that people read?
I think my art is something like that. They give glimpses into the future.
I often compare my work to tarot cards,” Quino tells me, and after listening to him describe multiple instances of what some may brush aside
as strange coincidences, I’m starting to look to the supernatural as well.
we saw was when Quino first moved to the United States. He found a
piece of paper that was covered in coffee stains, and what others considered trash, he saw as an opportunity to create something beautiful.
By searching the “spots” as Quino calls him, he was able to create
a beautiful drawing by using the same method that he later used for
paintings. Years later, he is still using this technique on the canvas, and
untitled, oil on rag
It is not uncommon for strangers to have emotional connections to
Quino’s work. Sometimes, his paintings evolve into something that he
himself doesn’t realize until others point out the hidden scenes and
faces within his colorful brushstrokes. One girl even left in tears while
watching Quino paint. When asked why she was so shaken up, she
said that he had painted the image of her grandmother who had passed
away–a woman who Quino never knew.
Starting his paintings with color field-esque bases, Quino and his canvas
can be compared to Michelangelo and his marble. The painting exposes
itself to him. He has no need to do preliminary sketches. “I paint what
my subconscious tells me,” Quino says. He sees “spots” in the loosely
painted colors that then turn into shapes, which evolve into animals or
humanesque figures most of the time.
I never ceased to be amazed at the ability this man has to be able to
see art in everything that he looks at. One of the earliest pieces that
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