La Ba Quan

'Arms Crossed' Figurative Expressionist Painting

2011

‘Emotional’ is a large expressionist figurative oil on canvas painting of vertical format created by Vietnamese artist La Ba Quan in 2011. Featuring a palette made of grey, brown, bl...

Colorful wandering clouds in Hung’s works are inspired by traditional cloud ornaments from Vietnam’s ancient citadels and temples. Those ancient ornaments act like a negative version of clouds wandering throughout the space of the pieces. They link together to create a limbo world, where matters become vague and surreal. Another level lies underneath, hiding deep below the clouds the artist has created realms of consciousness and thoughts. Hung, joyful and relaxed, plays around with his dots. Silver dots, golden dots, together they light up the atmosphere to create a passive aura. Ornamental clouds, or simply just dots, they move from one shape to another, unsettled trying to find a logical order for themselves to fit in therefore challenging viewers’ senses. The order of signs creates spaces of uncertainties and invalidities, where the artist’s stories would be tied together and unfold. Silently, the artist submerges himself into an imaginative valley with no boundaries of shapes, strokes, and of random visual connections. The dreamy artist tries to hold on to his childhood memories, from straw scarecrows, late afternoon birds, handmade kites, boys looking after horses in mountain...

Title: Cape Maneuver Artist: José María Tuser Vázquez (Barcelona, 1919 – 1986) Technique: Oil on canvas mounted on board Dimensions: 19.7 x 23.6 in (50 x 60 cm) Date: Circa 1980s Signature: Signed "Tuser" in the lower left corner Condition: Excellent; thick, vibrant brushwork and vivid colors well preserved. 📝 Description This painting captures a dramatic moment in the bullfight — the classic verónica — as the matador gracefully halts the bull’s charge with a sweeping motion of the cape. The vivid contrast of magentas, blues, and golds intensifies the theatrical tension between man and beast. The composition is dynamic yet controlled, emphasizing the poise of the torero against the raw force of the bull. The expressive brushstrokes and thick impasto enhance the sense of movement, while the abstracted background ensures focus remains on the central figures. The piece is a striking blend of figuration and emotional energy, characteristic of Tuser’s taurine works. 👤 About the Artist: José María Tuser Vázquez José María Tuser Vázquez was a Spanish painter born in Barcelona in 1919. He studied at the Barcelona School of Arts and Crafts and began exhibiting in the 1940s. By 1947, he had fully devoted his career to bullfighting scenes, developing a distinctive figurative expressionist style with impressionist influences. He collaborated with the magazine El Ruedo, creating numerous illustrations and covers, and designed collectible postcards for Editorial Artigas. His work became well-known in Spanish artistic circles and is now part of both private and institutional collections, including the Club Taurino of London. His paintings have been auctioned internationally, reaching up to $3,000 depending on size and subject. His legacy is that of a painter who masterfully captured the emotion, tradition, and drama of the Spanish corrida. 🎨 Similar Artists José María Tuser Vázquez’s work shares thematic and stylistic elements with: Roberto Domingo – A pioneer of bullfighting art...

In this painting, I sought to merge the surreal with the natural, portraying a woman emerging from a whimsical, flower-laden landscape that blurs into a vintage-style ambiance. The s...