Hugo Alonso: Reimagining Painting Through Cultural Fragments

Hugo Alonso’s work defies easy categorization. His paintings blend elements of appropriationism with references drawn from cinema, music, and internet culture, while remaining rooted in the traditional medium of acrylic painting. The result is a captivating exploration of perception, memory, and the emotional impact of visual stimuli. Through complex imagery, Alonso probes our desires and behaviors as spectators, questioning how cultural references shape our reactions. In this interview, he reflects on his creative process, the role of technology in his practice, and the profound influence of music on his work.

AG: Your work often begins with images drawn from cinema, music, the internet, and popular culture in general. What guides your decision to choose one image over another? Would you describe your work as appropriationist to some extent?

HA: From the beginning, I’ve engaged with appropriationism. In both paintings and videos, I selected familiar fragments of well-known scenes and, with more or less visible changes, tried to turn them into visual paradoxes. Now, I’m still interested in how memory and the cultural references we absorb through cinema and media shape our perception, and how our emotions or our reaction to a given stimulus are affected. At the same time, I explore how these references intersect with the unknown territory where desire takes root and develops.

AG: Once you select an image that captures your interest, your process it digitally before using it as a reference. Could you describe this initial phase and how it informs your painting process?

HA: The images that spark my pictorial work don’t always come from the internet, but they are often linked to technology in the way they are obtained, processed, or composed. Although my paintings are very traditional in their execution and finish (pigment, binder, and canvas), I’ve always used cameras, video, computers and software. Technology has been the incubator where ideas and images develop before transforming into paintings.

AG: In terms of technique, what draws you to acrylic? Have you explored other materials, and how do they compare?

HA: I like acrylic because it doesn’t smell, it’s clean, barely toxic, and dries quickly.

AG: The nuanced grayscale tones and the blurred aesthetic in your painting evoke both the qualities of photography and drawing. What fascinates you about working at the intersection of these mediums?

HA: I’m fascinated by how unstable and fragile the definitions of artistic disciplines really are. I find it very appealing to consume any form of art without really knowing what it is or how it was made. It’s a reaction that subverts categorization.

AG: The act of painting often involves decisions that diverge from the reference material. How do intuition and spontaneity factor into your process? Do you let the work evolve on its own, or is everything planned in advance?

HA: The reference I work with is just that, a reference. It’s interesting to see how something new emerges during the process. I like to keep in mind that references are the starting point, from which something different begins, a translation, with its inherent adjustments. Without this, the results tend to feel lifeless.

AG: Music is a significant interest of yours, and you even create it yourself. How does music influence your studio practice? Do you listen to music while working? If so, what kind?

HA: Music has always been a source of motivation and inspiration, both in and out of the studio. I don’t use it as a background music while I work, I like to actively listen to music as I work. The style depends on the day and the time. When I produce music myself, it often puts me in a state of mental hyperactivity that helps me resolve the painting process more quickly and concisely.