FLOWERS AND THORNS

The relationship to nature in each of the pieces created by the artist is evident, in this series just as in others. In the case of Flores y espinas, we see beings linked to our ecosystems, however alien they may seem due to their otherwordly appearance. Plants, and their reproductive structure, flowers, make it possible for these species to be perpetuated, and are also the protagonists of this collection. But, who are the flowers? Female bodies are portrayed in each of these pieces.

On the other hand, another of the questions that come to mind when viewing these pieces is, “What do the thorns mean?”. They could be viewed as something akin to osteoderms, those bony formations that many animals developed and they are a way of communicating that ambiguity, those tensions and balances.

It could be said, if framed as a myth or a legend, that each of the paintings in this collection represents a different version of the origin of life, existing in that primordial chaos. Each of the figures represented has the strength to face what the future may bring. Or are they, in fact, challenging us?

PhD. Alejandra Rodríguez Cunchillos Curator and PhD in Art History

This is a brief selection of Romulo Royo’s work in the series Flowers & Thorns.