Published March 16, 2013
Fox News Latino
For many artists, it can take a lifetime to create a piece of art that resonates deeply with their viewers. But for Spanish-American artist, Domingo Zapata, his natural talent began as a young child back in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
“I was born with a gift to paint what I see and spent all my life trying to paint what I feel,†Zapata tells Fox News Latino.
“I’ve been painting since I was a little kid but it runs in my family. My father is a carpenter and my mom was a tailor. I was brought up with it; I’ve been in love with art and everything else all my life.â€
That lifelong passion, creativity and abstract rhetoric led this celebrity artist to global success. Zapata’s latest collection, “11 Minutes,†inspired by Brazilian novelist Paulo Coelho’s book, made its debut Wednesday night in New York City. It explores the triggers of human obsession; Sex, love and power.
“When I read 11 minutes I thought, it’s so curious to know that something so important as sex is, or making love, can happen in 11 minutes,†Zapata says.
The gallery holds three floors of expressionist art, each detailing a different aspect of Coelho’s novel.
“The ground (basement) level is more the sex part of it, the lust part of it. Then the ground level is the love. Here is the passion and the power,†he says. “I combined fantasies with polo players and happy rhinos smoking cigars or just flowers that are so romantic.â€
Zapata’s style has attracted a celebrity following including Sofia Vergara, who gave him the opportunity to use her body as his canvas.
“It was a gift from god to be able to do that,†he tells us. “Sofia is a good friend, she’s an amazing actress and as a canvas she did an amazing job as well. She made it very easy for me. It was very organic and casual like the good things are, very humble.â€
Zapata’s humble nature has also granted him the honor to place piece of art to be on display in the lobby of the Freedom Towers in NYC. Although he tells us it is a difficult position for a painter, he feels privileged to take on the responsibility.
“I have ideas that respect the past and also show the future and I think the people that are going to be working back in that building they want to be able to feel that comfort and the beauty when they go in,†he says.
“I want to be able to help them with that create something that is very positive to look forward to but at the same time respects the past and all the souls that will forever be remembered.â€
And the journey doesn’t end here, after New York Zapata will be heading to Italy for his next project at the Biennale in Venice.
Domingo Zapata’s collection “11 Minutes†will be on display at 372 West Broadway through April 5th.
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