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Yovani Caisé
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"Untitled, 2009. Oil on canvas, 130 x 97 cm."

Yovani Caisé’s current artworks act like efficient traps for the eye of the spectator who finds himself caught up, from the onset, in the virtuosity of the technique, the delicacy of the color and that universe of enigmatic beings, dream critters or children’s fables the painter breathes life into and make the main characters of a never-ending story that walks the two-pronged way of tenderness and cruelty.

Though the world Caisé’s creatures move around resist to both the laws of physics or reasoning, they don’t stay too far away from the world as we all know it. The point is that here, fantasy –the mad lady of the house– comes up with whimsical variations, stunning relationships among familiar elements that can throw us off the scent or just make us get a kick out of them as soon as we notice they are out there. Seeing a fish soaring into the sky, a tree making a race and all creatures enduring the most incredible transformations are possible things to happen here, and they don’t bother us at all. At the end of the day, from Breughel and Bosco to the fanciful dalinians and the increasingly sophisticated TV and filmmaking resources, this whole story of fantastic transgressions have made us get used to –or prepared for- nearly anything. Today, we barely see magic in our lives. No amazements or frights. Therefore, the critters and the world Caisé offers us are things we’re somewhat acquainted with, and his adventures –so ridiculously crazy to a naked eye– are part of a common universe that surrounds us and keeps us wrapped around it. The coherence in Caisé’s work –from 2003 to date- hinges precisely on a preponderance of imaging elements of European roots. And this assertion stands above any other consideration, including those merely formal. That oneiric, singular, too-hard-to-explain touch these small fables are characterized by is what makes them both memorable and luring. In a word, what no one can deny is that Yovani Caisé has found what many creators spend their entire lifetimes in search of and only a handful of them can find: a personal touch, a style that singles him out and points at him, the right means to express ideas and visions that belong to nobody else but him.