Rafael Sottolichio is a painter who likes to have a good time. Born in Chile, he’s been in Montreal since the seventies. He works many different mediums, like acrylic and oil on small paintings, but also large-scale murals. He likes a good Chilean barbecue with AAA Alberta beef and a fine Niagara wine. He’s a father to two tall kids, and he likes philosophy and poetry, but not as much as Action movies! He also married Élise: “La plus belle fille du village!” He’s studied in various universities and has taught painting at various levels: private art schools, colleges and universities. He greatly enjoys the company of young people and has made numerous workshops with art organisations and communities.
But most of all, he likes to try different styles. He’s made all sorts of different work: landscapes, portraits, still lives, large-scale, very small work, photo-realist paintings, very cartoonish illustration-style drawings, murals, ink, acrylic, oil, gouache, pencil, paper, canvas, brick… And he’s also shown in galleries, museums (not a lot!), art fairs, artist-run centers and cafés with friends. And, recently, he’s been working on a sci-fi graphic novel about AI and a colons on a faraway planet…
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Which ’hood are you in?
My ‘hood is my studio, where I spend most of my waking hours. It’s in the famous Mile-End sector of Montreal, where artists live side-by-side with the Hassidic and Greek communities… and lately, hipsters!! But we love ’em. On the 10th floor, looking East, the studio is a magic tower where I dream a world of images and surfaces. Surrounded by galleries, cafés, bookstores and chic cuisine, it’s the most inspiring ‘hood I’ve ever inhabited.
What do you do?
Before anything, I make images. I’ve been drawing since very early childhood, studied photography, became a painter, and I’ve managed to keep drawing and reading philosophy throughout these different phases. My profession is painter, which I practice in the studio but also as a muralist in the Montreal area. I’ve painted some very large murals recently, but my real passion is easel painting: making small, intimate “painting experiences”. I believe strongly that the painting medium, with its history and references, is a magnificent canvas for thought-provoking objects that are experienced in the intimacy of a one-on-one relation. I show in galleries, and I share my drawings on social networks.
What are you currently working on?
At the moment, I’m working on a series of photo-based paintings. These are generally small reproductions of photos from my archives. I’ve been keeping a very organized image archive since my teen years. This archive has recently become a source of exploration of the ” ideal arm of consciousness in its acquisitive mode ” (Susan Sontag). In this series, the images are loaded with poetic evocations and pathos. The materiality of the paintings, with their thick impasto, is also an axageration on the relationship to reproduction. These paintings also tell my story through images and allow us to ” reexperience the unreality and remoteness of the real ” (Sontag).
Where can we find your work?
My painting work can mostly be found in the houses of Canada’s finest collectors! I’ve been blessed to have been able to sell some paintings in multiple galleries in Canada, mostly Toronto, Montreal and Quebec, and this considering I keep changing styles and subjects for the last 30 years… My current gallery, Chiguer Art Contemporain, recently showed my last paintings at the Foire en art actuel, and together with Painter8 Arts Society, we’re having an outdoor art exhibition in East Vancouver called The Glass City. You can also catch my murals in downtown Montreal and the very classy Plateau-Mont-Royal neighbourhood. I also like to post the drawings I make when travelling. These small sketches force me to stop and watch for a moment what’s really in front of me, an essential activity for me. Check out my website for more info.
