“Spain has an extraordinary, unbroken creative tradition: art, literature, music, research,” says Nieves González. From 16th-century portraitist El Greco to Baroque painters like Diego Velázquez and Bartolomé Murillo, the nation’s art history brims with narrative and intrigue. In the 17th century especially, dramatic contrasts of light and shadow influenced by Italian painter Caravaggio met movement, emotion, and religiosity to create theatrical tableaux.
For González, this legacy informs a painting practice that merges past and present. “Creating isn’t something we do. It’s something we are,” the artist says in a statement. “And I come from that; I carry it in my body.” Her expressive oil compositions draw upon aristocratic portraits and religious paintings, centering the focus on beautiful women who wear contemporary parkas and puffer coats.
It would be remiss not to mention the AI-generated meme of Pope Francis wearing a giant white puffer coat, which swept across the internet in 2023 and appeared so realistic that it initially fooled many into thinking it was real. The stir was not only about the perils of the technology and deepfakes but also that the image itself was so jarring. The papacy originated approximately 2,000 years ago and is steeped in specific customs, rituals, and visuals, so to imagine the pope wearing something so modern felt out of sync with time and tradition.
This asynchronous tension is what González latches onto, albeit in a somewhat more tender, considerate way. She merges art historical tropes with an emphasis on women protagonists and garments that reflect style trends distinctive to the late 20th and 21st centuries. With demure expressions, vivid outfits, and direct gazes, the figures central in her paintings buck the norm.
“I’ve never tried to separate the cultured from the popular or the historical from the contemporary,” the artist says. “What interests me is precisely that these references speak to one another and generate something alive, not a nostalgic image of the past but something with a pulse today…But what ties all those layers together, if I had to name just one thing, is a search for humanity and emotion within the image. That whoever looks at the painting feels something real. That’s what matters to me.”
A few of the works seen here are currently on view in the artist’s solo exhibition, A Friendship Story, which continues through July 25 at Richard Heller Gallery in Santa Monica. See more on the artist’s Instagram. You might also enjoy Ewa Juszkiewicz’s reimagined historical portraits of women.
