The painter and sculptor Lolo Zapico (León, 1953) is the author of La mina y la energía, a large-format work that from now on will preside over the entrance of La Térmica Cultural. In addition, Zapico was a disciple, neighbor and friend of Eduardo Arroyo, an artist to whom one of the new exhibitions in the space is dedicated.
L.T.C.: What is the meaning of The Mine and the Energy?
L.Z. This sculpture emulates the work of miners, the mountains of regions such as Laciana from where coal was extracted and the distribution of energy through power lines. It is a tribute to the activity that housed this space, La Térmica Cultural, the old thermal power plant of Compostilla I.
LTC. What materials is it made of?
LZ. It is made up of recycled materials obtained from old facilities in the process of being dismantled: porcelain, glass, iron and copper.
LTC. What did Eduardo Arroyo do to convince you to step away from your career as a mining engineer to pursue painting and sculpture?
LZ. I met Eduardo in 1992 when he returned to Robles de Laciana to restore and settle in the family home. In 1994 I showed him some of my drawings and he convinced me to start working again as an artist, until in 2000 I participated in my first exhibition at the Marlborough Gallery in Madrid.
LTC. Like Arroyo, the culture and landscapes of Laciana are the protagonists of part of your pictorial work, as we saw in the exhibition My world and color at the pictorial work, as we saw in the exhibition Mi mundo y el color (My world and color) at the Museum of Palencia. What is it that makes Laciana an inspiring place for you?
LZ. The biodiversity of Laciana, which has earned it the declaration of Biosphere Reserve, makes its forests and all its surroundings an extraordinarily beautiful place.
LTC. You have also been working a lot on lithography lately, with a special taste for bovine heads. Where do you usually get these rocks, on which you barely intervene?
LZ. These sculptures need to be robust and we often look for the rocks in high mountain rivers. Laciana has them as it is an area where porphyries abound.
LTC. Of Arroyo's work included in the new exhibition of La Térmica Cultural, what disciplines or periods would you highlight?
LZ. Eduardo is a great painter and I know practically all of his work, but if I had to highlight something it would be the sculptures dedicated to The Chimney Sweeps and the series of paintings The whole city talks about it.
LTC. What would you say to people to encourage them to visit Eduardo Arroyo y Robles de Laciana. Round trip?
LZ. The curator of the exhibition, Luis García Martínez, is a great connoisseur of Arroyo's work, which I believe will add great value to the exhibition of La Térmica Cultural.
