Por Redaccion 
The exhibition halls of San Francisco in Vélez-Málaga will shine in the coming days thanks to two of our most prestigious and recognized authors, in a land, Vélez, that boasts a magnificent cast of artists related to the world of painting, sculpture… and letters. Precisely, this emblematic place of Vélez’s religiosity, San Francisco, also an important vertex of culture, will host an exhibition co-starring Rafael Jurado Lorca and José Luis Martín, two of our references who will share the stage in one of our favorite local venues. Under the suggestive title «Colores y formas» (Colors and shapes), they distill their art in its maximum expression from May 29 to July 13.
The Councilor for Culture and Heritage of the Vélez-Málaga City Council, Alicia Ramírez, has extolled «the incomparable artistic value of these two authors, who have developed a professional career with all the honors and recognitions and who, today, we can enjoy in a unique environment, San Francisco, where we always work to improve the infrastructure and give maximum promotion to the exhibitions that take place here.» In this sense, the councilor has revealed that the purpose of the Culture Delegation is to «turn these locations into a reference for the art that is carried out in Vélez-Málaga, and not only be a place for exhibitions, but also a place for artistic encounters and dialogue.»
In this framework of action, the Council for Culture and Heritage decisively bets on providing innovative content aimed at promoting the artists of our land. This promotional line brought painters of the caliber of Rafael Heredia Cuevas to the Contemporary Art Center, another of our cultural pillars, or, more recently, Begoña Martín, who is still exhibiting «La piel de la pintura» (The skin of painting).
Impeccable collections
In his staging, Rafael Jurado Lorca brings with him 53 medium-sized oil paintings on canvas. He focuses on a folk theme, with the representation of trades such as «paseros» or «cañeros,» and native icons such as prickly pears, fig trees, avocados, or mangoes. Jurado Lorca recreates landscapes and still lifes, capturing the idiosyncrasy of Axarquia’s agriculture.
In his case, José Luis Martín bursts onto the scene with 30 small and medium-sized sculptures, made of cast aluminum, where guitars and «meninas» stand out, as well as the female figure that we also see in the six large format canvases, of mixed technique, where he transfers his figures to two dimensions with great colorfulness.
«Our commitment to local artists and to promoting their work is total and resolute,» explained Alicia Ramírez, an involvement that is visible with the presentation of the exhibition of these two «greats» of our art, who join a prestigious repertoire of authors who have passed through our halls itinerantly in recent months. «It is essential that we support those who give diffusion and repercussion to our municipality, they are references of our land and we must stand by them,» concluded the municipal delegate.