Juan Miguel Benito · Exhibition
AMOR
An exhibition about the wound, reflection, acceptance, and love as a way of being in the world.
Curatorial text
Love is what gives meaning to everything
Today I have arrived at one of the most important conclusions of my life: love is what gives meaning to everything. Self-love, love for family, for friends, for a partner, for acquaintances, for colleagues… In short, love for life itself. Although we can never choose who stays by our side, we can always offer our best smile, our warmest embrace, and our closest, most sincere company. That, my friends, sums up the fact that we are a source of infinite love that never runs out, and remembering that is an act of freedom. Let’s celebrate love.
Phase 1
Pain, frustration, incomprehension, rage, resentment
I don’t understand anything. Everything is falling apart senselessly. Energy overflows without direction, and painting becomes an immediate way of breathing.
We didn’t see it coming / Y no la vimos venir
Reconsidering / Reconsiderando
It obviously blew us apart / Evidentemente nos reventó
Impulses 1 / Impulsos 1
Impulses 2 / Impulsos 2
We talked about forever, but forever never came / Hablamos de para siempre, pero el para siempre nunca llegó.
Harmony: Stones for diamonds (Sera)
It hurts / Duele
We all have a choice / Todos tenemos una elección
Harmony: I must be stupid (Chet Faker)
And the flower fell / Y se cayó la flor
Harmony: No soy eterno (Bizarrap, Milo J)
A touch of temperance / Algo de templanza
A broken soul looking for hope / Un alma rota buscando esperanza
Harmony: M.A.I (Milo J)
Confusion / Confusión
Impulses 3 / Impulsos 3
Impulses 4 / Impulsos 4
Phase 2
Reflection and a first attempt at synthesis
The emptiness is still there, but words begin to fall into place. Reflection opens the first space for understanding and rebuilding.
Emptiness / Vacío
Emptiness, perhaps only understandable after having felt fullness, becomes a new and difficult space to navigate. A place where silence and absence unsettle and overwhelm us, like a ship lost in an infinite ocean after the shipwreck of dreams and expectations
Harmony: Morocha (Milo J)
Nothing really matters that much / Nada es realmente tan importante
Nothing really matters that much. Time passes quickly and the days become routine, until it’s all behind us. Only then do we understand the value of life. Perhaps truly living is simply learning to be present and to value what we have while we still have it
Harmony: You’ve got the love (Florence+The Machine)
The evil having lasted so long, good is already near / Habiendo durado mucho el mal, el bien está ya cerca
«Neither evil nor good can last forever; from which it follows that, evil having lasted so long, good is already near.» This work reflects chaos and calm, the storm and the light that follows it, reminding us that, even in uncertainty, balance always finds its way
Harmony: Tadow (Masego)
The paradox of success / La paradoja del éxito
We reach the summit and are blinded by the glow of success. Applause sweeps us away and we lose the essence that brought us here. We forget those who held us up, and only those who came out of convenience remain. When it all fades, emptiness is inevitable, and we face what we truly are
Harmony: La última (Quevedo)
The multiplicity of forms / La multiplicidad de las formas
This work of geometric shapes and vibrant colours reflects the vastness of possibilities that surround us and the freedom to choose among infinite paths. But amid such variety there is also saturation: too many options can confuse us and pull us away from our essence. The lines and colours show that, even in chaos, order and clarity can be found
Harmony: Nevermind (Dennis Lloyd)
We stopped recognising ourselves / Dejamos de reconocernos
Sometimes we look in the mirror and don’t recognise our own reflection, lost among other people’s expectations and comparisons. This work invites us to protect our freedom, set our boundaries, and bring in the colours, experiences and values that sustain our integrity, while small brushstrokes that break through borders remind us that freedom is also play and creativity
Harmony: Fix you (Coldplay)
Innocence, kindness and foolishness / Inocencia, bondad y estupidez
Innocence and kindness can lead us to disappointment, and sometimes we feel foolish for trusting others blindly. And yet, trusting in the goodness of others also reflects our own values. This work explores that tension between naivety and principle, reminding us that, even when the world makes us doubt, the most important thing is never to betray ourselves
Harmony: Narcissist (Dax, Phix)
Follow the sun
As a friend of mine used to say: everything passes. One day everything flows and shines, the next the order breaks and what seemed solid disappears. This painting is born of that reflection: circumstance is variable, but what remains is you. An ode to inner permanence, reminding us that we are not what surrounds us, but what remains when everything else changes — like the sun, which always rises again
Harmony: Follow the sun (Xavier Rudd)
In defence of you / En defensa de ti
Sometimes we need to look in the mirror and not recognise ourselves, in order to discover a new version of who we are. This work reminds us that ceasing to be someone else’s option, and becoming our own choice instead, is the path to our true worth
Harmony: Believer (Imagine Dragons)
Judas kisses / Besos de Judas
The «paradox of trust» reminds us that what is valuable arrives slowly and can be lost quickly. This work reflects the fragility of trust and the importance of caring for and valuing every gesture that builds an authentic bond
Harmony: Barbie de extrarradio (Melendi)
Forgiveness / El perdón
«A reflection on forgiveness.» When actions stain and words dissolve, forgiveness loses its place. Without coherence between what is said and what is done, remorse fades and trust is left without support. And so the bond can no longer be sustained by the idea of forgiveness. All that remains is acceptance — hard, but revealing, as the only truth that endures
Phase 3
Acceptance and learning
Acceptance begins to surface. Memory loses its weight and what was lived becomes learning, gratitude, and a new way of looking at the present.
Impermanent love / Amor impermanente
Sometimes life lights up in small things: a smile, an embrace, a shared gesture of love. It hurts when the people we love decide to leave, but love isn’t measured in permanence — it’s measured in sincere giving. This painting is gratitude for what came and what went, because both transformed us. True love doesn’t bind or imprison; it liberates and expands, reminding us that, in the end, we are infinitely free
Harmony: Flamenco y Bachata (Daviles de Novelda)
In constant iteration / En iteración constante
Everything in this work moves, crosses and transforms, like life itself: a project forever under revision. Growing isn’t arriving, it’s iterating. Every line that breaks or mutates reminds us that within each change lies a clue to who we are. Being grateful for what was, and accepting the pivot, opens us to another way of looking — more human, less demanding. When we stop searching for the perfect line, we begin to find the perfect work
Harmony: Cantaré-GALLERY SESSION (Lia Kali)
So much pain / Cuánto dolor
When trust breaks, a sea of doubts arises, along with incomprehension and an irrational search for meaning. All that remains is a deep pain, like an unexpected stab wound, a betrayal that shatters hope and breaks the utopia of a heart once in love
Harmony: Mi casa (Luis Cortés)
I truly loved you / Yo te amé de verdad
Perhaps this is my farewell letter, a letter of gratitude for what was and will never be again. Thank you, life, for putting in my path someone who marked a before and after, who taught me so much, and with whom I shared so many moments. Now it’s time to fly free and let be — those who want to stay, and those who choose to leave. Thank you, truly
Harmony: A te (Jovanotti)
Phase 4
Love, love and love
To stop searching in order to start finding. To love what is, to inhabit the present, and to recognise the worth of those who share the path.
My friends / Mis amigos
The possibilities are infinite, the coincidences sometimes almost laughable. We choose our second family — those who, in turn, chose selflessly to walk through life alongside us. Let’s take a moment to thank the friends who lifted us up, stayed by our side, and made us smile. In the end, nothing defines or sustains us as much as what we share with those we choose to love
Harmony: How you remind me (Nickelback)
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