Patricio Hidalgo is endowed with two wondrous skills: a privileged eye and a great love of flamenco. In flamenco he sees a universe of images radiating from the movement of dance and the eloquent gestures of guitar-playing and cante. A universe he also senses in a conceptual way through the most abstract element of that art: the lament. For Patricio Hidalgo, that mournful sound is also a visual stimulus, and this works to provoke the release of a torrent of lines, colors and shapes.

The art of flamenco comes from the most essential core of being human. In order to translate that idea into painted images, Patricio Hidalgo works off two fundamental concepts: the sketch and the brushstroke. He claims the first as a kind of intellectual expression (even more so than painting itself), and uses the casual brushstroke as an essential element that serves as a jumpstart to construct his message. The most basic part of flamenco is the lament...in painting, the brushstroke. And if the lament hits straight to the soul, he means to do the same with his painting, his ‘brushstrokes': basic colors, stark areas without softening or shading. For Patricio Hidalgo flamenco expression wants no roundabout tactics. A challenge that can only be taken up by someone in possession of extraordinary plastic vision and a profound and sincere love of flamenco.

Manuel Moraga,
Member of the Asociación de Críticos, Escritores e Investigadores de Flamenco (ACEIF)