Page 375 - Arte e Historia

Art and History
at the Banco popular dominicano visual arts collection
temperamental painter, it is in this matters where he likes to em-
phasize his elements’ forms, holding them to make even clearer
his phrasing. His shadows underlines the color transparency (…)
for him, the relationship of the theme with nature-been-figure
or landscape is fundamental in this paintings, but this is not
a direct relationship. Is true that the artist is attached to the
theme, not because of a mental approach but because of an
emotional one».
Valldeperes underlines Yoryi’s work: «it is a product of
an emotional artist who has never fooled himself. What might
seem as typical or folkloric in it, is essentially his life: lived and «When he didn’t paint –Papito Rivera writes– he stretched his
felt existence. That is why, not to stop short in the superficial…
we need to understand his work is an echo of the national on
today’s traditional painting. While other artists dig into the na-
tional essences through alien voices and expressions, Yoryi Morel
arrives to the Dominican painting to stays on it sensing the
path. His morphology is only tide to the emotional demands.
Nevertheless, in his global painting we can observe, besides the
nature nakedness, the joy of living effects. There is then, the
essential Dominican being in his works, as we already recog-
nized. We understand as Dominican being, whatever it is in
the Dominican people mind and heart, what trembles through
their spirit, and the supreme manifestation of being. Then, the
Dominican being is essential to those born in this land and been
essential is transcendental. This is what Yoryi Morel reflex in
his painting –man and nature– making use, first of all, of the
emotional factors».
«His main concern has always been not to fall apart from
reality. That might be the reason for his excellent light’s com-
mand in each one of his paintings, as well as the astonishing
colouring. If colour is handled by him accordingly with de paint-
ing vital demands, light satisfy-always with accuracy- the emo-
tional claims, closer to his plastic concern. (…) there is plenty of
reminiscent in Yoryi Morel (…).
«The evocative on his painting derives, not so much from
the way he treats the issue, but from the balance between reality
and the atmosphere surrounding it, the artist’s creative capac-
ity who understand beyond the purely emotional, the receptive
power. In Yoryi Morel the Dominican Republic has, what is
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good to remind, one of the most sincere artists, not just because
he has never fooled himself, but because he has always been
loyal to the spirit that cheer up his life as a creator. In short:
Yoryi Morel is a Dominican affirmation in the national paint-
ing of our time.»
At the beginning of the 1970’ s the master of colour
and light was still active. He was 64 years old and painted
even while dreaming. Often he had to leave his bedroom
and go to his small domestic atelier. He then take his pal-
ette and his brushes, and stood still in front of his easel.
tiny figure to grab the sharp notes he tears from his violin (…)
Six of the greatest Yoryi admirers acquired the last pieces he
painted almost blind, and anxiously they wait for the first paint-
ings he would create when the light comes back to his pupils…»
(Listín Diario, November 17, 1975).
The sight impediment never defeated the obsessive
painter he was. In such a situation, he used to fill up
the canvases with multicolour stains, producing an ab-
stractionist stage on his work, not disassociated from his
chromatic style.
In 1971, Yoryi Morel «was victim of a stroke (…) los-
ing his right eye vision. Years later he fall totally blind
for a week as a consequence of cataract on his left eye.
Despite the difficulties, he had an operation (…) recov-
ering the vision the artist has declared that, the day he
stops painting «March 30th would wait for me,» referring
to the area where Santiago’s cemetery is placed». (Emely
Tueni. Listín Diario. September 7th, 1976).
On November 26 th, 1972, the government award-
ed him with the Condecoración de la Order de Duarte
en el Grado de Caballero. In his native home, Sánchez
Street no 53, a Santiago’s writer Miguel Ángel Jiménez,
on behalf of the then President, Dr. Joaquín Balaguer,
imposed the award to the artist. In the presence of
local authorities, friends and artists, the Presidential
Special Aide delivered a speech saying: «Your paintings,
Yoryi, will be exquisite presents for the soul, in the family
room or at the nation even the world’s art gallery. That’s