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Juanma GONZALEZ

(Spain, 1945 – Belgium, 2007)

He was a driver and became a cobbler.

“I really enjoy taking a shoe apart, discovering its structure, identifying what it’s made of, from the most refined materials to the most ordinary, hand-made or machine-made. It was a bit like taking an engine apart but not so dirty.” A television programme made him want to start painting. One day a new sole he had just fitted, its smell, its shape and its texture, made it the ideal support. He painted a small landscape on it, to which the reactions of his customers varied: “The first time I decorated the soles unasked the lady was delighted. But another customer wasn’t at all pleased.” Juanma’s works are not forgotten, they wear away.