The story of a love

Joanna Wolan

Jola (Yola) Kudela's work presented at the "Street Art" auction was inspired by a true story of a couple whom the artist met at one of the San Francisco exhibitions. "During one of the opening days, a strange couple came to the gallery. He, Alfonso, a disabled man on crutches, she, Eleonora, an old lady with a walker, having troubles with walking. As it turned out later, Alfonso was from Puerto Rico. He was a poet, revolutionist, translator, and editor of a local Latin newspaper. The lady was a nurse who, in spite of her advanced age, still strived for knowledge. She attended a part-time course in genetics at the university. The tenderness with which they approached each other was beautiful and pure.", the artist said.

Kudela's composition was created in reference to Rufin Tamayo's painting "The Lovers" from 1943, which is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco. Both works display a couple looking deeply into each other's eyes and holding hands in a romantic gesture. In a certain way, the artist reinterprets the Mexican painter's work by using it as a background for the photo of Eleonora and Alfons. The formal means used by Kudela emphasize the fragmentation of memory and lapses in recollections.

The work "Lovers" was presented several times, e.g. at the Andor Gallery in 2012 and at the Cross Street Gallery in 2014. The installation also appeared in the basement of the Paris Gare Du Nord in 2016 as part of the Quai 36 Art Residence. The artist planned to return to San Francisco and put her work on display in the city where she met the depicted couple. Unfortunately, they both died in 2014, one after the other, within a few months.

Many extraordinary works will appear at the fourth edition of the "Street Art" auction, one of them is Jola (Yola) Kudela's "Lovers".

Rufin Tamayo's painting "The Lovers" from 1943 served as the artist's inspiration and a certain starting point when working on the composition of the work, which is currently in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco.