There are moments when rather than just painting with one’s hands, one paints with his or her heart. For Spanish artist, Antonyo Marest, his recent painting “The Smile Garden” at Hospital Universitario Materno-infantil de La Paz in Madrid, Spain was exactly one of these moments. An experience that was like a rebirth not only for the hospital’s garden which Marest was commissioned to re-invigorate but also for the artist himself who approached the work as a personal renaissance with his humanistic approach.
By Spanish artist Antonyo Marest
Renovate and re-invigorate
Since his first visit to the facilities, Marest was moved by the work of the people who worked there and the kids they were caring for. An experienced that flowed into his creative process. With a palette of Montana GOLD and BLACK cans that was destined to make kids smile, Marest turned the previously sterile garden into a fun place of play, peace and imagination. An artwork that helps give the garden a significant quality to aid the process of healing and curing for those that need it most. And it is not just the patients themselves that benefit from The Smile Garden. So do the parents who spend their time in the space, hoping their kids will pull through. Or the carers who are also inspired and re-energized to give to those that need their help.
Elements of nature for healing artwork
The work reflects a multitude of natural environments with just enough abstraction to allow space for interpretations of any kind. All under the umbrella of making people smile. As the weather changes or the time of the day, so too does the energy of the artwork which enriches its surroundings. An artwork that is created to provoke harmony in those who see it. Calming, soothing and positive, with The Smile Garden, Marest tries to do a little healing of his own.
Images by the artist Antonyo Marest