Outsider Environments Europe: Cecilio Medrano Mendizábal, El Trujal de Rincón de Soto

June 02, 2015

Cecilio Medrano Mendizábal, El Trujal de Rincón de Soto

above: rear facade of the house, made 2011-2012

pictures are screenprints from the various videos in the

documentation, published here in agreement
with Miguel Medrano Laperdiza

In the northern Spanish community of Rincón de Soto a property from 2011 has been transformed into a trencadis art environment, involving the decoration of its various walls with colorful mosaic.

Life and works

It is a creation designed by Cecilio Medrano Mendizábal and implemented by his son Miguel Medrano Lapedriza.

Cecilio Medrano was born in Rincón de Soto (November 22, 1949). First he became a farmer, but later he taught himself the skills of forging iron and in 1982 he opened his own blacksmith workshop in town, producing practical materials, such as iron banisters, balconies, railing, and agricultural implements.

detail rear facade

However, Medrano when young already showed artistic talents and in 2002 he began crafting design furniture, such as tables, sofas and chairs, but also free standing sculpted creations, made by combining various materials, such as iron, wood, and natural stone.

The some 150 creations he produced until now are scattered through his house, but are also displayed on various spots in Rincón de Soto,

A very special item is an enormous pear, La Pera de Rincón, made in 2013 as a homage to the city which is famous because of its production of high quality pears.

another detail rear facade

In 2011 the project started to decorate the walls of the property with mosaic. In Spain this style of decoration, used by Gaudy and other Catalan artists, is known as trencadis, in other countries it is also called pique assiette.

The first phase (2011-2012) involved decorating the rear facade (pictures above). a surface some ten meters wide and five meters high. The wall has been decorated with colorful mosaic interspersed with more or less realistic images such as a radiant sun below representations of heavenly bodies.

high rising rear wall, made 2012

The next phase (2012) involved the high rising rear wall. Once more colorful surfaces, interspersed with semi-realistic images that represents kind of a roofing, a chimney, a mountain....

terrace at the backside of the house, made 2012

Next -in 2012- the terrace at the house's backside was decorated. This decoration, based upon an earlier drawing by Medrano Sr, shows a gardener watering his garden.

sidewall, made 2013

Decorating the side walls (2013) was the last phase of the project, a difficult one because of the scaffold that had to be used on a sloping roof.

another view of the sidewall

This part of the art environment is probably the most extensive one in terms of square footage. It once more has a radiant sun and the long part of the wall portrays a road amidst a landscape.

sidewall under construction, detail

It's a quite road, where just one car moves. Medrano's memories of earlier times ? .....

Situation late 2021

The picture above, made in October 2021 by Tiramisu Bootfighter, who traveled through Spain in the context of his project La Valise, Galerie Ambulante, shows that the site at that time still was in good condition.

Documentation

* Weblog La Rioja en mi blog, September 2014, more pictures

* Weblog Mi Mundo Amajaiak, may 2015
* Entry on SPACES website

Videos
* Scenes of the site (2015) on the North Spain trip video by Serflac (YouTube, starts at 58.01) with a general impression of this art environment and images of Medrano's various stand-alone artworks (cannot be embedded here)
* Videos made by Miguel Medrano and downloaded on YouTube which demonstrate the realization of the decorations in its various phases