Gil stood out for composing each of his pieces without needing to sign them. Anyone even remotely familiar with his work would recognize one of his pieces among a hundred or a thousand others. His personality permeated the atmosphere, applying a light that seemed to be absorbed only by the eyes. Therein lay part of the power emanating from his landscapes and seascapes, veiled by a light he seemed to draw from the sky, settling upon the rocks, the sea, the mountains.

It was a light that sprang from the breeze of his soul and dissipated like a rain in which he had painstakingly painted each droplet, one by one. His light was uniquely his own, unrepeatable, inimitable. A form of radiant and malleable energy that Gil had invented in his studio-laboratory and set in motion like an expanding wave.

On a personal level, a philosophical characteristic stood out regarding human thought in the practice of religions. He clarified that: no one has to believe what I say, I simply present my theories; let those who have eyes and ears see, hear, and think what they want. For me, there is an “Ideal World” which I call “Illusolandia,” because I don’t like this world we live in.

And he wrote some texts that defined this way of thinking… in my ideal world there is no room for the violent, the hypocritical, the selfish, the thieves, the charlatans, or the envious, because I leave them no space for their evil. There are no negative thoughts, no hatred, no revenge… Guillermo, as an avid reader, enjoyed delving into labyrinths of eternal questions about God, about karma, about the destiny of humanity, about interpretations of the soul, about the devil and sin; he philosophized about memory, about the neurons of the brain. Another of his quotes read as follows: Every living being is a Trilogy: Spirit, Mind, and Body, and I am pained by the negative influence some self-proclaimed prophets, who act as saviors of the earth, try to exert.

Perhaps he proclaimed this utopia as a hymn to hope, and this is how he expressed himself in his works with calm and light, far removed from the thoughts that ran through his mind. From his canvases, sometimes classified as post-impressionist, emanate the aromas of traditions, customs, fruits, trees—palms, pines, olive trees—streets, and squares that are part of the life of that Mallorca he loved so much.

How that self-taught painter mastered the technique with millimeter precision, brushstrokes and palette knife strokes that seemed to have been weighed down before splashing onto the canvas; how those saturated colors shone everywhere; how the effect was produced in the frame’s aura; how his oil paintings, in small and large formats, depicted Torrent de Pareis, Valldemossa, Selva, Lluc, Deià, and Sóller; how he represented the Mediterranean sounds flowing toward his horizon; and how his unique method remains relevant today.

Kairoi Art Digital Museum pays tribute to a prominent figure in Mallorcan painting: Guillermo Gil. A large selection of his most emblematic works will be featured on the digital museum’s platform, so that our followers can enjoy the work of this master of light.

Text: Xisco Barceló