“Fabio Lopez Gonzalo, alias Dourone, is a philanthropic artisan, an eclectic artist whose work is instantly recognisable… a “style” all his own.
Fabio was born in the Madrid region in 1985. Like many other urban artists, it all began with a passion for drawing in childhood. Adolescence saw a diversification: lettering, the physical act and adrenaline of the street, freedom, the fraternity and solidarity of the crews, etc.
At 14, driven by this energy, Fabio began to place his blaze DOURONE (DOUR-1, or the 1st person to use the DOUR blaze) in various spots around Madrid.
This DOUR blaze does not have a precise meaning, as the young graffiti artist was only interested in the graphic form of the letters. This choice of “round” letters is no surprise today, as his style consists of curves and harmony, with an absence of straight, angular shapes.
“Think with the heart, feel with your head”
This oxymoron by the Uruguayan writer and journalist Eduardo Galeano has been at the heart of Dourone’s creative process for years. The “SENTIPENSANTE” movement founded by Galeano is a neologism created by the contraction of the Spanish words “sentir” (to feel) and “pensar” (to think). This complex unity, a “dialogue” according to Edgar Morin, is an invitation to openness and exceeding paradoxes, to not divide but rather bring together. In Fabio’s work, this results in a process that is both intellectual and emotional.
His often dream-like works combine symbols and representations of our humanity. It is difficult to give a name to his style; the artist himself refuses to do so. He always answers the question simply by saying that he could only define his style through the values he wants to convey, namely Freedom, Respect and Diversity.
The curves that Fabio draws and paints are boundaries that bring out a feeling of depth in his works. These clean, open creations divide colours and create strong contrasts between light and shade. They form elegant, often female, faces that merge into a dream-like decor that can be either clear and heavenly or sombre and cosmic, with floating symbols of positivity (+), infinity (∞) and philanthropy.
Although Fabio loves black and white, which remind him of one of his passions – engraving – he is also a fan of colours. These colours are often warm and are sometimes inspired by the context of the work: ochre and Majorelle blue in Morocco, deep, sea blue in Boulogne-sur-Mer and azure blue on the huge facade of a Kiev skyscraper.
Since 2012, Fabio’s talent has been enhanced by the presence of Élodie Arshak, alias Elodieloll. Much more than just a life and work partner, Élodie is part of Dourone’s creative and artistic equation. They both like to say that 1+1=3 (“the whole is greater than the parts”, in a way), because their complementarity allows them to achieve and professionalise their vital need to travel the world, always looking for new life experiences, encounters and humanity.
Initially a communicator, then an artistic assistant, Élodie is also (and primarily) the artist’s muse. Dourone’s female portraits almost always have the typical fine, chiselled features of Élodie‘s face. And what can we say about her eyes? They are deep and black, sometimes an attractive force, sometimes serious to reflect the major social and environmental causes that the pair defend, in particular combating discrimination against women, ecological battles and respect for diversity.
The work is not the sole purpose.
Knowing how to take your time, listen to people and be in harmony with the medium, give meaning to the work in line with its origin and those who initiated it, meet the people present when it was created, give the anonymous crowd a genuine work that involves no compromising of their values… all these elements make the process of creation and production as important as the work itself.
For this globally recognised urban painter who is well known for his work, the paradox is that he does not (yet) consider himself an artist. To this contradiction about what he is, and to those who ask him about what he could have done if he had not become a painter, a kind of Plan B, he replies with humility, “my Plan B was to become an artist”.”*