Greenery beyond reach
Ageless in the raw #1
About the "Ageless in the raw” series.
There is a vital force in nature that is specific to each location, this energy leaves a mark on the landscape that differs from place to place and which is difficult to specify in detail but which as a whole becomes recognizable and which we come to identify as “that place”. This matrix becomes a symbol when it comes to characterizing the landscape and has to do with the organization of reality, with the textures and colors, with the relative position of each thing, with the specificities of the elements, the smells, the brightness of the surfaces, the roughness of the ground and the color of the sky. The symbols that interested me in “Ageless in the Raw” were for me the representation of primordial elements such as air, fire, earth and water. Wherever I looked, I found them in several versions and different forms, with an immense plasticity and representing a disturbing and at the same time fascinating fact - everything that existed was composed of basic elements grouped in a certain way that evolved - from In a very simplistic way, this cosmic dynamic defined the motif and contours of my aesthetic interest - the internal pulse of the landscape - it was a scenario that was basically in a process of change, with roots in the distant past and that would possibly remain, even until after the human race disappeared from the face of the Earth.
All the paintings in Ageless in the Raw unfold as complete journeys into a chosen place—one that resonates with inner harmony and a sense of wholeness. The landscapes verge on abstraction, yet the atmosphere of each site remains perceptible in the colours and forms.
The result is a convergence between the observer’s perceptual filters and the external reality encountered there. These paintings propose a state of mind while simultaneously evoking a geography perceived in constant transformation. The movement inscribed on the surface—through the flow of gesture—creates zones of colour and lines of expression that define space and time as tangible dimensions within the painting. The work’s subjectivity opens a field of interpretation, inviting the viewer toward a personal and expansive understanding.
The first large-scale works began in 2022. Rather than starting from blank canvases, the artist brought forward earlier, unfinished works that seemed capable of entering into dialogue with this new phase. These canvases contained paintings from previous years with which he was not fully satisfied. Instead of discarding them, he turned them over and began working on the reverse. However unresolved those earlier works may have been, they held information worth preserving. The raw fabric on the back introduced new challenges and possibilities. Because untreated cotton absorbs paint more readily, it allowed for fluid lines and a freer gesture from the outset. A white ground was applied, over which one or two colours—typically acrylic and black ink—were used.
Most of the works thus developed two faces, front and back, introducing a new dimension in which past and present coexist on opposite sides of the same surface. Working on raw canvas demands a different approach from conventional techniques; its absorbency resembles that of paper. This quality made it possible to use charcoal over acrylic without sealing or “plasticising” the surface, while also enabling transparency and successive layering. The method proved liberating: it encouraged greater speed and eliminated the need for overly dense paint application.
Large formats also engage the whole body. Detail loses the prominence it holds in smaller works. When standing close to the canvas, one cannot fully grasp how a particular area functions within the whole, and this releases the composition from excessive formal control. There is no need to constantly adjust the overall balance. Instead, the painting undergoes successive metamorphoses until a general equilibrium emerges—less as a consciously calculated result than as a spontaneous synthesis.
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SKU 969
Mixed media on canvas
Dimensions 280 x 200 cm
As with other paintings, this work depicts landscapes that do not exist; they are conceptual terrains that emerged through the act of making and the gradual discovery of a path shaped by unprogrammed action. The outcome may evoke certain environments in which an intricate network of vegetal elements grows spontaneously.
The graphic quality—where line and contrasting colour predominate—seeks to render the movement inherent to the world of plants. If this movement could be perceived in rapid succession, it would suggest lines unfolding over time, tracing a dynamic framework in and of themselves. It is precisely this sense of vitality and continuous transformation that the painting aims to bring into view.
