RUBÉN RODRIGO
b. 1980, Spain«In my work, there has always been a tendency toward improvisation and the pursuit of the sublime through processes involving a certain degree of controlled chance. This chance, mystery, and a particular tactile quality, always related to lightness, have been present in my work from the beginning. Currently, I am exploring the formal possibilities of color in fields that are practically monochromatic. I aim to achieve maximum purity through a single-stroke process (Sumi-e*), allowing the paint, in a very liquid state, to drip and spread across the canvas surface, generating a vibration that varies depending on the luminosity of the background or its chromatic interaction.
I am interested in the rhythm, tension, spirituality, and vitality of pictorial space. I seek to delve into the substance and energy of color, and the dichotomy between its physicality and the relationships it establishes within us through culture and art history, in a constant dialogue with light and architectural space. I place importance on atmosphere, the cultivation of ellipsis, pauses, restraint, the effect of time, and shadow.»
*Sumi-e is the Japanese word for “ink” (sumi) and “paint” (e) and it refers to an ancestral monochromatic technique, eminently naturalistic, which seeks the synthesis of patterned forms of nature, through a single brush stroke.
– Rubén Rodrigo
Text courtesy Alzueta Gallery.
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