Room 11

Various examples of abstraction we could refer to as “geometrising” (rather than geometric) coexist in this room. This can be seen in some of the multiple faces provided by this branch of mathematics and this principle of nature, so dear to the artistic practice of abstraction. In a time span of almost half a century, the starting point is Pablo Palazuelo's impressive Noir central, 1963, a work of remarkable dimensions that distances itself both from the material and torn informalisms of the 1950s and from the strict regulations that would emerge thereafter.

The University of Madrid Computing Centre, and more specifically the Automatic Analysis and Generation of Plastic Forms Seminar, founded in 1968, attracted numerous artists and became a breeding ground for unique works. Active members included, among others, José María Yturralde and Jose Luis Gómez Perales. Figuras imposibles, 1973, by Yturralde, is part of one of his best known series. This painting sees perceptive illusion clash with geometric logic, generating an impossible three-dimensional figure. Gómez Perales' work entitled Construcción en dos planos (número 8806), 1988, abounds in this modular game of repetition and difference facilitated by computational generation. Along the same line of action we can include Final del espacio, 1972, by Enrique Salamanca.

On the other hand, Frontal 3, 1984, by Sergi Aguilar, complies with a different logic. This is the result of the thorough study of previous trends such as cubism and minimalism, but filtered in a subjective and personal manner by the author. The tension between two-dimensionality and three-dimensionality, between surface and volume, between solidity and emptiness, make this work unique. One final work in this room, geometrical in nature and encompassing an alphabetic and scriptural component, is Guillermo Paff’s lyrical and austere Light Clearance (GP.20.14), 2020.