J. F. Ainaud
Crossroads
This exhibition brings together a selection – for the first time in Lleida- of paintings that are particularly representative of the principle lines of work by Vallpalou in her prolific last four years (2006-2009). This expansive phase is characterized by the use of large and medium formats.
Freed from a subject understood as representation- freed then, from subordination to an external reality- the painting of Teresa Vall Palou is, above all, an autonomous reality which reveals itself through the elements which go to make it up: symbol, gesture, material, support medium. The gesture of the strokes, and constant experimentation with the expressive potential of the material, form the basis for this work.
Although the spontaneity of the brushstroke or the stain which shape works such as CM316 or the polyptych CT327-331 is the consequence of a direct action, an immediate representation, in others (CT315 or CT348) the complexity and richness in nuance make a more reflexive execution plain. A painting of action but at low speed, paused, meditated, that searches for an adequate combination of natural elements apparently risky and improvised. This fact is clearer when the more dynamic elements (brushstrokes, drops, splatters, open shapes) are subordinated to other, more permanent elements (velatures, defined shapes), or when series flower where transformations of patterns of shape and colour appear (CT259-262). In some works (CT348 or CT316) the dominating masses of colour have an immediate impact on the viewer. In others, the impact is caused by neutral dyes (CT327-331) or, more subtly, by the application of varnishes upon a warmly nuanced white background.
Despite the various evocations, both external (landscapes, elements of nature and the cosmos) and internal, figuration is shunned, an for this reason also, the concretion of a title (her works are simply numbered and classified according to their support medium;
for this reason also, the concretion of a title (her works are simply numbered and classified according to their support medium;
CM- compositions on wood, or CT- compositions on cloth).
The result is self referring work which, however, has its origins in the experiences and internal pulses of the artist.
The allusions to landscapes -both natural and man made- can be appreciated in series such as CM206-208 or CM204-203. The evocation of organic shapes too (CT285). But, as we have said, it is, at the same time, emotional painting, a plastic manifestation of the artist’s character and her own experiences (like the collage of Chinese objects in CT316, completed after a trip to Shanghai).
Evocative works but also – in terms of calligraphy and symbolism- internal landscapes (the projection of the artist’s self) and pure form. Symbolic spaces, environments of reflection and, finally, walls of contemplation: the public exhibition of the work allows the visitor to confer a definitive meaning upon it, recognising the framework of relationships – affinities and discords – which spring forth both from an isolated and sequential contemplation of the works. A crossroads and also a culmination of roads that bring to maturity ground explored years ago, and which anticipate new, unexplored paths. Demanding work, searching for new expressive possibilities from the material and, what is more, presented within the context of the artist’s own foundation, her other creation: collective, public and – like the pictorial – a work in progress.
J. F. Ainaud
Art critic
Freed from a subject understood as representation- freed then, from subordination to an external reality- the painting of Teresa Vall Palou is, above all, an autonomous reality which reveals itself through the elements which go to make it up: symbol, gesture, material, support medium. The gesture of the strokes, and constant experimentation with the expressive potential of the material, form the basis for this work.
Although the spontaneity of the brushstroke or the stain which shape works such as CM316 or the polyptych CT327-331 is the consequence of a direct action, an immediate representation, in others (CT315 or CT348) the complexity and richness in nuance make a more reflexive execution plain. A painting of action but at low speed, paused, meditated, that searches for an adequate combination of natural elements apparently risky and improvised. This fact is clearer when the more dynamic elements (brushstrokes, drops, splatters, open shapes) are subordinated to other, more permanent elements (velatures, defined shapes), or when series flower where transformations of patterns of shape and colour appear (CT259-262). In some works (CT348 or CT316) the dominating masses of colour have an immediate impact on the viewer. In others, the impact is caused by neutral dyes (CT327-331) or, more subtly, by the application of varnishes upon a warmly nuanced white background.
Despite the various evocations, both external (landscapes, elements of nature and the cosmos) and internal, figuration is shunned, an for this reason also, the concretion of a title (her works are simply numbered and classified according to their support medium;
for this reason also, the concretion of a title (her works are simply numbered and classified according to their support medium;
CM- compositions on wood, or CT- compositions on cloth).
The result is self referring work which, however, has its origins in the experiences and internal pulses of the artist.
The allusions to landscapes -both natural and man made- can be appreciated in series such as CM206-208 or CM204-203. The evocation of organic shapes too (CT285). But, as we have said, it is, at the same time, emotional painting, a plastic manifestation of the artist’s character and her own experiences (like the collage of Chinese objects in CT316, completed after a trip to Shanghai).
Evocative works but also – in terms of calligraphy and symbolism- internal landscapes (the projection of the artist’s self) and pure form. Symbolic spaces, environments of reflection and, finally, walls of contemplation: the public exhibition of the work allows the visitor to confer a definitive meaning upon it, recognising the framework of relationships – affinities and discords – which spring forth both from an isolated and sequential contemplation of the works. A crossroads and also a culmination of roads that bring to maturity ground explored years ago, and which anticipate new, unexplored paths. Demanding work, searching for new expressive possibilities from the material and, what is more, presented within the context of the artist’s own foundation, her other creation: collective, public and – like the pictorial – a work in progress.
J. F. Ainaud
Art critic