SDED-XXXI

SDED-XXXI, 2021
Shaped canvas and acrylic on plywood
48 x 40 in (122 x 101.6 cm)
Since the COVID pandemic came in our lives, it felt right to deepen the introspection into my artistic philosophy: some works considered done, were revisited to ensure that they accurately address the creative vision and slightly "improved," while others were, for lack of better words, just right.
SDED-XXXI is primarily a fresh exercise that revisits the flat surface notion from a different angle: elements were re-defined, re-calibrated, and re-assembled. When Lucio Fontana wanted to open up space, to reach the third dimension and make the unseen visible, he slashed the canvas, meanwhile, this piece explores the possibility of painting between canvases (opposed to, on canvas), as well as a painting under canvas! The shaped canvas was laid on the plywood's hard surface, after which the painting began, carefully, so the canvas was not to be touched by paint. Now the canvas, the traditional support for paint, takes a step back and becomes a prop, a vertical mark from where the paint should go... At least in theory, since the canvas isn't used to paint on, a gentle dimension appears as a subtle addition to the piece.
I think Fontana would have been pleased!