Tidal Diagonal
- Technique
- Mixed media on panel: folded paper strips, attached in relief; acrylic applied in layers; granulated mineral load dusted on.
- Dimensions
- 130 × 162 cm
- Year
- 1993
A diagonal cut separates lime and anthracite like an unstable horizon. The relief of folds turns light into rhythm, between wall and swell.
About the work
A taut diagonal runs through the work and organises two territories of differing density: above, a calcareous clarity; below, a dark body, almost nocturnal. The meeting point is not a painted line, but an irregular edge where the matter shifts in weight and the surface reveals its assembly. The composition is sustained by repetition: narrow columns of folded paper, aligned like slats, set a vertical metre that holds its serenity even as the “horizon” tilts.
In the upper field, the folds appear more restrained and regular. The pale skin, matte and slightly porous, catches the light softly; small rectangular insertions at mid-height act as a discreet seam, measuring the space and recalling the manual construction of each module.
The lower register, in anthracite greys and softened blacks, intensifies the tactile reading. The flaps lift further from the plane and generate fine shadows between indentations, so that the relief is perceived as the viewer moves. The mineral granulate, more visible here, produces a sparkling stipple that animates the darkness without breaking its silence, and reinforces the ensemble’s object-like condition: a painting that works with light through contact, not through illusion.
