Sand Tesserae
- Technique
- Mixed media on panel: cut and adhered cardboard elements in relief, cellular textured ground, acrylic glazes and matt oil.
- Dimensions
- dimensions being catalogued
- Year
- Undated
Two modules articulate a grid of sand-like tesserae over a porous ground. The relief casts minimal shadows and arranges light in a tectonic key.
About the work
Across two adjoining panels, the composition is constructed as a grid of nine “tesserae” per module, slightly uneven, floating over a field of dark grain. The black edge, integrated as a frame, contains the work’s breathing space and reinforces its condition as an object: not only image, but also presence. A lighter, continuous upper horizontal band functions as a lintel and establishes an architectural reading.
Each cardboard element reads as hand-cut: irregular edges, softly rounded corners and a darkened perimeter that acts as a drawn shadow. The inner skin, in chalky ochres, bears a speckling of whites and small interruptions that suggest scraping and glazing, allowing the material to breathe without shine.
The interstitial background, densely cellular, recalls a mineral porosity: a mesh of small cavities that traps the light and renders it matt, almost powdery. In profile, the raised flaps generate real depth; light settles on the edges and sinks into the joints, activating a rhythm between the modular and the organic. Through its contained repetition, the diptych proposes a constructive calm in which each irregularity humanises the measure.
