ARTIST STATEMENT

I have, since 1992, been investigating the theme VOID, an ancestral concept reflecting the thoughts and ideas of both philosophers and scientists throughout the ages. VOID has always been a faculty of reason in the Eastern and Western worlds, their approach, however, being opposed in meaning. It is precisely this contradictory idea of the same concept which has made me become interested in the study of this theme.

By means of the concept VOID we are able to travel along the wavelength of the thoughts and minds of each civilization. Therefore VOID becomes a landscape for thought and reflection.

I initially studied the main concepts of Taoism aesthetics and, as a result, began doing introverted paintings of characters with half-closed eyes or in a state of meditation. These works had a particular type of technique in which I hoped to portray a work of art by showing the human form within the atmosphere of a landscape. The blank part of the canvas represented the physical void in my paintings and this was my own way of trying to leave the painting open to the contemplation of the observer. The relationship between void and fullness (the blank and painted parts) was the philosophical form of showing the concept of vital breaths and the importance of equilibrium.

I started to become more and more interested in how the Eastern philosophers and artists perceived life. For them, time, rhythm, form or breath were parts of a very complex cosmogony of transformation and unity. As my interest grew, I began to find all the possible documental support I could on this subject. I was amazed to see how their theories and ideas of art coincided with the way I perceived things.

At the end of 1994 I decided to experiment with transformation. As a result, a creative group was formed from different fields (people from visual arts, dancers, poets, musicians, etc.) with the idea of discovering how a project could be "born" from just a simple brushstroke. We worked very hard together on a mise en scene of one of my paintings and the experience was astonishing,

In 1996 I started a new series of paintings in which VOID was my main theme. At that particular time I was very interested in Chinese cosmogony. Tao te King by Lao Tse, I Ching or "Book of Changes", and the ancient alchemy book called "The Secret of Golden Flower" were among the books of my daily use.

Sacred texts of all religions became of great interest to me. I read and investigated Buddhism, Hinduism and the three big monotheist religions; Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

To be able to continue investigation and research, I decided to travel, first living in Paris and then living in Seattle and New York. I discovered a diversity of religions and cultures which have proved to be of utmost importance in my artistic research.

Through my paintings of "Cristos" I was able to describe my intent on expressing VOID, and subtlety of perception. These paintings have become quite intriguing for different people, especially scientists, philosophers and psychologists. This has marked a completely new era in my profession as an artist in that a great friendship between myself and these people grew due to our common interests and admiration and which has, up to the present time, developed into collaboration in investigation. Our gatherings have always been on a friendly basis but very intense and full of expression and dialogue. I have attained from these gatherings a deep understanding of other vocations and not only that of theory. The parallelisms found in our works has highly motivated my own artistic work.

In 1998 I began to do smaller works representing landscapes in abstract form. These works, which I call "Paths", was my first attempt at concentrating all my research on VOID within a small area. I realized that everything could be shown in a very simple form, or, as the scientists see it "in the simplicity and origen of the most complex forms and terms".

The study of Metaphysics made me grow aware of the perception of subtlety. As a result, my paintings always try to reflect the power of subtlety, i.e. "the power of intention".

In 1999 a group of people from different professional backgrounds was formed to work on a project called "The Language of VOID". It was curious to find that the very concept of VOID made it possible to carry out interdisciplinary and collaborative work among people of different walks of life.

VOID has been the tool which has enabled me to introduce myself into different fields - painting, photography, sculpture, printing and new technologies - as well as philosophy, science and psychology.

All my works are a consequence of my anxiety for research.