MALAGA.- The Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga presents the Spanish premiere of the exhibition Transfinito [Transfinite], featuring the work of artist José María Yturralde (b. Cuenca, 1942). The show curated by Fernando Francés comprises a selection of approximately ten paintings, most of which were created specifically for the exhibition at the CAC Málaga. Contrast and chromatic transitions characterise the artist’s use of forms and choice of colours as he reflects on the notion of the void, the universe and other themes. Yturralde lives and works in Valencia.
Writing about his work, José María Yturralde (b. Cuenca, 1942) declares, “My intention has been to achieve an atmosphere of fluid transparency, of communion with a kind of slowly expanding energy, and that energy refers to sensibility and emotion, to a poetic experience. Perhaps there is a spiritual or mystical element, but I don’t believe that the sensuality, the mere life, the here and now of this event is specifically religious or sacred.” The empty space between his creations is just as important as the pieces themselves, inviting constant reflection on the limits of his work.
For Fernando Francés, director of the CAC Málaga, “The Renaissance spirit is not limited to one historical period, but rather has gradually taken root over the centuries leading up to the present day. To speak of José María Yturralde is to speak of art, science and metaphysics, and therefore his attitude has a great deal in common with the complex, comprehensive stance of the Renaissance man, even with Da Vinci himself. Yturralde is an artist of tremendous erudition, both scientific and humanistic, and keen sensibility, who firmly believes in the possibilities of painting and has managed to infuse his compositions with a metaphysical, spiritual dimension. His creative talent is unique in the context of Spanish contemporary art.”
Visitors to the show will be able to admire approximately ten paintings, most of them produced especially for this exhibition. In his canvases, Yturralde uses concepts borrowed from art, science and metaphysics to explore fields related to numerology, the transcendental, and the invisible world around us and translate his findings into pictorial language.
His works are characterised by the use of chromatic transitions and a wide range of vibrant colours, masterfully applied to heighten the contrast between them. In his paintings he focuses on themes such as space, the void, time, energy, light, the universe and matters beyond the bounds of experimental science. His work can be defined as analytical, rational, scientific and semi-transcendental.
Yturralde admits to a fascination with the field where the languages of science and art intersect, which explains his interest in kinetic and Op art. For inspiration, he often turns to artists and painters like Mark Rothko, Mondrian, Albers, Kandinsky, Barnett Newman and Brice Marden. Contemporary architecture, film, poetry, music, art and eastern philosophy also influence his work and are often questioned in his paintings.
Yturralde’s creations are a pictorial meditation on the concepts of the void, the beginning and end, and the universe, all frequent themes in his oeuvre. The artist’s choice of textures and chromatic transitions is motivated by a need to express his personal feelings, preoccupations and questions. Much more than mere objects, Yturralde’s paintings capture his emotions and spread beyond the physical boundaries of the picture plane, attempting to create a thought-provoking atmosphere that encourages spectators to wonder what lies beyond the tangible, visible realm and perhaps even be transported to a level of transcendental existence.
In his oeuvre, horizons are a recurring theme open to multiple interpretations. This is apparent in Dawn (2012) and Mirfak (2014), both from the Horizontes [Horizons] series, where he uses colour, textures and matter to explore the notions of time and infinity. Another theme the artist addresses in his paintings is the idea of nothingness or silence, which we find in the series begun in the early 1990s entitled Eclipses, his personal tribute to Malevich. Today the artist continues to reflect on concepts that have fascinated him throughout his career, such as the void, time, light, the universe and the celestial.
José María Yturralde lives and works in Valencia and is considered one of the leading exponents of Spanish contemporary art. With a BA and PhD in Fine Art from the Polytechnic University of Valencia, he is a fellow of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Carlos of Valencia, professor of Painting at the Polytechnic University of Valencia’s Faculty of Fine Arts, and member of the Social Council of the Polytechnic University of Valencia.
Some of his most important solo shows have been The Absent Space, Galeria Mário Sequeira, Portugal (2010); Postludios, CAB – Centro de Arte Caja de Burgos, Burgos (2005); Yturralde (retrospective), IVAM Centre Julio González, Valencia (1999); Fossil Art (happening), Museo Paleontológico, Valencia (1980); Estructuras 1968-72, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Madrid (1973); and Yturralde. Dibujos, Salón Dorado, Excma. Diputación Provincial, Valencia (1965).
He has also participated in numerous group exhibitions, including Monocromáticos, Galería Adora Calvo, Salamanca (2013); Armory Show, Gering & López Gallery, New York (2010); Modelos, Estructuras, Formas. España 1957-79, Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo, Seville (2005); 2nd Mercosul Visual Arts Biennial, Brazil (1999); Antes del Arte, The Spanish Institute, New York (1996); Computer Art, Gallery of Contemporary Art, Zagreb, Yugoslavia (1973); and Arte Español Contemporáneo, Galleria AL2, Rome (1970).
