With Inside Rafa de Corral opens a parenthesis in his career to carry out an exercise of introspection. We are before a series of works that go into the structures, a constant motif in the long career of the painter. The search for new perspectives is evident in the synthesis that, in comparison with the previous works, has experienced his painting. It is a journey to the essentials evident both at the chromatic level, where the mastery of white and black is almost absolute (with the exception of three vibrant color accents), as well as at a compositional level.
Inside outside / graphite on board / 50 x 200 cm / 2017
The pieces that make up Inside ignore the complex structures of clear architectural references and seem to focus on their details, thus approaching the terrain of geometric abstraction without abandoning figuration. The light, always protagonist, now forms a game of volumes that speaks of the full and the hollow, thus forming a language of voids that invite us to reflect on the environment and our relationship with it. Not in vain, the perception of space and time are recurring concerns of Rafa de Corral. With the focus this time on the most intimate and close, the artist strips his works of all artifice to promote our awareness as recipients of an artistic reality that stimulates our senses to generate a reaction.
Technically, the use of graphite stands out, a material that gives the images represented a somewhat metallic texture and above all a special luminosity that multiplies its nuances. This marked contrast between black and white would not, however, be possible without the pre-treatment received by the boards since Inside sits on a broken white surface that admits the plumbagina in an exceptional way.
Alba Fluixà Pelufo, curator of the exhibition