To miss a heartbeat. Teoría del Arte.

At the opening ceremony, which will take place on 27 February at 20:00h, the artists will accompany the attendees on their tour of the exhibition. An unbeatable opportunity to learn all about their work first-hand. And for all those who cannot attend on that day, the curator will organise guided tours. More information on the Instagram profile @teoriadelarte_.

Coinciding in time with ARCO and the rest of the art fairs that are held at the beginning of March in the so-called “Madrid Art Week”, when the city becomes the center of international attention in the world of contemporary art, the exhibition presents the work of the renowned artists Coro de Egaña, Julio Galán, Francisca Martín and Alberto de la Torre.

The expression “to miss a heartbeat,” which gives its name to the exhibition, describes the emotion derived from the physical reaction that is unleashed when faced with that which admires or amazes us. The works selected for the exhibition have the ability to produce that effect, to make us miss a beat.

Whether due to the techniques, the chromatic games, the materials, the themes…, the paintings and sculptures captivate in a subtle way but do not let escape, activating the subconscious and demanding reflection.

Coro De Egaña’s abstract paintings are the result of complete creative freedom achieved after breaking with academic rigidities. Training and technique, once acquired, cannot stop artistic expression.

His works are the result of the study and investigation of the aesthetic, plastic, historical and political connections that extend from East to West and vice versa, generating a visual message that is integrated into our DNA. In his works both worlds coexist, challenge and destroy each other to regain balance, giving rise to a radically new reality.

Julio Galán participates in the exhibition with two projects: one of sculpture and another of painting, very different but representative of the artist’s work. These are “Code Empire” and “Genesis”.

“Empire Code” is a pictorial project in which Galán traces the evolution of symbols, signs and codes as credo elements to satisfy the human need to communicate. A semiotic study that reflects on how more or less abstract elements are capable of generating knowledge in the mind of the recipient.

“Genesis” is a sculptural group of concrete art, in which the abstraction of geometric figures is above any type of figuration, illusion or symbolism. Materials and colors shown as is. Works of objective beauty. Real materials, real space.

Both projects synthesize Galán’s work: strength in the images, pure and clean colors and demand for reflection and personal introspection in the face of what is objectively beautiful.

Intimacy is the element around which Francisca Martin’s work revolves. Moving away from any other idea, the intimacy represented by the female body speaks to us of vulnerability, of stripping away all protection to seek contact and the purest interrelation. To do this, it shows us that the image is stronger than language, and that on many occasions silence is what says the most.

The masterful use of black and white, along with the infinite gray scale, allows Martín to highlight the shapes, textures and shadows until creating a clear and direct, powerful image, playing with the dichotomy between presence and absence, between what is said and what is silent.

The work of Alberto de la Torre is characterized by a dualistic vision of the pictorial object, in which the only possible certainty is the dimension of deception. Everything is the result of study, contemplation, reflection and instinct.

Behind the initial impact of the forms and materials of his works, de la Torre draws from his personal obsessions—botany, the kingdom of insects, the human figure, psychedelia, science fiction—to speak to us, with a language between the scientific and the metaphysical, about the real, the imaginary and the symbolic. Narratives that are, at the same time, a challenge and a revelation.

With his paintings he wants to confuse us with what is hidden behind the apparent. Playing with time and space, he loses us so that we can find ourselves, using amazement as an engine of reflection. The unreal spaces, full of infinite details perfectly arranged in an ordered chaos, tell us about the organic and philosophical connections that underlie everything that surrounds us.