A retrospective exhibition is always accompanied by a strong sense of consecration. To observe in detail the beginnings of an author, to scrutinize their evolution from the unequivocal reference point that their present situation represents. This retrospective exercise can be carried out at the Can Framis Museum in Poblenou from last February 2nd until next May 30th through the work of artist Yago Hortal (Barcelona, 1983).
Hortal presents This was before, this is now, a selection of works that covers fifteen years of his career, as well as a constant and sensitive evolution. Throughout the exhibition, one can observe how color has always been a powerful constant for Hortal's work and technique, not as a means of experimentation or a simple instrument, but for what makes it attractive: the constitution of an intensely chromatic language.
Perhaps, there is no better possible framework in Barcelona to consecrate a new author than the Vila Casas Foundation, through its space at the Can Framis Museum. This retrospective not only represents the matured journey of an author but also appeals to all those who are responsible for promoting artistic creation in our city. The Vila Casas Foundation is one of the bastions that the Catalan art scene has to create a space that ensures the constant renewal and conservation of art.
Likewise, it is fair to remember that other agents committed to the presence of contemporary art in the city, such as Galería Senda, have intervened in Yago Hortal's career. Perhaps, in the face of a hopeful circumstance such as Hortal's exhibition, we should consider how institutions and citizens maintain the legacy of Barcelona as a patron of art and culture.
If we can now enjoy the charm of many urban elements of Barcelona or delight in the artistic heritage guarded by the city's museums, it is thanks to the fact that there were those who felt the duty to build a solid and valuable legacy for future generations. Possibly, there is no higher act of altruism than this.
The Can Framis Museum hosts the different works that form the retrospective through an arrangement that respects chronology, making it easy for visitors to understand Hortal's evolution. The exhibition, curated by Enrique Juncosa, allows us to see how progress or change in Hortal has not occurred through the constant exploration of new paths, as in the case of many artists, but is the result of delving into two major elements: color and abstraction.
In the different works that we can see throughout the retrospective, we observe how color is the main element of communication of the work, but that it not only assumes a leading role due to its strength or its total presence, but also due to its mode of representation. In all the works present in the room, color is applied through movements, strong brushstrokes or intense splashes on the support. In a certain way, the evolution that we can observe in the author's work only has one sensitive and striking element: color.
Apart from all the elements of the work itself, we can affirm that this retrospective is in itself excellent news. Yago Hortal opens a new generation for a new time. The seal of the Vila Casas Foundation is a guarantee of great consideration to assume that the Barcelona scene has an artist who is beginning the steps of his consecration, but not from the complete maturity of the author, but as the promise of a future that will bear fruit creatively and consistently.
In a certain way, the evolution that we can observe in the author's work only has one sensitive and striking element: colorThe name with which the exhibition has been titled This was before, that is nownot only evokes cinematographic or artistic references, but also perfectly links with the motif of the entire exhibition, the power to reaffirm the beginning of his career to confirm the elements that currently make up his work.
The path opened by Hortal, reaffirmed in this exhibition, brings a breath of fresh and free air to our artistic scene. The contemplation of his work does not refer to complicated and absurd metaphysical conspiracies, nor to constant bibliographic references as if it were an academic investigation.
In current circumstances, any appeal to contemplative and personal pleasure is a small but powerful reminder of personal freedom and its hopeful consequencesThe work of Yago Hortal has been since its beginnings, and continues to be today, an opportunity to delve into the visual pleasure of elements placed on a canvas.In circumstances like those we live in, any appeal to contemplative and personal pleasure, as Hortal's work allows, is a small but powerful reminder of personal freedom and its hopeful consequences.