“Vibrating chromatic harmonies”
by:  Marta Giraldo, Historian

“Vibrating chromatic harmonies”

By:  Marta Giraldo, Historian

In his paintings, Jorge Restrepo consolidates his own style based on vibrating chromatic harmonies, on vaguely geometric structures, very evocative of interior landscapes. His stylistic proposal responds to a continuous search for expression, which is behind the multiplicity of apparently contradictory elements that give form to his paintings. On the one hand, the constructive effort that is reflected in the geometric distribution of the space and, on the other, the procedures?the transparencies, the inclusion of words or the form of certain brushstrokes are some of them?with which he uses to break it, to turn it around and change it continuously to seek a rare balance within imbalance. His painting engages in a dialogue with itself that shows us that dialogue through a constant play of mirrors in which each decision taken, each formal undertaking also includes its opposite.

We have before us a set of pictorial spaces that accomplish transparent dialogues. Each patch reflects constructive lines. Indefinite edges, partial erasures that interact, gaining meaning?that is perhaps where Restrepo accomplishes an impressive, unique nonverbal language. The tones of the colors transcend the sharpness of the patch, expressing a compact language. The configuration of another language. Apparent disjointedness. Each line seeks the dissolution of the form. Patches that appear to have their origin in Joan Miró and his concrete concept along the line of Mondrian. Restrepo is definitely a painter who does not vacillate but illuminates.

August 2003

Translated by Gertrude Brekelbaum, PhD