Each of Hugo Fontela’s recent seascapes portrays an island at the center of its composition. These present and mysterious rock formations inhabit a space that is difficult to define.  Whether agitated or tranquil, the surrounding sea, like the island itself, is entirely imaginary.  In these works, the artist consciously omits the horizon line and allows these islands to exist without a defining sense of scale or geography.  Each body of land becomes simultaneously situated and isolated by Fontela’s fragmented seascape.

For this exhibition, the artist will present his most recent paintings in two variations: blue and white. These nocturnal and diurnal works are meditations on a single theme.  The austere nature of these compositions permit the artist’s gestures, both bold and minute, to articulate an unrepeatable space that is viscerally felt.  By focusing on a single idea, Fontela conveys a command of the medium within each permutation, synthesizing imaginary landscapes that exist only within each work.

Hugo Fontela was born in 1986, in Grado, in the Asturias region of Spain. His work can be found in several collections including the National Library of Spain, Madrid; the Museum of Fine Arts of Asturias, Oviedo, Spain; the Hispanic Society of America, New York; the Museum of Montserrat, Barcelona, Spain; the Princess of Asturias Foundation, Oviedo, Spain; the Julio Gavín Larrés Castle Drawing Museum, Huesca, Spain; the Cervantes Institute; the Museum of Contemporary Spanish Engraving of Marbella, Málaga, Spain; among others. The artist currently lives and works in Madrid. . (Marlborough press-release)