Barrio Escalante, San José

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Wonder Magic, Time, hold on..., by Carmen Borrasé. A pale blue apron hangs suspended in the gloom, falling in heavy folds across a brown, creased fabric surface.

Carmen Borrasé

Wonder Magic, Time, hold on...

Year
2019
Technique
Giclée on Canvas
Dimensions
76,2 × 61 cm
Status
Available
Palette
greyish light blue, earth brown, slate blue, lemon yellow, ochre gold
Brushwork
Polished surface with a smooth finish and homogeneous glazes modeling folds, highlights, and shadows with crisp precision.

Curatorial analysis

A pale blue apron hangs suspended in the gloom, falling in heavy folds across a brown, creased fabric surface. Around it, a staging as immaculate as it is biting gathers the tools of daily labor, notable among them a blue rubber glove collapsed in on itself, a worn sponge beside a luminous lemon, a white rag, and a small burnished brass genie lamp. On the left edge, a Wonder Woman figurine perches on an hourglass; however, the shadow it projects against the wall does not replicate its upright toy pose, but rather the silhouette of a despondent, exhausted woman, seated at the edge of her endurance.

The composition is structured around the dominant verticality of the apron, which operates like a shroud or a ghostly presence presiding over everything. Around this axis, the crisp highlights on the objects demand an almost devout attention, reminiscent of traditional still life. The citrus fruit's vibrant yellow and the metallic gleam of gold converse with the adhesive note stuck to the wall, where rushed handwriting lists household directives mingled with pleas for a momentary reprieve. Each element is rendered with meticulous fidelity, bestowing undeniable gravity upon the humblest materials.

The dialogue between frozen time inside the glass, the lamp of impossible wishes, and the pop fantasy of the superheroine upends the apparent calm of the scene. Domestic cleaning and service appear here as a labyrinth with neither mystical release nor magical redemption; wishes go ungranted and time does not halt. In that solitary shadow detaching itself from the figurine lies the true emotional core, exposing the rupture between the mandate of tireless performance and the profound human necessity of rest.

Wonder Magic, Time, hold on...

More works by Carmen Borrasé

6 works

Available works

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