Barrio Escalante, San José

Visits by appointment only

Schedule a visit (opens the scheduler)
5 Gatos de Fuerza, by Carlos Tapia. A diagonal axis erupts with optical violence from the lower foreground, anchoring the gaze into a delirious mechanism.
1 photo · 1 video

Carlos Tapia

5 Gatos de Fuerza

Year
2021
Technique
Acrylic/Canvas
Dimensions
120 × 120 cm
Status
Available
Palette
chrome yellow, vermilion orange, cobalt blue, turquoise green, bishop purple
Brushwork
Acrylic defined by flat impasto and thick black outlines, contrasted with semi-transparent circular white sweeps.

Curatorial analysis

A diagonal axis erupts with optical violence from the lower foreground, anchoring the gaze into a delirious mechanism. Rather than obeying traditional perspective, the space is distorted into a centrifugal spiral where motorized traction takes on a playful yet restless dimension: five stylized felines run inside and around a treadmill wheel, transforming the physical notion of power into an overflowing chromatic fable.

The canvas's weight is sustained by the graphic pulse of its thick, unyielding black outlines, which isolate fields of pure acrylic without allowing saturation to decay. Solar yellows and incandescent oranges collide head-on with cobalt blues, deep purples, and turquoise greens. This chromatic vibration is not merely decorative; it establishes a closed circuit of tensions in which the gaze is forced to rotate like the painted spokes, driven by magenta arrows marking the direction of spin and sectioned staircases that seem to open tunnels toward nowhere.

In the lower right quadrant, a wheel spins with such intensity that the pictorial matter resolves into circular white sweeps, letting the orange beneath show through and imbuing the ground with palpable physical velocity. Opposite, the cats display elastic anatomies and watchful gazes, oscillating between domestic play and perpetual kinetic labor. One of the feline figures remains perched on the right within a vessel hovering in the compositional slice, acting as a detached operator or a perplexed witness to the gearing.

Within a large-scale square format, this visual apparatus turns industrial mechanics into a feverish zoomorphic fantasy. The graphic solidity of the flat planes and the apparent lightness of the subject construct a taut equilibrium, where motion appears never to halt upon the surface.

5 Gatos de Fuerza

More works by Carlos Tapia

152 works

Available works

View all 152 works by Carlos Tapia

Similar works

By subject, palette and style

Message the gallery on WhatsApp

Cookies

We use cookies to learn how the site is used and to show the gallery's ads on other platforms. They are only turned on if you accept them.