Barrio Escalante, San José

Visits by appointment only

Schedule a visit (opens the scheduler)
De los Paquetes que Jalamos, by Carmen Borrasé. A metal hook holds a domestic and symbolic load in suspense against a muted, almost theatrical red wall.

Carmen Borrasé

De los Paquetes que Jalamos

Year
2022
Technique
Oil/Canvas
Dimensions
123 × 93 cm
Status
Available
Palette
garnet red, charcoal black, brown, brass, ivory white
Brushwork
Oil with a polished finish and invisible brushwork, with a tactile definition that favors optical illusionism.

Curatorial analysis

A metal hook holds a domestic and symbolic load in suspense against a muted, almost theatrical red wall. Carmen Borrasé constructs here a meticulous trompe-l'œil that functions less as a display of technical virtuosity and more as an emotional inventory of invisible burdens. Suspended by a white cord at the exact center hangs a crumpled plastic bag bearing the silkscreened face of a classic film actress, interrupted by the austere fall of neatly folded brown fabric. The juxtaposition between the disposable and the solemn immediately establishes the gravity of the painting.

Flanking this central assemblage, the wall acts like a secular retablo where each affixed object maintains its own tension. A triangle of vivid feathers and a porous organic texture on the left contrast with the measured restraint of the opposite side, where a maternity postcard pinned with an evil-eye amulet coexists alongside a folded paper note that casts a sharp, crisp shadow. The oil paint dissolves any evident brushwork to grant each surface its tactile truth: the taut sheen of crumpled polyethylene, the dense opacity of woven cloth, the rough chill of iron, and the vulnerability of pinned paper.

At the base, upon a shadowed horizontal plane, the narrative settles into minute intimations of chance and preservation. An open metal box contains a die that appears recently stilled, resting on an embroidered handkerchief beside a glass marble. Nothing in this gathering yields to decorative whim; every element resembles a talisman retained to endure the journey, or an artifact of those affective inheritances and guilts one carries along. The relentless lateral light delineates volumes and cast shadows with such clarity that it turns personal anecdote into an unyielding statement on the weight of memory.

De los Paquetes que Jalamos

More works by Carmen Borrasé

6 works

Available works

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.