Barrio Escalante, San José

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Desnudo, by Manuel Vargas. A rotund mass rises from the heaviness of its own support.

Manuel Vargas

DesnudoInquire about availability

Year
2016
Technique
Wood
Dimensions
60 × 20 × 18 cm
Status
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Palette
terracotta, toasted honey, mahogany, charcoal black, light wood
Brushwork
Direct carving in wood with a polished surface and fluid grain running through the anatomical mass

Curatorial analysis

A rotund mass rises from the heaviness of its own support. In this female nude carved from a single block, the volume makes no attempt to lighten itself or feign weightlessness; it affirms itself through its own physical density, anchored to the black pedestal by wide feet and solid limbs that gather an almost telluric force. The gesture of arms raised above the head, clasped toward the nape, frames a face with barely rough-hewn features that retains the hermetic stillness of an ancestral idol.

The carving accurately harnesses the natural pattern of the wood grain. Rather than concealing the material's origin, the concentric lines of the tree's growth follow the curves of the abdomen, breast, and hips, fusing human anatomy with the organic grain of the timber. A gentle transition guides the modeling of the surfaces, where sharp edges dissolve into continuous curves that catch glancing light with a warm sheen, allowing soft shadows to nestle naturally in the crease of the legs and beneath the relief of the torso.

The play of proportions deliberately shifts away from classical canons: the shortening of the lower limbs and the widening of the torso lend the piece a monumentality that extends far beyond its sixty centimeters in height. This compactness does not negate the sensuality of the body, but rather redirects it toward an impression of primal fertility and vital fullness.

Sustained along its own vertical axis, the female figure dispenses with anecdotal detail and narrative props. Its quiet presence calls for tactile contemplation, where the firmness of the material and the warmth of the polished surface enshrine the weight of the body as a resolute testimony of permanence.

Desnudo

More works by Manuel Vargas

9 works

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