Barrio Escalante, San José

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Un Momento en el Tiempo, by Ramón Chirinos. An almost absolute chromatic silence dominates the scene, governed by a rigorous scale of ash grays, chalk whites, and deep blacks that dismantle the space.

Ramón Chirinos

Un Momento en el Tiempo

Year
2011
Technique
Mixed Media
Dimensions
130 × 110 cm
Status
Available
Palette
pearl gray, carbon black, ochre yellow, slate gray, rust orange
Brushwork
Overlapping geometric planes with scrapings, dense impasto, and graphic sgraffito.

Curatorial analysis

An almost absolute chromatic silence dominates the scene, governed by a rigorous scale of ash grays, chalk whites, and deep blacks that dismantle the space. Across this nearly monochrome order, a vertical swath of ochre yellow in the upper background and vivid touches of vermilion and green on the foreground fruits erupt with deliberate force. This tonal restraint does not diminish the surface; rather, it tightens the gaze onto the interplay between light and shadow, transforming the atmosphere into a realm where time seems to have halted.

The female figure, with her serene posture and direct frontal gaze, anchors the vertical axis of the composition while the domestic environment shatters into faceted planes and geometric transparencies. Beside her, the round table tilts forward in defiance of classical perspective, crowned by a vase of stylized foliage and two spheres that converse with the surrounding chiaroscuro. The boundaries between the woman's attire, the furniture, and the background become porous: diagonals and wedges of light pierce her silhouette, embedding her in a space that continuously shifts between solid figuration and abstract breakdown.

The painted surface reveals a remarkable variety of tactile registers. Areas of opaque pigment coexist with precise scrapings, subtle drippings along the lower section, and fine linear hatchings traced across the plane reminiscent of sketches or textile patterns. The elaborate headdress crowning the protagonist concentrates this material energy, fusing dense shards of paint with delicate floral accents that contrast with the almost ethereal smoothness of her face. In this constant friction between the sitter's stillness and the graphic vibration surrounding her, the scene elevates an everyday moment into the enduring gravity of a suspended enigma.

Un Momento en el Tiempo

More works by Ramón Chirinos

34 works

Available works

View all 34 works by Ramón Chirinos

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