The impossible architecture depicted in paintings by Spanish artist Cinta Vidal Agulló are immersive M.C. Escher-meets-Dr. Seuss dreamscapes of multi-dimensional planes inhabited by tiny, doll-like figures.
(Courtesy Cinta Vidal Agullo)
The “un-gravity constructions,” as Vidal Agulló calls them, are microscopically-detailed, small-stroke acrylic paintings on wood panels, each maze-like world resembling a planet unto itself.
(Courtesy Cinta Vidal Agullo)The confusion of the eye in its scramble to identify which way is up is a metaphor for the human condition: the impossibility of completely understanding those around us while grappling to comprehend ourselves. Namely, it is the oft-concealed disparity between our mental state and our physical environs.
(Courtesy Cinta Vidal Agullo)The topsy-turvy living spaces are peopled by faceless, solitary-looking characters and infinitesimal dollhouse-like furniture and objects, sometimes careening through the air.
This foray into intricately detailed, realist painting is a first for Vidal Agulló, who has painted theater backdrops for operas for one of the world’s most prestigious scenography ateliers since age 16.
(Courtesy Cinta Vidal Agullo)She now works in a small studio in Cardedeu, a small town near Barcelona, Spain. Versed in the application of a large, broom-like brush and large-scale works, Vidal Agulló relished the challenge of reverting to a smaller scale where every flick of the brush matters. Her paintings feature multiple angles and top-sides of interconnected scenes where one is left to decipher the relationships between them.
(Courtesy Cinta Vidal Agullo)“The architectural spaces and day-to-day objects are an expression of how difficult it is to fit everything that shapes our daily space: relationships, work, ambitions, and dreams,” Vidal Agulló said in an interview with Hi-Fructose.
The backdrop painter is used to walking all over her work and painting with a broom-like brush (Courtesy Cinta Vidal Agullo)Some of her paintings feature unnaturally conjoined buildings, while others depict upside-down-right-side-up interiors. “Playing with everyday objects and spaces placed in different ways to express that many times the inner dimension of each one of us does not match the mental structures of those around us,” she said.
Vidal Agullo enjoyed the challenge of painting on a smaller scale (Courtesy Cinta Vidal Agullo)
