Paco Dalmau
Art Island
22-24 may
Solo Contour Gallery
29 may
– 17 july
Since 2020, Dalmau has been working on Evolution: layered wall objects that emerge from an intensive process of overpainting, sanding and rebuilding. Earlier paintings do not disappear — they remain hidden beneath new layers of paint and matter.
Paco Dalmau – Evolution
Paco Dalmau’s Evolution series draws on the ancient concept of the palimpsest — a surface written over repeatedly, where traces of the past remain visible beneath. Working on existing paintings, he builds up ten to twenty layers of paint, partially scraping each one back before adding the next. The result is richly sculptural, almost archaeological: objects as much as paintings. Within their square format, the viewer’s eye is free to wander into a parallel universe that exists solely within the paint itself. Like the layered identities we carry as human beings, these works hold memory, transformation, and depth all at once.
Memories of a dune
In the most recent works, subtle impressions of sunlight, sea and dune landscapes resonate — not as literal representation, but as an atmospheric quality in colour and composition. Dalmau investigates identity as something in constant motion: built from experiences, emotions and layered memories. The dense accumulation of material, pigment and resin gives the works an almost architectural density, while at the same time a inner, atmospheric space remains palpable. The square compositions resist a fixed reading direction and open up a free mental space in which each viewer can develop their own interpretation.