Emilio Gañán (Plasencia, 1971) presents his ninth exhibition at the Fernando Pradilla gallery. Titled Western planetarium, the show brings together a collection of recent paintings rooted in the tradition of geometric abstraction, drawing upon the legacies of Cubism and Constructivism. These new canvases translate flat shapes, illusory perspectives and defined voids into architectural and spatial analogies, imbuing the works with a visual dynamism —a musical rhythm— that is highly characteristic of his artistic language.

Through this practice —built upon straight lines, squares, rectangles, and ambiguous perspectives— Gañán has, quite unexpectedly, encountered architecture. Certain compositions evoke imaginary constructions, enclosures or structures that seek to inhabit the void, lending a sense of physical presence to non-existent interiors.

The forms within the works establish relationships of attraction and gravity, drawing closer to or moving away from one another. There is an order that seems to assert itself, yet it never reaches a definitive resolution. The balance shifts, at times, in ways that are barely perceptible. The intensity of ultramarine blue, the visible weave of the linen and the lingering pencil marks all play a part in this interplay of relationships.

Once again, the line emerges as an independent entity that governs the composition, dividing spaces and altering the perception of planes. In the piece Indeterminación the suggestion of three-dimensionality expands, while simultaneously —and deliberately— departing from traditional axes of symmetry. This is reinforced by monochrome backgrounds that function as neutral territories, yet without diminishing the warm atmosphere inherent in his geometric forms. His abstract approach reflects a lyrical vocation that seeks to establish an emotional connection with architecture and music.

Some titles of Emilio Gañán’s works have alluded to celestial bodies, light, or the order of the cosmos. Planetario oeste [Western planetarium] continues these explorations between the rational and the subjective, proposing visual representations that intertwine geometry and spirituality. Works such as Germinal, Cosmograma, Messidor, Cuarto menguante and Constelación Klein, among others, speak to a structural cartography that relies on the line to provide coordinates to the plane.

The more precise these constructions are, the more mysterious they appear to us. Their apparent simplicity draws us in, revealing an unexpected complexity. We find ourselves looking at them again, discovering new connections and lingering in their contemplation. Each painting explores a distinct possibility, and together they form a small constellation of improbable architectures.