'Untitled' Original pastel painting by renown Chilean artist Ricardo Maffei.

"Renowned for his reductive compositions of exquisite verisimilitude. Maffei's work is simple and irrefutable: it grants beauty to everyday objects that lack transcendence."

Dimensions: 

40 x 47.5 Inches / 101.5 x 120.5 cm (with frame)

26.5 x 34 Inches / 67 x 86.5 cm (without frame)

Medium: Pastel on paper. Framed in a custom wooden light-brown frame.

Provenance: Hand-signed and dated by artist (upper left). Comes with gallery certificate of authenticity.

Edition: Original artwork (#1/1)

Year: 1997

Condition: Excellent

ARTIST BIO

Relying on elements as subtle as the materiality of the bodies, the physical properties of the objects, the handling of light, and the passing of time, Maffei creates scenographies in his studio with a minimum amount of elements—such as superimposed fabrics or cloths over brilliant surfaces placed beside a glass of water—that emphasize the details of reality; the folds rendered through the horizontal and vertical interactions, lights, reflections, and shadows that achieve illusory contrasts between materials—rendered with tones and subtleties. Maffei methodically paints according to the light changes. It is a process that results in a group of works that not only are impressive for their impeccable technique, but also because of their effectiveness in seducing and challenging spectators to ponder about the act of observing and understanding the work.

Maffei's work on canvas can achieve a realist and abstract effect at the same time. The gaze of this Chilean artist goes beyond earthy appearances, as he is able to capture the essence of inanimate objects by relying, for instance, on the use of specific colors—an important element in the development of his work. His oil on canvas or pastel on paper images are characterized for the use of matched color combinations that, for instance, set chromatic colorations like yellow against violet. The paintings share subtly insinuating backgrounds that are, at the same time, undecipherable as signs, lines, and stains that create certain instability in terms of the reality of the main object, like the fabrics.

Maffei not only is able to achieve a faithful rendition of recognizable reality, but he is capable as well of transcending it with small and subtle insinuations. The result is a visual universe that emerges from the tactile.