Valentín Criado

VALENTÍN CRIADO (1931 - 2010)
Untitled, 1995.
Mixed media on paper.
Signed and dated in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 24 x 19 cm.
In this work Valentín Criado clearly displays one of the most characteristic features of his plastic language: a symbolic abstraction of primitive roots, where the image seems to emerge from a territory between the ritual, the infantile and the archaic. Criado combines stains, thick strokes and irregular contours reminiscent of both prehistoric graphics and automatic painting. The material is not concealed: it is raw, direct, almost tactile, underlining the importance of the gesture and the process as opposed to the final result.
Formally, the composition is organized as a closed space, almost a ritual frame, within which an ambiguous central figure appears: it is neither clearly human nor totally abstract. This type of iconography is common in Criado, who constructs totemic forms that seem symbols of a personal mythology.
Valentín Criado's style is thus situated at a meeting point between art brut, expressive abstraction and a very personal poetic sensibility. His works shun academicism and opt for an open narrative.