Charles Metras

CHARLES METRAS (Barcelona, 1962).
“Solar Eclipse,” 2003.
Oil on canvas mounted on panel.
Signed in the lower right corner. Titled and dated on the reverse.
Measurements: 38 × 46 cm.

This work is part of the dreamlike and surrealistic universe that characterizes Charles Metras’s body of work, constructed through essential landscapes, isolated symbols, and open-ended visual associations. His artistic language reflects the artist’s training in graphic design: the image is articulated with a remarkable economy of elements and through clearly defined chromatic areas.

The composition is divided into three horizontal bands that simultaneously evoke the sky, the horizon, and the landscape. Metras does not depict the eclipse in a descriptive manner, but rather makes it the starting point for a mental scene in which the cosmic and the landscape take on an enigmatic dimension.

Trained in graphic design at the Elisava School in Barcelona, Charles Metras initially worked in the publishing field and on projects for French and Catalan companies. His paintings are distinguished by a dreamlike sensibility close to surrealism, particularly evident in works such as this one, where the landscape is transformed into a symbolic space. The Fundació Vila Casas holds works by the artist in its contemporary art collection.