
Visible structure and reflected color
Wynwood Arts District
2441 NW 2nd Ave.
Miami, Fl. 33127
Luis Tomasello
Visible structure and reflected color
The works by Luis Tomasello on show at the Ascaso Gallery are evidence of over sixty years of uninterrupted creative activity and provide a clear illustration of its salient features through a selection of works produced between 1975 and 2011. First there is his widespread use of white, as in Atmosphère chromoplastique N° 869 (2007), with its relief pieces, or Atmosphère chromoplastique N° 492 (1981), with its absolutely flat surface to which hollow lines lend structure. Other paintings feature colors, however: Objet plastique N° 854 (2006), in which yellow is predominant, and Objet plastique N° 934 (2009), with elements painted in blue on a black background. The use of a large number of relief pieces can be seen in Objet plastique N° 858 (2007), in which 900 cubes standing on their tips are regularly distributed to form an orthogonal grid. In contrast Atmosphère chromoplastique N° 946 (2010), contains a remarkably small number of elements: just nine volumes placed on nine planes. Sometimes all the relief elements are in the same position – in Atmosphère chromoplastique N° 941 (2010), for instance – but sometimes they face alternately one way or the other, as in Atmosphère chromoplastique N° 978 (2011). Luis Tomasello has a predilection for six-faced reliefs created from cubes, but he also resorts to rhombohedrons pointing in different directions. In Atmosphère chromoplastique N° 864 (2007), a case in point, this irregularity enables the artist to obtain a baroque effect. We also find chevrons, in Atmosphère chromoplastique N° 985 (2011), and even a regular and relatively deep grid in Atmosphère chromoplastique N° 852 (2006). On the other hand, the assorted geometrical shapes of Atmosphère chromoplastique N° 974 (2011) are arranged to form a composition in the classical manner. Luis Tomasello also combines relief shapes with flat surfaces enlivened by hollow lines to reveal depth. This can be seen in Atmosphère chromoplastique N° 481 (1980). While this particular work is white, those that are painted plain black play on the modulation and precision of their lineless design, Atmosphère chromoplastique N° 607 (1987) being an example. And finally we find works of contrasting formats. Atmosphère chromoplastique N° 642 (1988), for instance, is a square with sides 14.9” long which allows the multiple forms to unfold, whereas the small format of the relief Atmosphère chromoplastique N° 840 (2003) concentrates all the energy of a few lines within a surface measuring 6.2” x 8.8”.
Thus the works on show at the Ascaso Gallery offer a complete overview of Luis Tomasello’s output. Nor are his architectural works omitted, for the exhibition includes a scale model for a marble pool and fountain which exemplifies his ideal of realizing a synthesis of arts. The same goal finds expression in his latest architecturally integrated work, a relief mural for the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City (2011). At the other end of the scale – the infinitely small – are the jewels he designed in collaboration with Chus Burés on the same principle as his Atmosphères chromoplastiques: relief and reflection. Thanks to his visible structures and his reflected colors, Luis Tomasello has become a master of relief and a magician of light.

Artworks
available in this exhibition