MARÍAJOSÉ DE SIMÓN

Tension as the key to movement.

Jeannette Betancourt

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Tension occurs through the confrontation of opposites. In painting, it manifests through the visual transit imposed on the retina by the composition given in the painting; it is the force that attracts or repels, causing the sensation of movement.

The magnitude and direction of the states of tension in María José's most recent paintings pose a more complex scenario. The direction of the visual field is defined not by a single element, but by sets of compact forms that trace furrows and are compressed together with monolithic bodies of color that -in contrast- stop the sensation of flow. The tensional phenomenon of the ensemble leaves us with a visual impression of almost explosive magnitude.

The relationship between the shapes, sizes, positions, and contrasts of the elements in her paintings seem to engage each other in a struggle to occupy a space in the configuration of her canvases: hence the notion of opposing forces.

States of tension leaves us with concrete evidence of the perception of movement in María José de Simón's informalist painting.