Painting and poetry are the two streams in the work of Albert Ràfols-Casamada, mutually inspiring one another. In the 1940s he joined the Group Eight in Barcelona and became part of the contemporary cultural scene, particularly in literature and soon began to write poetry. His artistic development was influenced by the first avant-gardes, de Stijl and lyrical abstraction. Inspired by these sources, he developed his own picture construction. His painting, based on the sensual world, differs from American Abstract Expressionism and has an entirely Mediterranean character. The artist considers colour, blotches, structure and rhythm to be the four elements important for his painting. This is accompanied by his exploration into the potential of colour in spatial relationships, reflected in experiments with collage and three-dimensional works. He uses the silhouette of a window as a space-creating component, perceiving it as an abstract element allowing him to achieve depth and create double space – inside and outside. The sensitive treatment of colour and light is combined with rational geometric elements, which may be rooted in Neoplasticism. However, geometric relationships are not based on a rigid rational analysis, but rather embody the spatial dynamics of plastic relationships. His work merges two seemingly contrasting principles: the poetry of painting and the rationality of picture construction.
