Sharpened Shapes

An abstract vertical composition on top of an almost gold background. There are outlines of organic mironian shapes (inspired by Joan Mirò) and surrealism—a dreamlike universe. The geometry of the circle and other basic shapes like the triangle and half-moon appear deformed through the expression of a charged, abundant pictorial matter. Santiago Lagunas was a member of the founding core of the Aragonese avant-garde group Grupo Pórtico (1947–1952), the first group to practice abstraction in Spain. In 1949 this collective and its creators fundamentally drifted, without returning in the case of Lagunas, toward abstraction. The picture appears to be struck through by two black blades, added later by the artist when the picture was rejected for participation in an art biennale.