The Frieze and the Red Beams

I remember dreaming I’m sitting in a car driven by two men; we stop at the parking area in front of a building with workshops: a new space for artists that, surprisingly, is not empty. I have the feeling that I came here to settle an extremely personal issue. Whipping through the last few pages of an art book by a great master and painter. As we turn the pages from back to front, at the beginning of the book, I would like to prove that the origins of his paintings are similar to those of mine. The first reproduction in the book is a thin veil of translucent colour applied to a white surface, a layer of grey scale values with pigment. Now I realise the painting I brought to this studio has a similar background.

Another fragment. As I enter my studio, some workers are still plastering the walls. I had asked them to make a cement-coloured frieze at the base of the main wall, starting in the angle where the wall and floor meet. The level of the frieze was made too high, considerably reducing the white surface needed as a support for my paintings.

To show the head workman how I want it, I draw black lines on a sheet of white paper. As I finish the last two lines, I suddenly see the geometry of space changing in motion.

The horizon is now lower, leaving the observer with the illusion of a higher point of view, elevated by 45º.

The atmosphere in the building is dynamic. Now there are not only workers but artists and visitors to the studio, too.

An acquaintance arrives, and for some reason he believes that this was my parents' house. Maybe I had lied to him, but this time I make it clear; this is my studio space.

We all help to finish the construction of the workshops. [person A] proposes to use a tin of leftover paint, and she covers the steel beams of the ground floor space. When I go downstairs, I am surprised to see that the beams are painted red!

I see the space is now red and black. I agree it's a good idea. Red is a colour that gives some life, but honestly for me it’s a bit intense. For now, we leave it like that, but in the long run, we will have to reconsider the colour.

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