Jordi Forniés’ paintings dazzle the senses.  It is as if they radiate from within, soaking in the light and then shining it forth, making them particularly pleasing to view in person.  And now, for the first time, Americans can do just that.  Already having exhibited his works throughout Europe and South America, the accomplished artist will be showcasing three of his paintings at New York ’s Noho Gallery ( 530 West 25^th Street ) through July 2008: Aquitaine , Here to There, and Scent of Love.  Hanging up against stark, white walls, the paintings emit a rich glow that draws viewers in to examine them further.

  Aquitaine (28” x 28”) smolders in a blaze of orange and red.  Perhaps what makes it especially luminous is the minerals mixed within the pigments.  There is an almost metallic gleam to the paint.  However, the textured treatment of the paint makes the colors more similar to rust than shiny new copper.  The painting therefore has a strikingly aged quality despite the fact it was painted this year.  Adding to this antiquated feel is the papyrus superimposed on the canvas.  While its physical qualities—grainy and rustic—certainly speak to its timeless naturalness, its intellectual connotation roots it in the era in which scribes wrote on parchment.  With the rectangular papyrus the focal point of the painting, Aquitaine becomes a scroll, the paint like words on the canvas. The Catalan artist, who currently resides in Dublin , is able to transcend language and reach into the depths of one’s soul with art instead of words.  Here, he calls to mind—both in the title of the painting and its wine colors—the southwest region of France .

 Unlike the setting-sun sheen of Aquitaine , the luminosity of Here or There (31” x 31”) is more reflective of the moon.  It is a mysterious pool of blue with black creeping around the edges and into the foreground.  The brushstrokes are rough and dry, dragged across the canvas till the paint runs out and the primary surface exposed.  The painting is a study of squares: a square is cut through the thick paint of the canvas, intersecting some of the eight speckled squares that form a right angle in the bottom left quadrant of the painting that is itself a square.  

Scent of Love (31” x 31”), a painting in the vein of Forniés’ 2007 Crazy Party, is effervescent.  Joyous little loops of paint bubble over the surface of the canvas.  The paint itself is pushed up from the cloth, rising in ebbs and flows of emotion. As the painting’s name might suggest, the work is like a close-up of the bubbles that form as a lover’s favorite perfume or cologne is sprayed.  Individually, though, the bubbles tell their own story.  Each a distinctive shape, size, and color, they embody the many idiosyncrasies of love.  Warm colors—particularly red, the color of passion—dominate the painting, but greens and blues intermittently float to the surface.  It is a reminder that love is a frenetic mix of contrasts: moments of ecstasy and moments of despair stir within your soul.

 Full of beautiful intricacies, Forniés’ works layer opulent paint and mixed media.  What started out as virginal canvases, in the hands of this chemist-turned-artist, become meticulous creations of beauty.  Fundamental shapes—rectangles and circles—take on a contemporary edge in their abstract constructions.  Although they are merely lines across the canvas, paired with the romantic color scheme, they are rich in emotional significance. Forniés’ paintings are the catalysts for memories, dreams, and hopes.    

Stephanie Nikolopoulos
Art writer
New York - July 2008