UNFATHOMABLE
Rafael Barrios’ work has been characterized from the beginning by the alteration of the observers’ perceptive mental state, manipulating form with the intention of dislocating our convictions about what we believe to see. Barrios creates a territory where the laws of gravity do not exist, one in which objects rise freely over themselves and where volume moves into space. With this, he destroys our false beliefs about what is possible and we question our ties to that which is terrestrial.
Barrios has been recognized as one of the most revolutionary contemporary Latin American artists and creator of Virtualism, a movement that he himself describes as: “the creation of visually participative pieces and in the creation of dislocating events in our perception. Volume is virtually modified in form, depending on distance, the shifting position of the observer and the changes in light throughout the day”.
Rafael Barrios is a sculptor considered one of the mayor exponents of Latin American geometric art. His work is based on the alteration of our perceptive mental state, manipulating shapes with the purpose of dislocating our convictions of what we believe we are seeing, considering himself a generator of existential circumstances. Sculpture is the discipline he chooses to subject the observer into discovering a broader relation of his Universe, thus establishing new rules in the game of perception.
Of its many forms, Barrios’ oeuvre includes the creation of large-scale pieces for public spaces, where virtuality is magnified to monumental dimensions and urban contexts, transforming the space into a new visual experience.
CATALOG