
Viewing Room
Forms of Art
New Perspectives on Contemporary Art
A work of art is composed of multiple forms, from the figuration of a human
silhouette or a still life to the dynamic shapes of Abstraction. From Pygmalion
to Contemporary Art, it is the artist’s role to shape Art, give it smoothness,
distort it: give it life. To celebrate the vibrant Miami art scene and echo fairs
and events meant to take place this week, Opera Gallery has decided to take
you on an artistic journey through all shapes and forms.

This curated selection opens on the unique works of Mel Bochner. With his
collages, Bochner offers a high-concept encapsulation of language and physical
space by adding shapes and dimension to the words he depicts.
“We live in a world that is oversaturated with empty
language […]. If there is no escaping this linguistic tsunami,
the ‘Blah, Blah, Blah’ paintings subvert it from below.”
Both Bochner and Korean artist Cho Sung-Hee create complex relationship
between color and texture. Cho anchors the shapes of her artworks into
tradition and propels them to the present by her innovative use of hanji, Korean
traditional paper.

“In art, as long as you have ideas and
think, you are bound to deform nature.
Art is deformation.”
Modern painter Fernando Botero,
graciously paints and sculpts
nature in his unique perspective on
shapes and colors, warping reality
into a work of art. Contemporary
artist Julian Opie also plays with
human shapes, synthesizing
them to create familiar faces to
all, calling the viewer to a dance
session or a romantic night with
Antonia…

“When I start creating an object, the composition needs to
be clear, and so does the three-dimensionality, which is not
only shaped by volume, but also by colors and shades.”

Austrian sculptor Alfred Haberpointner masters the art of
optical illusions and the creation of depth with his colorful compositions
of stained spruce woods.
This overview of the manipulation of forms in art could not be complete
without Manolo Valdés. His tranquil portrait of women, their stylized, gracious
traits capture the absolute essence of form. On his mixed media artworks,
they stand out against raw lines and materials; through his sculptural works,
they offer the viewer slender curves and are paired with swirls of natural yet
geometrical lines: ferns, or butterflies.

Last but not least, French painter Pierre Soulages materializes lights bringing
forms onto a structured black and blue canvas; creating a captivating, unreal
and surprisingly luminous painting.
“My pictures are poetic objects capable of receiving what
each person is ready to invest there according to the
ensemble of forms and colors that is proposed to him.”