“Encuentro” is a series through which the young Colombian artist Rafael Gomez Barros reflects and comments on the importance of man’s erotic phase.

 

The artist uses in this case an appeal by surprise, as is the still life, to induce a clean and straightforward reading of a specific circumstance or the formation of a particular vision of the human condition and relationships that are established on the basis of the conditions. What really captivates is the fact that Rafael speaks of eroticism without resorting to mechanisms known to exploit voyeurism or the eternal figures of naked couples in sensual poses clearly depicting at short instances the resemblance of pornography.

 

Rafael’s ability to provide depth into his pieces is a reminiscent trait from that of the Spanish artists and definitely suggests the drama of Christopher Toral in their ability to emit the essence of close "encounters.” These “encounters” trap the viewer and provide him/her with a sense of aesthetic pleasure almost identical to that we feel when eroticism at any form is present in our most intimate moments.

 

Those apples, coated for the encounter of a metal shell with screws symbolizing penetrating phalluses, all floating in an area almost timeless. The light provides the viewer a reference to the particular time of day, but reminds us that it can be any day, any time, perhaps to insinuate that eroticism has no timetable, nor is it confined to a predetermined given space.

 

Groups of apples awaiting the arrival of other characters in the pictorial space, trios, couples, magical stories suggested in the canvas, any action hinted at what might happen after the meeting, cannot but remind us that next to the stimulus of eroticism, we will never feel dead. We cannot remain indifferent especially when viewing the works of this Colombian artist whom promises to reach far into the conceptual reflections of man’s most intimate moments.