Celdas Difíciles 1946

Xul Solar made this watercolour, Celdas Difíciles, probably in the first half of the 20th century. It’s such an odd, beguiling image – pale watercolor washes create these monumental rock-like architectural forms, and then there are these tiny figures scaling ladders, as if trying to escape or maybe just navigate this strange world. I love how the medium is so delicate, but the structures feel massive and weighty. It’s like a contradiction in terms, a visual oxymoron. Look at the layering of the washes, creating a sense of depth and shadow. The texture is smooth, almost ethereal, yet the subject matter is so grounded, so rooted in a sense of place, even if it’s a totally imaginary one. The ladders are so linear, so stark, in contrast to the soft, organic shapes of the ‘celdas’ or cells they lean against. Solar’s work, like that of Paul Klee, operates in its own symbolic universe, where the dreamlike and the architectural meet. Both artists embrace ambiguity. They invite us to climb into their worlds, one rung at a time, without ever quite knowing where we’ll end up.