Serie Murano X 2016

Requena Nozal's 'Serie Murano X', its date unspecified, measures 70 by 100 centimeters. Nozal, born in 1947, came of age during a period of significant social and political upheaval. The density of color, a mosaic of reds, yellows, blues, and greens, refuses to settle. One begins to wonder if the canvas isn’t so much a picture as it is a record, an archive of the artist’s own labor. Nozal’s energetic style can be read as pushing against the rigid structures of Francoist Spain, where his early life unfolded. There is an unyielding sense of optimism in this painting, yet it's not naive. Perhaps what we're seeing is Nozal wrestling with a desire for freedom and a longing to overcome the restrictions of his time. This work becomes a site where the personal and the political meet.