Lluís Hortalà. Before the law

Lluís Hortalà (Olot, Girona, 1959) plays with the deception and confusion of the gaze, immersing us in the art of trompe l 'oeil. Focusing carefully on detail, a painting that is realistic to the extreme, that is mimetic with textures and sheens, capable of visually reproducing the touch and sometimes the cold temperature of the stones. In this painting it seems that there is nothing but technique; impeccable, it goes without saying. However, behind the technique, sense and meanings emerge. In each of the works there is a narrative, a network of connections that constructs a reflective framework on history; also, and above all, the history of painting and culture.

With the title of the exhibition, Before the Law—which also lends its name to several of his works—, Lluís Hortalà refers us to one of Kafka's best-known stories, perhaps the most popular along with The Metamorphosis (also called The Transformation, in recent translations). With this reference, Hortalà invites us to explore the tension between entrance and barrier, between the visible and the forbidden, themes that pervade the Kafkaesque universe and resonate in his artistic work.