“...the art seems to surrender at once under the scrutiny of the gaze...”

To touch the work of Ricardo Xavier – even if only with words – is a hazardous task. At first sight, is evident that this Brazilian painter is a man with a plan: his work schedule resembles that of an Olympic athlete in its unrelenting rigor, while the execution of his work approaches the perfection of a Zen archer. His aim is clear, his hand and eye steady: he will go for the gold.

Such drive and passionate devotion to his art makes for paintings that are at once emotionally profound and intellectually stimulating. In his latest works, Xavier creates bright yellow, red, and purple sections alternating with muted blue intersected by radiating patterns.

At first glance, the painting and prints seen to surrender at once under the scrutiny of the gaze: color, lines, shapes and patterns. But when viewed with attention and – can it be said – the same devotion that caused their existence, the paintings and the prints become multidimensional where the layering of patterns and colors upon patterns and colors over a surface smooth as ice in winter creates a depth that is experienced rather than perceived.

The viewer senses the layering of the patterns and pigments as surging underneath the solidity of the final layer of color and shapes. Once apparent  these paintings and prints then resist the casual glance, the reluctant observer, the one who walks away. Rather, they summon the viewer’s attention, request her consideration, create a dialogue between the viewer and the forms of the designs and shapes that hold the pigments.

Supporting these pigments they are shapes meticulously measured and crafted into a variety of geometrical forms. The constructions of these shapes requires the use of computer software and the freedom of an abstract artist, resulting a tension with the creative process.

Yes, it is in the tension between technology and the execution of the designs and the repeating and changing of the shapes and hues of colors that Ricardo Xavier realizes the power of his work. It is also there that the viewer may find these forms to be a map, a chart, a musical score, a a diagram to celestial pathways, a system that supports and is supported by the colors and shapes. The tension between technology, designs, shapes and saturated hues then construct a context for the viewer’s experience and provides and infinite range of paths to pursue.

Marion de Koning, Ph.D.Professor of Art History, Grossmont College