Carla Cabanas

The body of work developed by Carla Cabanas through her paintings questions the limits of the photographic image and its link to painting. A line of enquiry that was previously explored by other artists, in particular Gerhard Richter, whose work encapsulates the opposite movement i.e. questions the photographic eye through painting.
In Cabanas' work, the means of expression is not assumed as the field in which her body of work is developed, but rather as tool for the creation of this work. As a result, she focuses her attention on the exploration and experimentation of the process itself that includes techniques such as putting painted glass in front of the lens, superimposition and juxtaposition of pictures. The objective is to extract the real image from the world of realism, investigating the limits of form, expanses of color and the use of light. Most of this procedural enquiry takes place prior to the act of taking the photograph itself - a prolonged moment in which all the compositional elements of the respective space are analysed. As if the work was actually a painting (and often with reference to pre-existing paintings), Cabanas visualises the total image, the disposition, expanses of colour and the light, in order to locate the precise point and exact moment required to create a perfect image.