After four years of intense activity, the renowned abstract painter José María Yturralde (b. Cuenca, 1942) is returning to our exhibition space with a new project: Enso, which brings together much of his recent work. The Japanese word ensō means circle, and it refers to a calligraphic symbol associated with ideas of enlightenment, the universe and the void. In Zen Buddhist painting it symbolizes an instant when the mind is freed to create, and the form of a single stroke shows the expressive movement of the spirit at a unique moment.

The circular shape dominates Yturralde’s most recent paintings, which are shown here alongside works from the series Horizontes (Horizons), and both share an engagement with the concept of the infinite expressed through the presence / absence of colour-light in space.

José María Yturralde’s work is part of many public and private collections in Spain and internationally. The Spanish institutions that hold works of his include MNCARS in Madrid, IVAM in Valencia, CAB in Burgos, CAAC in Seville, the Patio Herreriano in Valladolid, the Museum of Abstract Art in Cuenca, the Juan March Foundation, the Pilar and Joan Miró Foundation in Mallorca, and the National Library of Spain. His solo exhibition Transfinito at CAC Málaga closed a few months ago, and he is currently preparing a show at the La Nau Cultural Centre at the University of Valencia.