Geología de la revelación / The Geology of Revelation

Consistently with the exhibition project, investigating the connections threading Sigmar Polke and the art of Francisco Goya, the essay revolves around the early accounts of the discovery of Goya by Polke, as attested by the artist's books inserted in the catalogue of the solo show held in 1983. By manipulating photographs and X-Rays of Goya's painting "Las Viejas", Polke elaborated a complex imagery based on a specific sense of the transience of time, in which images overlap in layers that peer through each other. This technique, which is typical of the artist in painting, too, transforms the picture surface into a multilayered space in which to dig out references and resonances. The source is then not blatantly exposed, but rather glimmers through the layers, requiring a genuine act of geology to be revealed.