Oscillating between a geometric abstractionism and other more kinetic expressions, the work of Vítor Fortes plays with the sense of space in painting, even simulating tensions on the surface of the canvas. In his search to create optical illusion and escape pictorial bi-dimension, he sometimes quotes the exercise of architectural drawing or the movement of volumes in space. Also exploring the relief techniques of etching, an artistic medium he practised extensively, in many of his works - such as this one - the paper is subjected to pressure that creates elevations and depressions on the surface of the support, physically introducing the three-dimensionality.

The volumetric temptation of Vítor Fortes is also due to the influences of the multifaceted Swiss artists and designers Max Bill and Richard Lohse, however, his painting presents a higher chromatic and formal restraint.

The present work, - Untitled
, from 1972, is part of a series of experiments he has been developing over these years, both in drawing and painting, around rectangular forms suggesting doors (or screens), and which let us see, through their transparent structure, several other geometric elements. With great precision in the layout, the verticality of the composition is balanced by the introduction of various elements composed of horizontal lines and diagonals The blurring of some lines accentuates the illusion of volume, creating a shadow effect that underlines the spatial dynamics of its open structures. The superimposition of forms, their articulation in space, creating the illusion of depth and also of movement, is combined with the transparency of the colours, in a red that also opens up graphically and tonally. In this specific case, the aforementioned chromatic transparency from red to orange is accentuated by the use of watercolour. The space thus becomes dynamic in the multiple layers created by both line and colour.