Author of works centred on exploring the essence of painting, José Loureiro shows a talent for continuous plastic reinvention. His canvases, in which he shuffles the boundaries of pictorial representation, reveal an almost obsessive exploration of the accuracy and structure of the brushstroke, which is the most direct substantiation of the physical and mental act of painting. In the work Untitled, dated 2006-2007, this is exactly the element that stands out: under the neutral and uniform colour of the white support, a narrow rectangle appears in accentuated verticality. It is outlined in a dark line that at first sight seems sober but which a careful look perceives to be the result of a contained gesture. The trace - physical, of evident manual precision - is composed of brushstrokes that start from distinct places but in continuity, being perceptible the ballast of pigment that follows the movement, more saturated at the beginning and presenting gaps as it spreads.

The almost imperceptible expressive quality of the line gives the composition a latent vibrancy. This vibrant quality is reinforced by the axial and inflexible projection of the form in space resulting from both the white and black contrast and the proportion of the geometric figure that seems to tear the support. On this delicate line between geometry and expressiveness, between the suggestion of a perspective space and the suppression of depth, José Loureiro creates a disturbing effect of tension between silence (stability, immobility) and noise (impulsiveness, vibrations), offering the observer an unfolding of sensations and a vast field of visual and poetic possibilities.

JB