In the Zero of Form is more than just an exhibition title; it is a statement of intent, an attitude that ultimately defines the works of Manuel M. Romero.

Is an artist who puts considerable thought into painting, although many of his feats are accomplished serendipitously. He eliminates the superfluous in order to retrieve the fundamental and boil everything down to its basic elements, which are always a product of the process and its systematic derivation.We are talking about painting and composition, but also about actions more typical of the objet trouvé and Dada-slanted perspectives that underpin the discourse and tell a non-narrative story, almost like ashes of the process—bits of paint which indicate that here even pigments are conjugated.

In one sense, I would say that what this young artist proposes are exercises in difficulty, insofar as they arise from an obsession with achieving a certain pause through the desired void of the abstract image. That explains the presence of the vestige, of painting that cannot contain itself and emerges once more—a painting with footnotes which the viewer must internalise. His work is constructed from surplus, from excess; it is a product of the remnant that removes, remains and resists.

Romero's painting is contained, even though it expands. It almost seems as if he is trying to calm the image through its reduction, its abyss. Everything is framed by a kind of void where presence reaffirms its inconclusiveness: a full void, the void as abstract density. For Richard Serra the void is matter, but here it manifests more vibrantly.

The exhibition catalogue features an essay by David Barro, titled Manuel M. Romero: Conjugating the Void. The project’s master is Jesús Alcaide.

Openning: june 22, 20.30 h

Educational workshop: july 5 and 12, 19.00 pm to 20.30 pm

Guide visit: july 12, 19.30 pm