After a three-year stay in France, artist Luis
Roldán (Bogota, 1955) settled in Milwaukee
in the late 1980s, a period that proved crucial in consolidating his abstract language. In
an environment far removed from the major
art centers, his work became more introspective and experimental. The works from this period—several of which are included in this
exhibition at La Cometa Miami—reveal an investigation into what in painting is known as
optical grays: areas of color where the mixing occurs not on the palette but in the eye,
generating subtle vibrations that lend depth to the surface. Roldán was interested in almost imperceptible nuances, in the tension between gesture and restraint, and in how
color could construct atmospheres that are
simultaneously material and emotional.
In 1998, Roldán moved to New York, where he expanded his visual vocabulary and solidified his international career. However, the Milwaukee period remains a fundamental core of his work, a moment of quiet maturity where painting becomes a territory of reflection.
