Time is movement; it represents the possibility of restraining and observing, of freezing an instant, both chronologically and physically, resulting in the material view of a solidifed object, a blocked image, and the expectation that derives from feeling that it could, and should, dissolve. Fluids and liquids are, after all, the image of constant movement: another version of the intangible theme of time. Containers can be open and, therefore, imply penetration and transgression in an endless search for the essence of time and being. These have been Frederic Amat’s themes since he began his own personal quest in paintings.

The physical substance that gives form to his thoughts is often composed of nontraditional materials like artificial fabrics, wax, very dense pigments and dry inks that recall coagulated blood. He also uses translucent, clear wax that almost obscures a light that appears to emanate from inside the painting. Sometimes Amat’s materials can even be given a scatological reading. The watery substances, residues, scraps, waste, rags, and textures remind the viewer of nonspecific microorganisms; they become scars of imaginary wounds. This is the work of a restless, unsettled artist desperately searching for explanations.

The container is the necessary counterpoint for the natural movement of fluids, the closed space intensifying the stoppage of time. In the show, several drawings experiment with materials and ideas, almost like sketches or preliminary notes for a later experiment that Amat is still working on. His paintings are tools designed to enable the viewer to explore those imagined messages, materials, and vital cycles usually taken for granted, left unquestioned.

Amat’s work speaks unquestionably of time: from frozen instants, to actual moments, to the negation of the essence of time, its passing. The very last instant allows for no transformation nor deterioration; the inevitable moment Amat contemplates is, no doubt, a poetic and very beautiful one.

—Anatxu Zabalbeascoa