Volcanoes are metaphors for time and evoke the tension between contemplation and fascination. For this work, Felipe Barreiro takes as his starting point the image of the Fagradalsfjall volcano in Iceland, a place that has long been a destination for those who wish to witness the earth moving before their eyes. In his piece, the artist presents a collective perspective that arises in the face of this volcanic eruption.
Over the years, Barreiro has developed a series of pieces in small or more compact formats, each addressing the motif of the volcano as an autonomous work within a series that demonstrates the inherent obsession of visual fascination. This piece is distinguished by its scale: it is the largest work he has created to date, a milestone in his practice, which until now has focused on small and medium-sized pieces.
The volcano functions as a symbol of the transformation of matter, as evidenced by the magma changing state. It presents us with the idea of expanded time, of the tension between the human and the monumental. Since the tradition of the Romantic landscape, the volcano has been an emblem of the sublime: of a fearsome beauty that carries a dominant and mysterious presence.
Barreiro incorporates this legacy, but he does so through the lens of contemporary drawing: he starts with journalistic or digital images that he observes, reworks, and translates into drawings. The everyday visual becomes a broad, meditative scene, full of detail.
At Fagradalsfjall, the tiny crowd observes the volcano and experiences its eruption. All of this suggests that this landscape is not merely a backdrop to be observed, but an active subject characterized by change. Its image condenses both fascination and threat, as in the tradition of Romantic landscape painting, where the sublime emerges between grandeur and awe.
