Señales No. 2

Ranging from the Cuban Baroque to Art Deco, the eclectic architecture of Old Havana served as a source of artistic inspiration for René Portocarrero. Made at the height of his most abstract period, Señales No. 2 features black, crisscrossed lines that evoke wrought-iron gates and lattices, while planes of color suggest stained glass windows. Known for his vibrant use of color, here Portocarrero mutes his palette with tempera washes in green, brown, and blue, accented by areas of highly saturated lemon yellow and earthy red.

The composition is a complex configuration of spirals, triangles, circles, dots, hatchmarks, and parallel lines. Despite the emphasis on geometry, the arrangement reads as an upright totemic figure: a triangular head punctuated by two eyes is discernible at top center. Portocarrero often constructed human forms from geometric shapes, particularly triangles. The figure in this work may relate to Portocarrero’s representations of Caribbean popular and religious practices, such as Carnival or Afro-Cuban traditions. The latter was also an interest of fellow Cuban artist Wifredo Lam.