YAGO HORTAL, YOU MELT ME.

It’s not often that I experience a kind-of electrifying, kinetic physical response to artwork, I guess best described as an explosive molecular sensation in my chest and arms. But that’s exactly what has happened upon viewing Spanish artist Yago Hortal’s vibrantly painted, sculptural canvases. His colors explode in textured twists and folds, growing and churning like wild waves of fluorescent pinks and blues and yellows, weighted by deep blacks and broken with thick whites. The colors are clean and the palettes are youthful and electrifying. Definitely inspirational for future design color schemes.

Hortal was born in Barcelona in 1983 and studied Fine Arts at the University of Barcelona. He presented his first solo exhibit in 2008 at the Senda Gallery in Barcelona and currently lives and works in Berlin. His process involves working on several paintings at once, responding to the colors both impulsively and with premeditation. “I look for a balance between chaos and order,” he has said, “something like a combination between a chess game and a boxing match.”

If you get the chance, some of his work is being shown in a group show at CES Contemporary in my hometown of Laguna Beach until October 16th. You can find more of his work here.