Unfounded Rumours. Javier and Rafa Forteza

CaixaForum Madrid hosts an exhibition from 8 September to 2 November which includes a selection of paintings and sculptures by Javier and Rafa Forteza, which immerse visitors in a visual universe in which the recognisable is eluded and the figurative enters into dialogue with the material.

This exhibition offers visitors a sensory experience: a field of resonances in which the observer is free to imagine abysses. In some of the artists’ paintings and sculptures, an androgynous face that we do not recognise is displayed, forcing us to continue with the incognito of its identity.  This exhibition is based on this introspective tale of unsaid words and is their first joint exhibition together.

Javier and Rafa Forteza amplify the ambiguity of the image, making it look strange.  In the case of Javier Forteza, faces are shown as shifting sequences that move between pain and calm. Rafa Forteza seeks the thickness of images, which crystallise on the surface. In his abstract paintings, the raw, unprimed canvas predominates and the repetition of shapes challenges expectations.

In both cases, their fascination with the enigma and with distance is clear; abstract becomes a poetic and symbolic language that evokes memory, rumour and insinuation; their pieces function as unfinished writings that are open and turned into spaces for emotion and uncertainty.

Image Credits:

• Rafa Forteza, Crosses of Mystery II, 2021. Acrylic, vinyl and oil on canvas. 200 x 300 cm. © Rafa Forteza, VEGAP, Barcelona, 2026. Photography: © Natasha Lebedeva
• Rafa Forteza, Audacity, 2022-2023. Acrylic, graphite and charcoal on canvas. 200 x 300 cm. © Rafa Forteza, VEGAP, Barcelona, 2026. Photography: © Natasha Lebedeva
• Rafa Forteza, Shelving, 2018-2025. Aluminium shelving, 12 sculptures. 160 x 200 x 60 cm © Rafa Forteza, VEGAP, Barcelona, 2026. Photography: © Natasha Lebedeva