A new approach to the pictorial - Paula Blaconá The unconventional medium Toscano chooses to work in provides the first clue to his unique perspective. He brings out a hidden dimension to the synthetic clay, creating a new language altogether. This intimate experience begins with the way in which the artist establishes a physical relation with the material, mixing his own colors in the palette of his hands, pressing, rolling, molding, stretching and firing. In the spirit of revolution, Toscano manipulates the clay, building each brick and block, with the intention of later destroying these same structures, in order to create new ones. Being in front of Toscano’s work is a tactile experience. Toscano takes painting beyond the brush and canvas, he breathes new life into this form of pictorial expression; and by doing so makes us wonder about the limits and the definition of painting. He says, “Anything has the potential of being art. My work is about revealing what is held inside the object”. Transcending definitions of purpose, he works the material articulating elements of architecture and sculpture, as well those of painting.
The translucency of the medium - its fragility and ethereal quality - serves both as the foundation and the stage on which the small but very structured objects and characters exist. Paradox is a fundamental word in Toscano’s language, where fragility is the source of strength and transparency functions as a vehicle to deliver force; the often colorful, foggy backgrounds accentuate the sharp strength of the rigid black and white creatures that live in his paintings. Reminiscent of the frailty of the human condition, these characters flow, surrounded by layers of liquid color, in a dichotomy of blissful light and mechanical repression. As in a Chaplin film, poetry and oppression coexist in a universe run by complex emotions and old mandates.
The small format of Toscano’s work, combined with its meticulous detailing, challenges us to stop and look closer, creating a moment of intimacy and vulnerability. The artist chooses this small format intentionally: this is his way of asking the observer to slow down and contemplate. He is playing with the idea that there is a close relation between high velocity and forgetfulness; between slowness and memories. When in front of his paintings, one feels as if one is taking a peak through a magnifying glass into a miniature world, one that is inhabited by dreamy creatures that could fit in the palm of our hand. The artist’s reflection on life and society is conveyed in the rigid zoomorphic, human and mechanical figures; trapped in a world of the spectacular geometry of magical elements, sometimes fantastic but also absolutely symbolic. He speaks about the need to function within a subtle balance of structure and liberty, affirming his profound commitment to freedom while revealing what destroys it.