DIRECTARTS the masters
have even led him to refute, in writing, the theory of relativity by Albert Einstein.
ABOVE The Races 2001. Acrylic on canvas, 97.5 x 11.9 cm RIGHT TOP Brothel 1998. Acrylic on canvas, 95x 34 cm RIGHT BOTTOM Doges 2006. Acrylic on canvas, 194 x 260 cm
In search of precision His drawing desk is still surrounded by activity. Several sketches, watercolours and manuscripts wait faithfully for their artist. Now, like always, he says there is something haphazard when it comes to the initial stages of approaching a blank canvas. “The first contact, the shapes that soon follow, it comes as an impulse, changing a lot from one piece to another. With no prior thought given to geometric shape or form, or a preference in colour, the most prevalent is white, because it is already on the canvas and intervenes naturally.” At 91, his body may be frail as the result of a life filled with shapes, strokes and discoveries, but the mind of Nadir Afonso never rests. The painter has an eternal passion for the precision of shapes. Looking at one of his paintings on the living room wall, he spots a stroke that doesn’t satisfy him. “Despite my age, I feel I see things better now than when I was younger. That’s why I feel compelled to rework the paintings from other periods of my life. When I look
and feel that the precision of shapes was not achieved, I need to retouch it, amend it, it’s as though my paintings are calling me.” It’s not unheard of for Nadir Afonso to shyly enter a gallery, detecting one of his paintings in need of a retouch, or asking those who have his work displayed in their homes if he can improve them. “What I’ve always attempted is harmony, morphometry. I feel as though I have found that precision in some of my paintings, achieving the ultimate, particularly with composition. Yet others... I will continue to want to retouch.”
“It is absurd to state that painting is language of the soul...” Nadir Afonso
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