RENDERED ALTARPIECES 2026

In this new series of oil paintings on canvas, I return to my interest in complex narrative structures through medieval altarpieces, where the image is fragmented and extends beyond the traditional rectangle. I am particularly drawn to their T-shaped compositional logic, the use of frames within frames, and the possibility of constructing visual narratives that unfold across multiple levels simultaneously.

This body of work continues a line of inquiry I had already explored in my approaches to Flemish tapestries: the simplification of images dense with information. In both cases, I work by reducing and synthesising forms without diminishing their symbolic power. This heritage is complemented by a more contemporary influence linked to the logic of the pixel and digital rendering. As in certain video games, where environments incorporate simplified images within themselves, I am interested in how an image can contain other images as layers of information.

There is also a more intimate and emotional connection to this imagery. Medieval iconographies—particularly the hieratic Virgins of the Byzantine tradition—possess an intensity that has accompanied me since childhood, at times in an unsettling way. Today, I recognise in them a visual and symbolic force that stems both from their historical weight and from the darkness of the context in which they emerged. This project arises from a desire to engage with that power: to bring my contemporary perspective into dialogue with the density of these images and the memory they carry.