VIEWING ROOM "HANDS"

"Hands" Series

Hands have always played a crucial role in art, often as an expressive complement to the face, a gesture that emphasizes emotion, or a narrative element that guides the composition.

However, in these works, hands transcend their secondary role to become the main subject, treated on a scale that gives them the same presence and impact as a full-body portrait.

The series dedicated to this motif transforms a detail into a complete universe of textures, volumes, and even emotions—a microcosm of the human condition.

The most striking feature is the way they are approached, as if they were bodies. By removing the context, the figure of the hand is magnified, occupying the canvas with undeniable force. Every fold, every wrinkle, every vein is revealed not as a uniform surface but as a living landscape full of history.

Light and shadow are sculpted with an almost sculptural precision, giving them a volume that rivals marble, just like the artist's human figures. This monumentality endows the hands with an intrinsic sensuality reminiscent of a torso or back, but with a gestural quality that only they can convey.

A clenched fist can convey tension or rage; fragility is revealed in an open palm; introspection in intertwined fingers. The hands become the epicenter of the narrative, communicating the subject's mood and history without the need for their gaze. It's an exercise in conciseness and power, where the gesture is the message.

Ultimately, these paintings of hands are not just a display of technical virtuosity but an exploration of the human condition through one of its most essential elements. Hands are tools, witnesses, and carriers of a person's life. With them, we work, touch, love, and defend ourselves. By treating them as a body worthy of being fully portrayed, the artist emphasizes that beauty, strength, and vulnerability reside in every part of our being, no matter how small or secondary it may seem.

It is a work that invites us to look closely, to find greatness in the detail, and to recognize a part of ourselves in the hands of another.

–Javier Arizabalo