21st Century Vanguard Model 

By Lic. Tamara Bruzoni
Director of TPandGO! Digital Magazine
Communicator and Cultural Manager

In today's art scene, the saturated combination and fragmentation of styles dominate the visual language. However, this context becomes blurry when compared to the canonical past before the emergence of avant-garde movements. So, could the launch of an artistic manifesto be considered avant-garde in the 21st century? Reflecting on Chromatic Estereometrism, born in 2023 in Costa Rica and proclaimed as such, demands more than a handful of questions. It requires thinking about the present status of art and, why not, its future as well. From the micro, medium, and macro dimensions of the Estereometrist movement, in relation to how it dialogues—both diachronically and synchronically—with the elements that constitute the sphere of art, a first approach is proposed to account for the complex relational framework involved in its proposal.

In its foundational document, the movement "seeks to generate significant and relevant aesthetic experiences for contemporary society," as reaffirmed by its founder, artist Gustavo "Gutí" Rivera. On a micro level, a glance at any of his works reveals that Estereometrist production is based on technical guidelines that aim to innovate through geometrization, optical illusion, and the volumetry of figures. Each piece results from the experimentation of expressive possibilities of form through digital technologies, including the use of artificial intelligence. From this perspective, it is possible to say that, on a micro level, the diachronic dialogue is powerful and enriching. Another striking aspect is the meticulous compositional study that allows Rivera to use a tessellation inspired by Japanese origami as the base for his paintings. Examples of this can be seen in works like Jirafantástica (2021) and Cebrakadabra (2022), where animals from the African savannah emerge from the folds of paper. The lines and vibrant colors of the animals evoke the illusion of undulating movement on the plane. Like in the early avant-garde movements—such as Fauvism and German Expressionism—color becomes the primary vehicle of expression. However, in this case, it transcends its historical references due to the aforementioned innovations. Thus, the concept of anachronic study and "temporal montage" proposed by Didi-Huberman for art studies becomes indispensable to avoid a superficial analytical gaze. Even more so when considering that elements from the Eastern past, combined with zebras and giraffes from Africa, celebrate a dialogue fostered in Central America. It would not be far-fetched to add a concept of "spatial montage" to Huberman's expression. The anachronic key is fundamental to understanding Chromatic Estereometrism.

When addressing the medium dimension, which involves the work-viewer relationship, it is possible to say that this movement distances itself from the simple avant-garde gesture. It does not present itself as nostalgic but rather problematizes and redefines contemporary art. It firmly rejects the self-referential language of both ephemeral and conceptual art, which results in a detachment from the common observer. From this angle, it could be seen as aligned with the inherent contradiction of avant-garde movements, precisely the fact of being avant-garde-anti-avant-garde. Against all odds, its strong bet is the "natural" permanence of the observer in front of the works. It achieves this by inviting the viewer to unravel the optical puzzles embedded in its volumetric puzzle format. Something similar to the 3D holograms that were all the rage in the 1990s. In this sense, it is possible to agree that Estereometrists have achieved a proposal that revives and reinvents the playful spirit of some historical avant-garde movements. Didi-Huberman says that "images are always anachronic because they carry their own past but are reactivated in every present that contemplates them." In line with this, the micro and medium dimensions are thus linked in these works that embody montage.

Finally, beyond its manifesto, which could oscillate between a vintage gesture or a vigorous revival, it is surprising to see that old quest to unite art and life still alive. For it is there, in the intention to unite art with life—and how digital technology is part of our daily lives!—that the macro aspect is reflected. Chromatic Estereometrism positions itself, in this way, at an intersection with other artistic currents that explore the relationship between art and science. But, unlike avant-garde movements that often imposed strict and exclusive rules, this movement doubles down by including collective creativity. Therefore, it can be concluded that Gutí Rivera's proposal is not a mere evocation of historical avant-garde movements but a critical reinvention of them, responding to the needs of the 21st century by proposing an art that is observed, lived, and shared.

 

Evolution of the Movement  

 

Descriptive Apology of an Estereometrist Work  

Roberto E. Levy-Maduro
Humanities Professor
Tulsa Community College, Oklahoma

As I browse through the works of this movement, my first impression is that it is a rhapsodic series. By "rhapsodic," I mean a collection of references to other authors, much like a composer assembles musical rhapsodies with external material: quotes, echoes, variations, and transformations of themes from diverse sources.

The aptly chosen term used by Gutí is "reformulations." But "Estereometrism" is not merely a potpourri, an exercise in pastiche. The references are more stylistic, general yet profound, and act, at their core, as tributes, as acknowledgments of the artist's theoretical-aesthetic heritage.

Thus, as we explore the works of these "Estereometrists," we encounter the strong presence of the great 20th-century Dutch artist Maurits Cornelis Escher. Celebrated, among other distinctive traits of his opus, for his metamorphic magic, optical illusions, and plays between positive and negative space, Escher was a pioneer in the study of the regular division of the plane. Influenced by the motif patterns of Islamic art, which deeply impacted him after a visit to the Alhambra palace, this artist sought to represent music in graphic terms through periodic geometric rhythms. Reflecting on one of his major works, significantly titled "Metamorphosis," Escher said: "The study of the regular division of the plane on a two-dimensional surface led me to compositions that expressed development, a cycle, or a transformation."

Echoing the words of the brilliant Dutchman, "Estereometrism" implies development in the sense of expansion in the exploration of techniques to capture the author's expressive needs, themselves in constant evolution. Development also in the sense of movement, because this collection is indeed kinetic art in the Estereometrist manner, a dynamic kaleidoscope in constant composition and recomposition, practically leaping off the flat surface with its own volume and life. In truth, "Estereometrism" is a celebration of the aesthetic pleasure of play. Thus, the playful facet of the works contributes to an overall sense of dynamic vitality.

We are also struck by architectural impressions combined with a strong sense of design: amidst all the visual information that assails us, we might glimpse neural networks and textile weaves. Here, fibrous textures predominate; the painting ends up being a loom where threads, intertwining and unraveling, tell the story; where one stimulus triggers the next in cyclical sequences that envelop the viewer in a kind of virtual reality. It is a game of hide-and-seek and feints that, nevertheless, never intends to deceive or frustrate the eye and mind: the search is as rewarding as the discovery. For every mirage that deludes us, there are two truths revealed. It is childhood in the creative sense of the word, that is, delight in everything that is playful about artistic action.

"Estereometrism" draws much of its strength from the contrast between organic elements (for example, animal figures) and inorganic ones (for example, that mineral sensation manifest in iridescences and edges; that electronic, almost cybernetic sensation of printed circuits and digital art and holographic effects). In each work, we encounter natural entities hidden within synthetic creations—I wonder if this might be a kind of deus ex machina… In any case, each work constitutes a meeting point of nature and artifice; each painting integrates the living body with its anatomical description.

Anatomy as a type of geometry. The connection is inevitable. The linear geometry of V. Kandinsky is another reference established by Gutí himself. Again, it is a geometrist inspiration. Logical: stereometry is a part of geometry devoted to the measurement of solids… Solids: impossible to underestimate the importance of the volumetric effect in the technique; impossible to ignore the marvel of the two-dimensional plane bursting into three-dimensionality. The geometry, both essential and ornamental, confesses a fascination with the primary motif as archetype and sign (that is, as notation representing a complex plexus). From primordial straight and curved lines, these motifs compose, among other things, radial and radiant patterns, interlocking objects, juxtaposed plots, arabesques, rich weaves, harlequin rhythms, knots and nodes…