“Retrato con labios rosas” is a compact yet commanding work from Costus’ early 1980s production. Executed in acrylic on paper, the piece demonstrates the artist’s economy of means: broad, assured brushstrokes build a near-abstract facial plane while a reduced but sophisticated palette provides structural contrast. The face is modelled through layered washes and opaque passages, with areas of soft green and neutral grey establishing the planes of the cheek and forehead, and a darker ground that frames the head and intensifies the composition.
The pictorial focus is the saturated pink lips, applied with directness that transforms a single feature into the painting’s emotional fulcrum. The eyes — painted in high contrast with decisive, black outlines and white highlights — read as both interrogative and reflective, creating an active tension between gaze and surface. The result is a portrait that balances figuration and formal experiment: the human subject remains legible, yet the work’s energy comes from painterly process, rhythm and colour interaction rather than literal likeness.
Technically, the support and materials are consistent with Costus’ paper works from this period: the absorbent paper surface allows for both translucent glazes and thicker, more opaque marks. The reverse signature indicates authorship and provides provenance evidence typical of the artist’s studio practice of the time. As a paper work presented with a generous mat and a dark frame it reads as an intimate object that nevertheless holds its own within a larger exhibition sequence or a private collection of modern Spanish painting.
From a curatorial perspective, “Retrato con labios rosas” is valuable for how it condenses themes running through Costus’ oeuvre — the focus on simplified anatomy, heightened chromatic choice, and expressive line — into a small, exceptionally direct format. For collectors it offers a versatile display option: its scale and handling suit both framed wall presentation and placement within a curated cabinet of works on paper. Conservators will note the need for standard paper-work precautions (UV-filtered glazing, stable humidity) to preserve the vibrancy of the acrylics on paper.
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