Untitled
signed and dated 1980 (lower right)
oil on canvas
40” x 32 1/2” (102 cm x 83 cm)

Raul Isidro was fascinated with abstract forms from the start of his career and well into the 1960s.In the early 1970s, Isidro returned to figuration in works using acrylic on metal etching. But his shapes led him to realize the potential of bold lines for calligraphic abstract expression. In the mid 1970’s his works turned pure abstract with bold but impersonal gestures of the brush conveying dynamic mental and emotional configurations.

Working on a thematic series through the decades has served as a significant catalyst for Isidro’s fertile and prodigious artmaking. In an early 1981 article, art critic Paul T. Zafaralla already identified several distinct periods: “I. Blue and Brown Period, 1967-1969; 2. Metal Period, 1970-1972; 3. Landscape period, 1972-1973; 4. Ethnic Period, 1973-1976; 5. Festival Series Period, 1977-1979; and 6. Rock Formation Period, 1979 to present.”