Abstract Painting 00083 – Oil and Charcoal on Canvas by Luis Mandiola

The work Abstract Painting 00083, executed in oil and charcoal on canvas, features an apple within a dense atmospheric mass—dark and opaque—hovering over a lighter-textured background, framed by an intricate border. The upper portion of the canvas is occupied by an accumulation of charcoal strokes forming an almost shapeless figure: nebulous, geological, suspended between descent and stillness. Below, the surface brightens into warm cream and blue tones, with horizontal strokes suggesting an open field or an aerial view of a landscape.

The edge of the canvas is worked with a dense pattern of short gestural brushstrokes, creating a frame that functions as both drawing and painting: an area of intense rhythmic activity that contains and intensifies the central image. Luis Mandiola’s oil and charcoal works occupy a space between landscape and pure abstraction: the forms present legible references to nature—sky, earth, atmosphere—yet resist any fixed description or narrative resolution.

The charcoal provides a directness and immediacy that oil alone cannot offer: each stroke registers a physical decision, pressure, and speed. Created in 2023 as part of an ongoing investigation into the expressive possibilities of oil and charcoal on canvas. A unique work, available for collectors of contemporary abstract painting.