Luis Sanus and his “Prana”
Alicante-born artist Luis Sanus unveils a new body of work in a show titled atman, opening this Friday at 19:00 at the Mutua Levante Foundation in Alcoy. The exhibition brings together roughly thirty works, with a focus on painting, reflecting years of exploration and a recent artistic breakthrough. The mood of the collection leans toward calm, conveyed through a vibrant explosion of color that echoes the artist’s current state of mind.
“I see this as a reflection of my soul, as unfiltered as possible by thought, and that energy is clear in the title of the exhibition: atman, meaning spirit. The accompanying imagery is meant to feel bright and positive,” Sanus explains, sharing insights into the show’s core idea.
Despite starting abstract painting in the 1990s after completing studies in the Fine Arts Department at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Sanus moved toward dreamlike figuration that still carries strong strands of abstract expressionism. He notes that the shift toward abstraction gained momentum before the pandemic, describing a personal return to nonrepresentational work that resisted easy, rational interpretation.
Sanus adds that the creative process is rarely premeditated. “I’ve spent so long talking and blaming myself that I grew tired of listening to the echo and found quiet at last. I am very calm now. I meditate, practice yoga, and appreciate the small everyday moments. I try to engage physically with the painting, letting movement unfold without a fixed plan, and the result emerges through repeated sessions. I ignore the overload of messages and thoughts and recognize this as a call to calm amid today’s turmoil,” he says, speaking from Alcoy.
While his brushwork nods to action painters like Pollock and de Kooning, Sanus emphasizes spontaneity: he works without a predetermined script, allowing an almost animal intensity to surface while maintaining a distance from the very impulse that sparked the emotion. He acknowledges inheriting certain expressive mannerisms from these influences but insists their essence remains uniquely his own.
Painting on negatoscopes
The show includes eight sculptural “exercises” and seven paintings made using negatoscopes—devices historically used for viewing X-rays in medical settings, many of which have been retired. Sanus has long experimented with phosphorescent paints and light as a core element of his work. He describes placing black and white LED lights within the light-transmitting boxes, timed to shift the painted surfaces as the light changes. A friend working in a hospital provided the devices, enabling this distinctive effect.
The exhibition remains on view through March 11, inviting visitors to experience a dialogue between pigment and light across several media.