Textures in Time

Life is not made of straight lines, but of layers and overlapping planes—like painting, like memory, like time. Tomás Carranza (El Salvador, 1974) also understands this, as evident in his most recent artistic exploration, Textures in Time. This exhibition not only extends the reflection initiated in his 2023 show The Threads of Time but also expands his language into a symphony of materials, memories, and emotions.

Every material in Carranza’s work has its voice. Gold, silver, pigments, threads—all contribute to this visual symphony with their tone. The metallic sheets reflect a light that is not only physical but also symbolic. They evoke value, legacy, and mystery. In contrast, the textiles return us to the tactile, to the origin, to the warmth of the skin. Within this dialogue between the ethereal and the earthly lies the true heart of the show: a visual meditation on the many layers of existence, where his small paper boats and airplanes travel—a recurring element in his work. They glide across the canvases as emblems of longing, nostalgia, and search, floating among masses of color and fields of light. Letting themselves be carried by the invisible currents of existence, much like we do through our own lives.

In this exhibition, however, these symbols do not sail alone, as textiles return both as medium and message. Carranza immerses himself in the traditions of Central American weaving, utilizing techniques such as tufting and punch needlework to create works that speak to the history of Central American art through their connection to looms.

Textures in Time is not just an exhibition. It is a journey. A space where the visual becomes experiential, where color and material invite us to reconsider our life path. As viewers, we see ourselves reflected in those landscapes without a horizon, in those surfaces that remind us that life, like art, is always an unfinished process. Like a loom that never stops, Carranza once again weaves memory, craft, and vision into these works.

-Rigoberto Otaño Milián (Curator)