Felix Rios (Velvet II)* - English Version

 

Photo: Steven Salgado

In my architecture exegesis, I speak only of music.

I don’t know the notes, but architecture,

like music, is time and space,

an art of successive sensations brought into a symphony. 

Le Corbusier 

The exhibit Symphony (Velvet II) is the result of the intense study that Felix Rios (Arecibo, Puerto Rico, 1968) undertook several years ago on Le Corbusier’s theories of architectural color, set forth in his book Polychromie Architecturale. For this pioneer of modernity, architecture was not merely a technical or aesthetic exercise, but a discipline aimed at satisfying the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of those who inhabited the spaces. Following this philosophy, in Polychromie Architecturale Le Corbusier proposed a palette conceived not only to beautify the areas, but to generate emotions and perceptions that would make them more harmonious and comfortable. 

Concrete Composition A (V_II) #01, 2025. Acrylic on canvas. 47.25 x 47.25 in.

Velvet II is one of the thirteen 'colored keyboards' created by Le Corbusier in 1931. These keyboards consist of a series of fourteen pure tones inspired by nature (pinks, greens, blues and oranges), complemented by three neutral tones. Their purpose was to generate chromatic combinations that, like melodies, evoke emotional atmospheres. On the pages of the book, the keyboards are arranged with the fourteen pure tones in the center, surrounded by the neutrals. Le Corbusier systematized the possible combinations by means of templates with windows that make it possible to visualize and group colors in harmony. By sliding these templates over the pages, multiple combinations associated with particular emotional moods are revealed.

Concrete Composition B (V_II) #05, #01, #04, #02, 2024. Acrylic on canvas. 51.18 x 39.37 in. c/u

The thought and work of the great Swiss-French architect has profoundly inspired Felix Rios’ practice. While the awareness of architectural space has been present in many of his previous series, in the works that make up this exhibition, Rios approaches Le Corbusier not only through his fascinating colors, but in his constant reflection on beauty—understood as a mystery that, hidden within form, deeply moves the spirit. For this reason, it is not surprising that in this series, Rios turned to the Fibonacci Sequence—a numerical progression in which each number is the sum of the two preceding ones, and whose structure establishes a fascinating and harmonious relationship—to determine not only the dimensions of the works and the number of pieces comprising the series, but also the arrangement of the color fields on each canvas. This “formula of beauty,” in which mathematics, art, and nature intertwine, rests on a tension that harmonizes sensitivity with rigor, emotion with reason. The exhibition is, therefore, a kind of minimalist symphony in which each group of works could correspond to a movement, and where the artist’s intervention has been minimized through the systematizations derived from Fibonacci and Le Corbusier.

Concrete Composition C (V_II) #09, #06, #01, 2025. Acrylic on canvas. 39.37 x 27.55 in. c/u

Rios is an explorer of the “transformative power of color,” of the ability each tone has to impact the external environment and, definitively, our physical, psychic, and subtle systems; of how each color is relativized, and ultimately, of how each tone contains a mystery within itself. For Ríos, the meaning of these pieces lies in the invitation they extend to immerse ourselves in the act of seeing—experiencing, slowly and deliberately, each field of color, each subtle vibration arising from the meeting of two planes, each balance, and each combination. Ultimately, it is about allowing ourselves to be seduced by beauty and letting its contemplation become a transformative experience.

 © Katherine Chacón

Photo: Stephen Morris

Felix Rios studied Architectural Drawing in Puerto Rico and Interior Design in Miami. He has presented two solo exhibitions: "Colors, Shapes, and Forms" at Laundromat Art Space (Miami, 2023) and "Rhythms" at Imago Art Gallery (Coral Gables, 2021). His work has also been featured in notable group exhibitions at Miami International Fine Arts (Miami), Sala de Exposiciones del Plata (Dorado, PR), Laundromat Art Space, and Galería Petrus (San Juan, PR). Rios’ artwork is part of the permanent collection of Sabanera Health in Dorado Beach, Puerto Rico.

Images from the exhibition (Credits: Steven Salgado):

 * This text was originally written for the exhibit of the same name curated by me and held in Imago Cultural Center, in Miami, from January 1st, 2025 to March 23rd, 2025.