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JD Malat Gallery Dubai presents Photosynthesis by Luis Olaso
First UAE solo exhibition by the Spanish artist on view till 9 March 2026, Downtown Dubai
- PUBLISHED: Tue 17 Feb 2026, 7:15 PM
JD Malat Gallery Downtown Dubai is presenting Photosynthesis, a new body of work by Spanish artist Luis Olaso, marking a pivotal moment in his practice. Created entirely in his new studio in Cádiz, southern Spain, the series represents the first body of work produced since the artist’s relocation, reflecting a profound geographical and emotional shift in which environment, sensation and inner life converge on the canvas.
Olaso’s paintings emerge from a dialogue between instinct and reflection. Each brushstroke, colour and form is charged with feeling, unfolding through a two-stage process of action and analysis. Moments of unrestrained, gestural painting are later met with prolonged contemplation, generating a deliberate tension between chaos and control. Shapes emerge and fade, occasionally hinting at leaves, branches, or other natural forms, yet never resolving into literal imagery. What remains is their essence – their movement, energy and emotional weight.
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As Olaso explains, “Even when I work with plants, flowers or everyday elements, I am not aiming for literal representation; they are a vehicle to express abstract metaphors of myself and the moment I am living while creating the work.” Each canvas functions as a subtle self-portrait, a mirror of a specific internal state shaped by solitude, introspection and feeling.
In Photosynthesis, Olaso achieves a delicate balance between freedom and contemplation, gesture and reflection. Influenced in part by his previous visit to JD Malat Gallery Dubai – where the clarity and expansiveness of the gallery’s light left a lasting impression – the paintings invite a quiet pause, offering a space in which colour, form and emotion converge. This series marks a subtle yet decisive evolution in his practice, bolder, more intimate and profoundly alive, encouraging viewers to enter its rhythms and awaken memory, reflection and feeling.
“Olaso’s paintings operate as psychological spaces rather than images, which aligns closely with our curatorial direction in Dubai and the way audiences here engage with art,” says Jean-David Malat, Founder of JD Malat Gallery.
Photosynthesis by Luis Olaso is on view at JD Malat Gallery Downtown Dubai till 9 March 2026.
