“Arrecifes”

Artist: Rosana Auqué
Year: 2021
Medium: Is an original large-format acrylic painting on canvas
Dimensions: 350 × 200 Cms
Price: USD $55,000

About the Artwork

Arrecifes unfolds as a large-scale immersion into an interior seascape. At 3.50 by 2 meters, the painting does not merely depict the ocean; it surrounds the viewer with it. The work expands beyond representation and becomes an environment—an atmosphere where color, rhythm, and memory converge.

This piece belongs to a deeper exploration I call “my world under the sea.” It is not an illustration of marine life, nor a literal reef. Instead, it is a visual translation of movement, density, and vitality—an ecosystem built through shape and vibrant chromatic tension.

In Arrecifes, the ocean is not background. It is protagonist.

Concept and Artistic Vision

The Ocean as Structure

Growing up in Santa Marta, Colombia, the sea is not simply landscape; it is infrastructure. It sustains community, economy, culture, and identity. In this painting, the reef becomes a metaphor for collective life. Coral formations echo human networks. Layers of color resemble currents of exchange.

The reef holds everything together.

Without it, the system collapses.

Through abstraction, I reinterpret this idea: the reef is not static. It vibrates. It breathes. It resists disappearance. The painting suggests that what appears fragile is often the true structural core of a place.

Chromatic Energy and Urban Pulse

Santa Marta is defined by contrast—intense light, saturated hues, tropical humidity, and constant movement. That energy informs the palette of Arrecifes. Bright tonalities are not decorative; they are experiential. They evoke the heat of the Caribbean, the density of biodiversity, and the emotional intensity of coastal life.

Color in this work operates as both memory and force.

It constructs depth without relying on linear perspective.

It creates immersion without literal narrative.

Scale and Physical Presence

At 350 cm wide, Arrecifes occupies architectural space. Its size is intentional. The viewer cannot consume it in a single glance; the body must move in front of it. The surface reveals shifting layers—gestural passages, dense accumulations, subtle transparencies.

The painting behaves like a reef itself: complex, layered, and alive.

Its physicality reinforces its conceptual intention. The ocean is vast. The reef is expansive. The painting mirrors that condition.

H2 — Thematic Context Within My Practice

While many of my works explore joy, vitality, and emotional landscapes, Arrecifes specifically addresses interdependence. It reflects on how natural systems mirror human systems—how survival depends on balance, diversity, and unseen structures.

In Santa Marta, the true treasure is not ornamental. It is ecological. The sea holds memory, migration, commerce, celebration, and history. It sustains life materially and symbolically.

This painting does not romanticize the ocean.
It honors it as a living force.

Material and Technique

Acrylic as Movement

Acrylic on canvas allows for immediacy. The medium supports rapid gesture, layering, and chromatic intensity. It dries quickly, enabling complex build-ups without losing luminosity.

In Arrecifes, acrylic becomes fluid. Brushwork alternates between defined shapes and organic dissolutions, suggesting the constant transformation of underwater environments.

The surface holds tension between control and spontaneity—echoing the unpredictability of the sea itself.

Availability and Collecting Context

Arrecifes (2021) is an original large-format acrylic painting on canvas.

Price: $55,000 USD

Due to its dimensions, the work is particularly suited for collectors seeking a statement piece capable of transforming architectural space—private residences, institutional collections, or curated environments where scale and energy are central.

For acquisition inquiries, contact through the official channels of rosanaauque.com.