Maurizio Valch Abstract Painting / Territory and Thought
Horizontal abstract painting by Maurizio Valch, titled 'STRATA VIII - TRIA'. A vast teal-green field occupies the background, divided by thin horizontal white lines. Three rectangular crimson red blocks with soft, blurred edges in white and blue float in space: a large one on the right, a small one on the top left, and a smaller one at the bottom center. The surface features a distinct texture with impastos and scrapes.
Maurizio Valch, 'STRATA VIII - TRIA', an abstract piece from the STRATA series exploring territory and matter.
Detailed close-up of the side of the painting TRIA, showing the emerald green paint wrapping around the edge of the canvas and the rough texture of the acrylic and oil.
Material detail of the edge of TRIA, showing the layers of pigment, the scraping, and the subtle metal frame.
Large-format abstract painting leaning on the bare concrete floor of a brutalist space in front of a large city window.
TRIA installed in a large-scale brutalist setting.
TRIA painting by Maurizio Valch hanging on a minimalist hallway wall with warm overhead lighting highlighting the canvas.
The artwork TRIA in a home transit area.
Close-up of Maurizio Valch's canvas TRIA, showing the impasto textures of emerald green color, fine palette knife incisions, and raised geometric red shapes.
Surface detail of TRIA, from the STRATA series.
Perspective view of the large-format painting TRIA resting directly on the wooden floor, revealing its three-dimensional texture under lateral light.
The scale of the work TRIA allows it to integrate naturally onto the floor of a quiet space of contemplation.
Abstract painting TRIA hanging on the white wall of a bright, modern living room, with a curved designer sofa in the background.
TRIA hanging as the centerpiece of a contemporary living room, dialoguing with natural light and the design of a quiet, domestic home space for a collector.
TRIA abstract artwork on an exposed concrete wall in a contemporary, sober, softly lit room.
Textural contrast between TRIA and the exposed concrete.

Published work / STRATA

TRIA

Chromatic tension in a color field

Size
47.2 × 31.5 in / 120 × 80 cm
Series
STRATA Painting series STRATA 2026–Present · 18 works STRATA brings together abstract paintings in which the surface becomes a territory of pressure, cutting and duration. Amid dense chromatic fields, compact blocks and incisions, Maurizio Valch situates memory as a material trace rather than a decipherable narrative. View series
Orientation
Horizontal
Context studies
8

Conceptual Note

Unlike figurative representations that define space with concrete references, the spatial tension in this painting emerges from the contrast between a vast emerald color field and the forceful presence of red geometric shapes that, like monoliths, seem to float or take root in a subtly incisive horizon.

The materiality of the work is built through a combination of acrylic and oil on canvas, where Valch's process is evident in the rich textures of the surface, the dense impastos in the upper area, the glazes that grant depth to the lower field, and the incisions that traverse the plane—all resulting from palette knife application, scraping, and successive layers that evoke a geological landscape or worked skin.

Within the 'STRATA' series, this piece aligns with Maurizio Valch's exploration of territory as a surface of origin and memory, where suspended blocks and horizontal lines act as 'strata' and 'spatial divisions' that do not seek to illustrate, but rather to construct a space of contemplation, order, and fracture, inviting an open reading of matter, the body, or the place of appearance in a restrained and melancholy atmosphere.

In the painting TRIA, belonging to the STRATA series, the exploration of matter and territory unfolds through a direct dialogue with my visual lineage. The vast emerald color field is developed through glazes in the lower area that provide an enveloping depth to the surface. This approach connects with the heritage of Mark Rothko, as the restraint and melancholy atmosphere of the work seek to constitute a space of pure contemplation through color. Likewise, the plane is organized through physical incisions and horizontal lines that act as precise spatial divisions. These marks dialogue with the formal refinement of Barnett Newman, transforming the subtly incisive horizon into a perceptive event that fragments the chromatic plane and establishes a rigorous order. Finally, the red geometric shapes floating as compact monoliths against the green background recall the spatial tension of Nicolas de Staël. Through dense impastos applied with a palette knife in the upper area and scraped textures, I construct suspended blocks that operate on the boundary between abstraction and the evocation of a geological landscape or territory of origin.