When describing his process for the presentation, Montera says “I build surfaces, but I also scrape, abrade, cut through, obscure, and recover them. A mark does not always mean adding something. Sometimes the mark comes from removing enough of the present surface for an earlier condition to reappear.” 

The Shape Things Take can be appreciated in two parts: a smaller series and a larger series, the smaller one informing the other.
In the larger pieces, we see pronounced marks that reveal a dark base color underneath. Through the process of addition through subtraction, the canvas reveals what was made in the build-up to the final image. This collection encapsulates the different ideas, movements, and visual languages that can coexist within a single period of life. Rather than beginning with a fixed concept, the works developed through studies and experimentation, with recurring colors, gestures, and movements gradually revealing a sense of cohesion.

Text by Marz Aglipay