Classics Never Go Out of Style

Spanish painter Royo defies the notion that art must be exclusively modern or classic. Hailing from Valencia, Royo conjures European masters like Renoir and Goya with his floral spurts of bright color and high-contrast swaths depicting taut musculature. Yet his work is hardly derivative. With his imaginative look at the depth of the human form, Royo has carved his own place in the art world, somewhere among the classics, yet decidedly of our own time. Royo continues down that path in his latest work, “ingrávidos.” The set of paintings expands upon his examination of the human form, only in this case, free from the constraints of gravity. In a state of perpetual flight, Royo’s subjects take on an ethereal quality – they float, arms stretched outwards as if to catch themselves, in a cascade of flowing sheets and spacey expanses. Though there’s certainly a religious connotation, Royo’s characters are less like angels than touched souls being serendipitously liberated from the earth.

Discover ingrávidos at the Coral Springs Museum of Art (2855 Coral Springs Dr., Coral Springs). Admission ranges $3 to $5. Call 954-340-5000, or visit www.csmart.org.
Oct. 1-Jan. 5, 2007