The Agony, 2025 Oil and Coffee on Premium Canvas Part of "Unlearning Distance" Framed in high-quality oak 70 x 90 cm The Agony situates itself within a series centered on intimacy, its pursuit, its tension, and the emotional terrain that must be crossed before reaching real, honest connection. This piece captures one of those transitional states: the moment before vulnerability becomes openness. The figure is reduced to contour and contour alone, with blue lines tracing a body caught between restraint and release. The raw canvas acts as exposed skin, while the minimal palette keeps the emotion clear and unembellished. The posture feels suspended, as if holding the weight of experiences that precede closeness: fear, hesitation, and the quiet ache of wanting to be understood. Rather than illustrating pain, the painting studies the inner friction that shapes intimacy: the struggle to soften, to trust, to let oneself be seen. In this way, The Agony becomes less about suffering and more about the emotional labor required to reach love that is true, mutual, and unguarded. ----- Alberto Calero López Rietveld Academy 2017-2020 Shows “Journeys” Toqueur Aug 2024 “Journeys” Westergas Sept 2024 "Unlearning Distance" Covert Collective 2025