Chueca IV (Ras)

Carlos Forns Bada is a visual artist who began his career in the context of Madrid’s Nueva Figuración (New Figuration) movement in the mid-1970s. From the 1980s onwards, his work evolved towards approaches similar to Italian pittura colta, a postmodern reinterpretation of the valori plastici movement that emerged in the interwar period. In the 1970s, Madrid’s Chueca neighbourhood was one of the city’s most run-down areas, despite its central location. Its marginal status and low rents enabled many premises to be transformed into gay bars, marking the beginning of the neighbourhood’s revitalisation. In the early 1980s, Forns Bada was drawn to the atmosphere of these pioneering spaces, such as Ras and LL, where the gay community could pursue their social and emotional relationships more freely. These visits gave rise to a series of drawings documenting these environments, using the clear line technique, a style borrowed from contemporary comic book aesthetics.

Raúl Martínez Arranz