A geologist by training, Santamarta Cuenca settled in Gijón (Asturias) in the late seventies, initially alternating his work as a teacher with his sculpture. A self-taught artist, he achieved a high degree of virtuosity in his work with wood for which he is known. In his hands, wood became a flexible, mouldable material, sensual, pure and almost aerial.
 
Much of his output consisted of bespoke works, as is the case of this mural, which was commissioned by the architect Carlos Reguera Álvarez for the offices of the Banco de Comercio de León in Avenida Ramón y Cajal in the city of León.
 
His work is multifaceted, both in terms of materials used as well as formal conception, with painting and sculpture as his principal means of expression. He borrowed his inspiration from organic elements that seem to be taken from geology, which tallies with his personal engagement with nature, in turn informed by his academic background.
 
Apart from the evident relationship between space and volume in his work, one can also appreciate the importance he lent to colour, which is equally critical to the end result. His material of choice in which to express himself was generally wood, which he used in assemblages and compositions. Even in his works which outwardly recall geometry or geological crystallography, an organic quality can be noted, bringing out the metaphoric dimension enclosed in the material’s structural makeup. This is the case of this solid, polished piece from the BBVA Collection with heightened aesthetic formalism, evoking figures that go well beyond the form in itself.