An exceptional piece in Mira’s output which lends its primary focus to icons: crosses, vanitas, portraits of nature in a very restrained palette but with a powerful visual and material presence.

The work of this artist from Zaragoza had a great repercussion in Spain, but above all abroad, and was showcased in museums and galleries in major cities including, among others, New York, Berlin, Munich and Zurich. In what was to be one of his last public recognitions, in 2003, the year he died, he was chosen as Best Living Spanish Artist by the Spanish Association of Art Critics at the ARCO art fair in Madrid. Two retrospective shows of his work were organised posthumously in his home city.

Even though his painting is notably undergirded by expressionism, Mira always eschewed allegiances with any specific movement. However, he did acknowledge great masters like Paul Klee (1879-1940), Joseph Beuys (1921-1986) and Antoni Tàpies (1923-2012).

He returned again and again to still lifes throughout his career and the work at hand should be seen as such. The use of a triad of colours, in this case blue, white and black, was a constant in his painting from the 1990s, as was , providing his work with a physical transcendence that captured the beholder’s attention.

Here the river inertly sinks into the black material, as if it were on the verge of disappearing once again after crossing through that white strip which endeavours to contain the flow.