Juan Uslé is a contemporary Spanish painter known for his complex arrangements of abstract forms floating in pictorial space. Wavering between repetitive brush marks and rhizome-like shapes, the artist culls inspiration from literature, film, poetry, and everyday life during his working process. “Our minds and bodies need to actively participate in the experience of contemplating a work, it demands your total attention and a particular kind of effort—it’s almost a commitment,” he has said of painting. “I don’t think too many people are willing or prepared to try to empty themselves out in order to dissect a painting. It’s certainly easier to get swayed by the pull and banality of the mass media’s images.” Born in 1954 in Santander, Spain, he...