Armando Morales Figures (1972) oil on canvas 40 x 32" Winner of the Ernest Wolf Prize at the V Sao Paulo Biennial (1959), Morales began to paint at an early age.  His work is introverted, disciplined, and reflective; and evidences a profound understanding of color.  So complete is his control of tonal variations that one may say that color, handled with the greatest of subtlety and refinement, is the essence of his art.  Tonal values, rich in substance and, at times, with a brooding quality, are used for metaphysical effect.  The metaphysical mood of his work calls to mind that of Italian painter de Chirico whose paintings exercised a profound influence on the paintings of the Surrealist movement in the 1920s with their element of mystery in ambiguous scenes of deserted piazzas, classical statues, arcades, and isolation figures.