Eugenio Trías Sagnier. Philosopher. Barcelona, 1942

An attribute of intelligence and sensitivity; in a sense, it is the trait which best defines the conjunction, if such exists, of intelligence and sensitivity. It is characterised by its sharp, scathing nature, stemming from the fact that those possessing this attribute are highly susceptible to things and their forms. The classic and today highly acclaimed author Baltasar Gracián associated it with art and wit. In fact, it gives its name to an angle (acute) which will never be a right angle, and it is diametrically opposed to obtuseness. This angularity (in our subject’s physical appearance, in his way of expressing himself, in the way he designs and builds his creations) affords him his characteristic breadth and vastness in the ordering of space. It is rather like the depth of field that film-makers talk about, but applied to the (always ambiguous) art of design and distribution of space. From an acute angle, things are perceived as if in a cascade, or plunging outwards; but always from a distance from which they ultimately look as if they are nearby. The same is true of people and worlds. The result is a feast of colours and forms which break the conventional canon and scatter like carpets, or tapestries, filling every corner of habitable space.