Santiago Poggio’s paintings confront us, like profane and contemporary representations of full-page illuminations from medieval manuscripts, with images lacking the textual framework that supports them. This is how we may find ourselves tempted to use our own reservoir of images, our accumulation of skills and expectations to interpret his representations (narrations perhaps?) or simply become ensnared in the fantasy world he offers, demanding that we pause time and immerse ourselves in them. So, where does the appeal of his paintings lie? Is it in understanding their meaning or, perhaps, in their capacity to serve as receptacles for our own projections? Themes, images, and readings from various origins are summoned in his works, not as direct references or citations – sometimes not even intended as such – but as part of Poggio’s own cultural baggage. Moving freely between real and fantastical representations, plausible and imaginary, he creates within the sway of geometric abstraction and hyper-narrative imagery. His works constitute a deformed and disturbed interiority that contrasts with – and at the same time, filters through – the rigid environment of non-narrative geometric structures. Taking painting as a starting point, he explores ways to construct a narrative, turning the pictorial device into a tool for reflecting on the world, unfolding philosophical ideas, and creating thought. And while painting is his focus, from time to time, his universes expand, thirsting for new media to manifest themselves, in sculpture, objects, drawing, performance, and installations.