With ‘Trauma Café’, Fernando Loyola invites us into an evocative realm where abstraction meets narrative, and painting becomes a form of invocation. This new body of work, created specifically for his debut solo exhibition, reflects the intensity of Loyola’s process—one that oscillates between control and surrender.

Themes of trauma, discord, and unresolved emotion pervade Loyola’s paintings, yet they do not aim for catharsis. Instead, his works act as conduits, conjuring the intangible through layered marks and suggestive forms. The influence of Surrealism is palpable, not as a stylistic choice but as an outcome of Loyola’s engagement with automatism and chance.

Trauma Café is more than an exhibition of paintings; it is an experience that extends into the physical gallery space through site-specific interventions. In doing so, Loyola transforms the gallery into a meditative yet unsettling environment, echoing the dualities inherent in his work.