Artist stories | DEBENS

GALERIE VERMEULEN

What is the genesis of your artistic journey?



DEBENS

I remember always drawing, from childhood. There was something natural, almost instinctive in this gesture, like a way of organizing the space around me. But the real turning point was my discovery of graffiti. This powerful visual language, made of letters, colors, and wall compositions, pushed me to seek a more personal visual writing. Very quickly, I wanted to transform this urban energy into a more structured research. It was this need for transformation that led me to the Beaux-Arts, and gave me the tools to deepen my practice.

GALERIE VERMEULEN

How would you describe your artistic world to someone discovering your work for the first time?



DEBENS

My work is based on a constructed geometric abstraction, but inhabited by a form of intuition. For me, it's about finding a balance between the rigor of forms and a spontaneity of gesture. I want the painting to seem alive, as if the line still vibrates. The abstraction I pursue is not cold: it invites contemplation, an almost meditative visual experience.

GALERIE VERMEULEN

How did this visual language become part of your practice, and what does your process look like today?



DEBENS

From the very beginning, I sought to invent a form of my own. I created a sign I called "the chair"—a construction of lines and axes, a sort of personal logo. I varied it, fragmented it, deconstructed it, until it became a language. It was from there that geometry established itself as my working matrix. Even today, I build from simple forms that I let them speak to each other. Each canvas is a balance between structure and improvisation. I occasionally test combinations on the computer, but it is always the gesture that takes over.

Debens (Hugo Garcia Debens), born in Barcelona in 1980, lives and works in Paris. Trained at the Beaux-Arts in Barcelona, ​​he has been developing a rigorous geometric abstraction for over two decades, drawing on the legacies of Constructivism, Op Art, and graphic design. His work has been exhibited widely in France and internationally—including Paris, Barcelona, ​​San Francisco, and London—and is sought after collectors, architects, and interior designers alike for the visual strength and precision of his compositions.