Under the suggestive title of Spherescent, Félix Larreta treated us to a magnificent luminous show during Art Basel Miami Beach. An Argentine artist who spends his time between Barcelona and Berlin, Larreta has pledged to pursue the creative search of the controversial venture of unraveling the cosmos from the abstract grid of the binary world. Larreta has a background in electronic music, and this allows him to approach this complex subject from a completely different perspective, in the midst of a universe in which artificial intelligence, optic art, and avatar go hand in hand. As the name suggests, Spherescent is a luminescent sphere that continually changes its appearance as it dazzles viewers, who find themselves captivated by the sensation of an ancient dialogue, beyond any barriers imposed by the artifice of logos, or by the construction of historical accounts throughout history. The installation in question ¿ its visible component ¿ occupies a small exhibition area whose entrance is covered by a black curtain to guarantee the complete darkness of the space. Thus, visitors must negotiate the space blindly as the sudden change in light upon entering the space nearly deprives visitors of any sight completely. Once inside, the only source of light that engages us derives from the enigmatic sphere. The dialogue with Spherescent is open, frontal, and virtually as elemental and certain as a pulse ¿ that internal beat that drives our existence. Nevertheless, its creators offer viewers an intimate play that encourage these ¿ once alone with the sphere ¿ to be uninhibited. Larreta uses the tempo as the basic element for articulation, while from a visual point of view, the sophisticated system is nourished with abstract motifs and color patterns associated with specific cultural significations. In fact, during the presentation of the exhibit in Paris, Spherescent was preceded by a careful chromatic study of the stained-glass windows of the Chartres Cathedral. The idea behind this was to ensure that the temperature and chromatic quality generated by the installation would be compatible with the French citizen's visual repertoire, in order to attain a more familiar dialogue between the sphere and the viewer. On the other side of the glass ¿ from where the spectator experiences a quasi-ancestral and cosmic event ¿ Larreta, like a demiurge, feeds the program that gives life to Spherescent. Inspired by the notion of sonic harmony so dear to Gustav Holst¿s universe, the artist relies on dissonance and uncommon sounds that eventually draw deep sinuosities and determine the development in time of this sui generis optical sculpture. The artificial system receives new data as a result of the spectator's movements. It then relies on this new information to adapt and to enrich the dialogic relationship between the sphere and the spectator. From a conceptual standpoint, Spherescent involves a conversation at the ontological level in which humans are stripped of any baggage in order to discover who they are. The enigmatic sphere is erected as a sort of oracle whose significance expands from the infinitesimal level to the macro scale, where the universe becomes diverse. From a formal standpoint, the captivating sinuosity of the motifs generated by the computer in real time and the sonority that excavates internal springs from the deep are remarkable. And from yet another point of view, Spherescent is an allegory of a virtual world that has increasingly become part of our daily life. A legacy of the Neo-Geo and the virtual world, Félix Larreta's optical sculpture could be classified as a cosmic symphony. This class of homage to Holts speaks to us from the dark, from a universal and sufficient interactive language ¿ a key element ¿ that procures the necessary harmony for the universe in which we find ourselves immersed as a result of each of our most insignificant acts, and even inaction. At times, this sophisticated sphere ¿...