Subterranean Soul Painting

I was born in Chile, South America. While studying design in the 1970s, I became interested in the rock art found in the many areas of my country. I visited the solitary and awe-inspiring valleys, mountains, deserts and rock formations of Chile, which are repositories of this art. I was encouraged to do further traveling research by Hans Niemeyer, a renowned archeologist. I traveled to Spain to study the pre-historic caves of Altamira in the Basque country, the home of my paternal ancestors. My work springs from this research and exploration, and my connection to an ancient past. For me, the fusion of cultures and experiences has been very prominent in my work. This extraordinary process began in April 2000, when I arrived in the U.S. for the first time. In 2020, I celebrated my 20th Anniversary of life and art in the U.S. In those 20 years, what originated from my original methods has developed into gestural paintings using free spontaneous brush strokes, to evoke a primal and expressionist mode of communication. My inspirations have been quite diverse and numerous — the rock art of Chile; the music of Czech and Chilean composers; my ancestral places in Catalonia and The Basque Country. My environmental inspiration is reflected in my 2019 series Gaiamama, from Pachamama—the Andean Mother Earth; and Gaia—the primitive goddess of the Land of the Greek. The COVID-19 pandemic has inspired my most recent series. This inspiration —as shown through my vibrant palette—reflects a significant contrast with the dark climate in which we now live. With music as my muse, and meditation as my guide, I am enveloped with these transcendental and active elements of inspiration. While painting Meditations series, I listened to The Buddha’s Tears, Armenian music performed with its ancient traditional instrument, the duduk. It imparts a powerful connection, and with it, the sounds of a collective lament inherent of the current pandemic situation. Gershwin’ Rhapsody in Blue, and currently Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons has energized and encouraged the colorful brush strokes that are both musical and gestural, as well.