Magdalena Fernández

Currently, the information we receive as a result of globalization is so much that it is almost impossible to process it simultaneously. We might say that one of the most difficult questions for a contemporary artist to answer is who has had an influence on his/ her work. A reflection might be: everyone and nobody in particular. Since the fact is that our minds inevitably store numerous references. And the field of art is no exception. These thoughts come to my mind after visiting the spaces where artist Magdalena Fernández (Caracas, 1964) is presenting her work, in different venues in Caracas. When we visited Faría-Fábregas gallery, in the segment that she titled “Tierras”, we necessarily perceived the reference to Piet Mondrían or Torres-García. Not in the sense of featuring an orthogonal proposal or resorting in an absolute way to primary colors. Undoubtedly, a process contemporizing the proposals of the mentioned masters was involved. A video featured a visual deconstruction which included a surprising element that incorporated a tropical, and at the same time unexpected touch. We are referring to the sound of the guacharacas (Ortalis ruficauda) which was coordinated with the changing images. These huge birds are very common in the Caribbean Sea and they have an extremely loud song. However, it was the most pleasant way of perceiving that even when we are in a city, there is an aura of nature in our habitats. For this reason, it was not awkward for us, city people, to associate nature to a rational proposal. In this way, Fernández created a figurative effect in an abstract proposal.