surfaces / superficies

Magdalena Fernández
Surfaces

May 13 - June, 18, 2006

Magdalena Fernández’s Surfaces are a complex, sophisticated exploration of the sculptural possibilities of geometric abstraction, one that reaches beyond the accepted boundaries of modernism. Fernandez is a successor to Venezuela’s rich abstract-geometric tradition, in particular to the organicity and intricateness of Gego’s Reticulareas (1969—1970s) and the kinetic art of Jesus Soto and Carlos Cruz-Diez who, at the end of the 50s began experimenting by incorporating movement into their works, mainly based on the displacement of the viewer’ in front of, or inside, the work, as was the case in Soto Penetrables (60s).

For Magdalena Fernández elements of nature such as water, fire and sounds are all important. In Surfaces, Fernández broadens the range of our perception of basic geometric shapes such as the square, by including natural elements as the protagonists of these works. In some pieces, including 1dm003 ‘Eleutherodactylus Coqui’, sounds such as frogs croaking dictate the unpredictable behavior of these geometric shapes.  The cry of an Amazonian guacamaya (Ara Ararauna) is what determines the colors and movement of the planes in 1pm006 “Ara Ararauna”.

Light and movement are also fundamental aspects of Fernández’s work.  In some of her work, it is light which draws the geometric shapes and projects volumes that are neither static nor clearly delimitated.  In some of her videos, the sharpness and definition of the geometric shapes is dissolved by the inner movement of those same lines, which transforms them into delicate, living, organic threads. 

Cecilia Fajardo-Hill
Director/Chief Curator, cifo

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