'When it comes to our appreciation of art should we not above all trust our first reaction, which is both instinctive and immediate? If the artwork does not give rise to any kind of emotion, it maybe because we try and look at it according to criteria which are not our own. It is not easy to be receptive to a work of art, especially when we have the feeling that there are pre-established professional rules that serve as reference. Nonetheless, were we to introduce a work of art in our homes, we would relate to it entirely on our own terms. And no professional point of view would determine the nature of this relationship. We must dare.

A creation has all the more chance of attracting our attention if the artist has marked it with a profound and personal part of himself or herself and if this part exists also within ourselves. It is the marriage between these two elements which will catch our attention, in order to please, to seduce, to displease or to shock, without ever leaving us indifferent. In the absence of one of the two elements, however, indifference will prevail.

It is in this spirit that I appreciate Cristina Rodriguez' works of art. They call on my emotions without hesitation. In her work I find the strength of a person who gives herself entirely to her creation. In her colours, her compositions and her themes exist a force, with which I identify. It is this shared vision of artistic creation that has induced us both to realise this exhibition.

Cristina knows how to give her painting, in which we notice the joy and colour of the traditional Colombian art, an original character which reflects her personal and international experience. Cristina brings life into her work and each creation constitutes a story that reflects the strength of the experience that inspired it. She lives, absorbs and magnifies her daily life with an intensity that is natural to her and which resurfaces at the instant she creates. She makes us dream and often smile through her title that in one or two words tells us a story about each painting.

It is at the entrance of a highly traditional place of art, which receives visitors from the entire world, that I have chosen to exhibit Cristina Rodriguez' paintings. Cristina's work is particularly adapted to this location, as she is attached to the past, but also because of her highly international career. The exhibition space, moreover, does not impose any rules to its visitors, who can literally and visually consume according to their heart's wishes.

I dearly wish you to appreciate with freedom of spirit the works of Cristina Rodriguez during the course of this exhibition.'