Cristina Rodriguez’s Promesses Sublimes de la Nature
Dans les œuvres de Cristina Rodriguez se proposent aussi des souvenirs et des échos d'un pays où la flore, les montagnes, les imposantes masses d'arbres qu'on dirait sculptées, racontent une aurore permanente d'un monde où naissent toutes les couleurs imaginables. On ne parlera certes pas de répétition ou de citation, mais d'une sorte de terre intouchée d'une richesse sans fin dont les teintes et les formes montent au cerveau comme une ivresse. Collection de couleurs vivaces à ciel ouvert, la terre colombienne et sa palette peuvent légitimement nous regarder d'un peu haut. Chacune de ses fleurs, créations éclatantes ou discrètes, se raconte non comme décoration, mais comme interrogation d'une beauté nouvelle qui invite à quelque dialogue étrange. Car l'accumulation de ces magies, aussi intrigante qu'un conte de Poe, offre lieu charmé plein d'ilôts, de recoins, de cavernes, de secrets d'ancêtres et de fées, de longs passages et de rites. Comment ne pas s'embarquer sur cette région comme vers ces pays où la beauté ne cesse de croître, d'entrelacer sous nos yeux des jeux de teintes inconnus et des pétales sauvages nés dans le fond des forêts ? C'est là que se racontent des fables, des récits de tribus, des rites étroitement mêlés à la croissance des présences animales réelles ou fabuleuses : c'est peut-être une piste pour aborder le flux créatif de l'inspiration chez cette artiste. Les roses très élaborés croisent des ombres marbrées de lignes vertes profondes, qui elles-mêmes attirent des surfaces d'écorces et de feuillages qui affichent, même quand leurs teintes ne sont pas éclatantes, une densité tonale très énergique. Comme le dit elle-même Cristina Rodriguez, ses toiles représentent et affirment une réalité du monde d'alentour, mais elle les crée avec une ferveur qui réaffirme le vivant avec un regain de beauté qui fait que les montagnes sont bleues comme l'eau profonde, et que les choses retrouvées ont l' éclat des yeux de cristal d'un animal léger et furtif qui nous épie au fond de la nuit.
Au Cœur du Fleuve d'Amazonie
Dans les sous-bois remplis d'ombre où poussent des troncs droits et resserrés, la vue s'engage vers quelque point éloigné, et la forêt que l'on sent proche offre une trame sombre. Les éléments de cette nature à la fois sauvage et dense occupent et créent un fond très rempli, et si la vue fuit vers des zones compactes, saturées de créations autonomes, on est immédiatement captivé par la scène – tout le tableau, espace primordial, réunit les tons d'une palette riche de sonorités, éclatant d' énigmes, et qui déploie des trésors. Scène dramatique éloignée de toute promenade agréable, le tableau invite à une exploration imaginaire de lieux inquiétants mais pleins d'une énergie où affleurent mille vies. Si la masse brune de l'arbre géant est posée en sentinelle, la toile est habitée, elle pense d'heureux instants. L’œil qui se réjouit se demande soudain quelle est cette fête, ce ravissement et ce bonheur intouché qui s'épanouit. Bois, lianes, mousses, insectes, écorces, pirogue et passagers proclament un être éternel. En témoignent le papillon bleu de ciel, affiché simplement avec confiance, et le perroquet de rubis serti de diamants qui s'est posé sur un arbre comme un bijou. La toile est l'une des plus complètes et des plus fascinantes de l'artiste par son concert de valeurs profondes, et son récit d'amazonie qui éclate de joie, elle est ravie, épanouie, recréée, et cependant apaisée par ce ton vert général et son effet de douce lenteur. Il se dévoile ici une fête, un festin de formes. Elles revivent toutes leur surgissement total, et Cristina Rodriguez a su recréer pour elles une vraie lumière de l'âme. Quant au serpent qui joue ici le ruban ou le serpentin, imitation d'une guirlande de fête ou tentateur originel, il enroule la scène dans sa spire de fantaisie mi-drôle et mi-sombre. Symbole de lieu bien gardé ou animal des grands périls, il paraît ici nous siffler un air de fête pour ce beau tableau musical, ce grand jaillissement de forces vives sur lequel nous restons longtemps penchés pour en comprendre la profondeur.
Eric Levergeois
Philosophe
2015
The Sublime Promises of Nature
Translated by Dr. Ariane Galy (2024)
Translated by Dr. Ariane Galy (2024)
Cristina Rodriguez’s work evokes the memories and echoes of a country where the flora, mountains, and seemingly sculpted tree masses, tell the story of a permanent dawn of a world where all the undreamt-of colours are born. There is no repetition or citation here – instead we discover a virgin land of infinite riches whose shades and shapes are intoxicating. A collection of enduring colours under a big sky, the Colombian land and its palette have the right to look down on us a little. Every one of its flowers, either conspicuous or discreet, presents itself not as a decoration but as a question mark that invites us into a strange dialogue about this novel beauty.
This because the accumulation of this magic, which is as intriguing as a tale by Poe, creates a charmed landscape packed with islets, nooks, caverns, the secrets of ancestors and fairies, and ancient rites and rituals. How can we resist setting out to discover this country where beauty grows in perpetuity, to witness the shadow play of these unfamiliar shades of colour and its wild petals born deep in the forests? It is here that fairytales live, and the ever-presence of animals, be they real or fantastical, is closely intertwined with these tribal stories and rituals: perhaps they are the way to access the creative channel that inspires the artist.
Elaborate roses grow across marbled shadows of deep green lines, themselves attracting the surface colours of bark and foliage who, despite less vivid colouring, display a powerful tonal density. As Cristina Rodriguez herself states, her canvases represent and reaffirm an alternate reality – but it is one that she creates with a fervour that reaffirms our own reality through a resurgence of beauty that makes mountains seem blue like deep water, and this rediscovery possesses the brilliance of the sharp bright eyes of a nimble and furtive creature who observes us under the cover of darkness.
This because the accumulation of this magic, which is as intriguing as a tale by Poe, creates a charmed landscape packed with islets, nooks, caverns, the secrets of ancestors and fairies, and ancient rites and rituals. How can we resist setting out to discover this country where beauty grows in perpetuity, to witness the shadow play of these unfamiliar shades of colour and its wild petals born deep in the forests? It is here that fairytales live, and the ever-presence of animals, be they real or fantastical, is closely intertwined with these tribal stories and rituals: perhaps they are the way to access the creative channel that inspires the artist.
Elaborate roses grow across marbled shadows of deep green lines, themselves attracting the surface colours of bark and foliage who, despite less vivid colouring, display a powerful tonal density. As Cristina Rodriguez herself states, her canvases represent and reaffirm an alternate reality – but it is one that she creates with a fervour that reaffirms our own reality through a resurgence of beauty that makes mountains seem blue like deep water, and this rediscovery possesses the brilliance of the sharp bright eyes of a nimble and furtive creature who observes us under the cover of darkness.
At the Heart of the Amazonian River
Under the shady canopy where tightly packed tree trunks grow in straight lines, the eye is drawn to something in the distance: the murky backdrop of the nearby forest. The many elements of this wild and dense environment create a packed frame, and should our eyes move towards its various zones, which are saturated with autonomous creations, we are immediately captivated by this scene – a primordial space bringing together the shades of a richly tonal palette unveiling its treasures and bursting with enigma. A dramatic scene at odds with a relaxing forest meander, this painting invites us to embark on an imaginary exploration of unsettling environments that nonetheless teem with energy and life. The large brown mass of the giant tree stands like a sentinel, the canvas is inhabited, reflecting on moments of happiness.
The onlookers’ joyous gaze suddenly wonders about the nature of this party, this rapture, this untouched, blossoming happiness. Woods, vines, mosses, insects, barks, a canoe and its passengers all proclaim an eternal being. They are witnesses to the sky-blue butterfly, displayed with confident simplicity, and the diamond-encrusted ruby parrot poised in the tree like a jewel. Thanks to its concerto of core qualities, this canvas is one of the artist’s most populated and fascinating paintings. Its ode to Amazonia bursts with joy: it is delighted, fulfilled, recreated yet also appeased by the green tones and its slow and gentle pace. It is a celebration of shapes, each one bringing its true form to light with a soulfulness that Cristina Rodriguez has been able to recreate for them. As for the snake playing at being a ribbon or a streamer, an imitation of a festive garland or the original tempter, he furls the scene into his fantastical half-funny, half-dark coil. The symbol of a closely guarded place and of great peril, he seems here to be whistling a festive tune in honour of this beautifully musical painting, itself a powerful burst of vital forces, which we contemplate at length in order to comprehend its depth.
The onlookers’ joyous gaze suddenly wonders about the nature of this party, this rapture, this untouched, blossoming happiness. Woods, vines, mosses, insects, barks, a canoe and its passengers all proclaim an eternal being. They are witnesses to the sky-blue butterfly, displayed with confident simplicity, and the diamond-encrusted ruby parrot poised in the tree like a jewel. Thanks to its concerto of core qualities, this canvas is one of the artist’s most populated and fascinating paintings. Its ode to Amazonia bursts with joy: it is delighted, fulfilled, recreated yet also appeased by the green tones and its slow and gentle pace. It is a celebration of shapes, each one bringing its true form to light with a soulfulness that Cristina Rodriguez has been able to recreate for them. As for the snake playing at being a ribbon or a streamer, an imitation of a festive garland or the original tempter, he furls the scene into his fantastical half-funny, half-dark coil. The symbol of a closely guarded place and of great peril, he seems here to be whistling a festive tune in honour of this beautifully musical painting, itself a powerful burst of vital forces, which we contemplate at length in order to comprehend its depth.
Eric Levergeois
Philosopher
2015
