Outside-Inside-Doors
Afuera-Adentro-Puertas may be interpreted as an intriguing series of archaeological expeditions designed to uncover ancient mysteries concealed behind seemingly impenetrable fortresses. Juanita Pérez has chosen to focus on the enduring energies of confinement and liberation, symbolized by that most familiar of daily objects, the door. This compelling and multilayered body of work entices the viewer into a complex world of personal and public histories, which in turn invite an exploration of unknown territories where individual identities may retain their secrets behind a series of closed doors.Outside-Inside-Doors
By Janet Dawson
The intensity and brilliance of the artist’s color palette offer tantalizing glimpses of monuments to human existence, such as castles, obelisks, pyramids, where one feels subsumed by their splendor, their majesty and above all, their history. That same use of vibrantly radiant color emphasizes the contained energy and potential of these inner sanctuaries, where the relationships between space, and what is done in those spaces, establishes a series of dialogues. These paintings are about journeys, of the mind and of the body, where homage is paid to those ceremonies and rituals which underpin the fabric of human existence.
The physicality of the individual is nowhere more evident in Zenith=Subiendo-Bajando where a series of portals and steps suggest a symbolic climb and descent, a repetitive narrative of striving and attaining. The upper portion of the canvas is dominated by a cupola, here clearly a symbol of concentrated energy, but also of turmoil, with a barely discernible keyhole as a possible source of light or perhaps escape. The limits of the canvas are inscribed with gold wording inviting closer examination and entry to this particular world. For Juanita Pérez, the selected presence of texts in this series of paintings is of Paramount importance, as they create a potent connection between those inscribed words and the images they overlay. The texts stand as commentaries on the image, and the images are seen in direct relationship to the text.
The secrets and intimacies which exist behind these closed doors and Windows are also guarded by text, as in Puerta con Palabras Guardadas, where the Surface of the canvas deliberately conceals the words: balance, breathe, time, silence, guardian words. One senses the transitory nature of one’s existence, for we are merely borrowing time, but by decoding these symbols and understanding their semantics we are able to enter an inner sanctum and are no longer outsiders.
Once Puertas: Once Momentos Impermanentes is a luminous composition of suspended geometric shapes in which the lintels of the doors define the boundaries of these portals. There is a rhythmic regularity to them which is balanced by the repeated geometric symbols which adorn their surfaces. These may be seen as mental, rather than physical doors, inviting contemplation and reflection of fleeting moments in our lives. There is a lucid and cathartic quality to this piece, implied strength in the formality of the composition, and balance in these captured moments.
For Juanita Pérez, the notion of inside/outside is closely connected to the presence and absence of self, the symbol of a door representing a mental or physical barrier. All the works deal with concepts of polarity, the schismatic nature of our existence. Undertaking a journey through this panoply of visual exploration and discovery, is rewarded by entry to unknown worlds. The seductively rich textures and tactile quality of the canvases deliberately reveal the scars of time, the imprints of the artist’s hands, her own deeply personal vision.
Once Puertas: Once Momentos Impermanentes is a luminous composition of suspended geometric shapes in which the lintels of the doors define the boundaries of these portals. There is a rhythmic regularity to them which is balanced by the repeated geometric symbols which adorn their surfaces. These may be seen as mental, rather than physical doors, inviting contemplation and reflection of fleeting moments in our lives. There is a lucid and cathartic quality to this piece, implied strength in the formality of the composition, and balance in these captured moments.
For Juanita Pérez, the notion of inside/outside is closely connected to the presence and absence of self, the symbol of a door representing a mental or physical barrier. All the works deal with concepts of polarity, the schismatic nature of our existence. Undertaking a journey through this panoply of visual exploration and discovery, is rewarded by entry to unknown worlds. The seductively rich textures and tactile quality of the canvases deliberately reveal the scars of time, the imprints of the artist’s hands, her own deeply personal vision.