ART: "Las Tres Gracias", by Alejandra Hernández

This is a new work by the Colombian-born artist (1), part of a solo show at Marseilles entitled “Art-O-Rama”. (2)

Here are her notes – I hope to secure commentary from interested parties soon:
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Latent presences 

Alejandra Hernández with Galleria LaVeronica for ART-O-RAMA 2016

Each one of the persons depicted in this group of paintings was invited in my studio for a visit while they posed naked for a portrait. There was no specific filter to choose who would be included, other than the fact they wanted to participate and that we had an immediate connection even if we didn’t know each other so well. Each of them was asked to bring a group of objects that they felt attached to or that somehow were relevant for them. Usually people ended up bringing objects from their childhood, books, plants, instruments they use to work, sometimes beautiful textiles or little toys. Most of the sitters/guests are artists working in all kinds of media, definitely all of them have creative interests, which already set a tone for the paintings as they are all aesthetically aware, together we built up the scenario in which they sat for our session and every week a new guest arrived, new energy, new anecdotes and conversations, different objects and memories scattered across the room echoing and overlapping stories from one to the other.

Live portraiture has always intrigued me, being a result of an actual meeting, in which two if not more people are engaged in an exchange where painting is the excuse for a new channel of communication. In some cases models are used as merely tools or anatomical references but in others, there is a real relationship and intimacy. That is something, which in my opinion can always be perceived, painting cannot lie. It is always a challenge to work with people, but it is greatly rewarding as well. For me, it serves a purpose that goes beyond the idea of just creating a piece of art, it is also about the present moment, about communication, being attentive and listening.

To speak about the process behind these portraits, it goes as it follows: each time, the sitter/guest arrives to my studio, we start by having a normal fluent conversation, after, we have lunch together and then, they show me the series of objects they have chosen. Every object comes with a story and that information already starts fuelling the intention or setting a “tone” for the painting. Once we put up the set where they will be sitting, everything happens organically, they take off their clothes and I start painting. When we are both sitting we stare at each other, there is a double spectator and a double “observed one”, I have a view of them, I observe, scrutinize and talk, while they also inspect the way I behave and execute their portrait. They cannot see what is in the other side of the canvas but they can perceive my movements and the whole maneuver which is not accessible by the viewer of the final work.

The fact that these persons are asked to take their clothes off is one of the variables that connects this whole series. The act of stripping off your clothes in front of somebody who is not your lover or a close relative or friend can be disrupting but when there is a non-judgmental and respectful atmosphere it can get to be comfortable and feel all right. This all started as an experiment. I was working on portraits before but people still kept their clothes on, after a while I felt that clothes held a layer untouched, they acted as a protective barrier which in a way defined their identity. Once that layer is off, one can be more vulnerable and open, this simple act is already setting a mood, an environment where feelings can be shared and where the body is embraced by exposing it, it is also about self acceptance and getting rid of taboos or prudish ideas. None of the people I portrayed are actual models which means that deciding to engage in this project is a rupture in their routine, for all of them a new experience and for me, certainly a very interesting and enriching practice, not only as an artist but as a human.

Another key variable is time, which plays a crucial role in the decisions I need to make once I start actually painting. Knowing that I do not have endless hours to work together with someone makes it a very intense process. Mentally, the awareness needs to be sharp, emotionally, it is necessary to remain empathic to the sitter’s feelings and needs, meanwhile it is important to stay open and communicative, all which comes down to a very enhanced experience. After doing one session together where I only focus on them, their body, presence and language; they leave, but the objects they brought stay in my studio for a few weeks. After the main presence is gone it remains represented by the objects and there, a new relation begins. Every week a new set stood at my studio as a constant reminder of work needing to be done, as flowers and fruits rot, my guest’s presence was still latent.

Which brings me to the third variable: objects. Each and every object is fully charged with meanings and emotions from which I can no longer detach, I embrace them as if they were my own. Partly that is where the beauty of this relationship lays, a feeling of empathy from both sides. Even when the person is no longer in the room their presence remains. While they are absent, objects stay containing a certain energy and memory, they came with a particular story which is then processed and translated through painting.

This double communication line ends up rendered into a canvas as the final evocative object, but I am not fully responsible for this. Any glimpse of life or animism that could end up in the final image is purely the product of a moment, a few hours spent with a person in which painting becomes the medium for a real social situation to take place. Somehow, it is giving an excuse to spend a day together, pretensions aside. I believe it is a chance to strip off many layers we are all carrying day by day and be truly honest with each other.

A portrait, even if it’s of somebody other than ourselves will likely resemble something about one’s persona or someone one might know, even if it is just a glimpse, in the end it is not about the names, or who is in it, it is about these things that we all share as humans, the look on someone’s face, the gestures, the communication, body language, the look in the eyes, that something which is difficult to put in words. It is about harmony and finding the right balance, first between portrayer and portrayed and second between the spectator and the object resulting of this encounter.

Thank you for your generosity, your trust and time Carlos, Alexandra, Karen, Ini, Angyvir, Esteban, Ellen, Juan Pablo, Ana María, Sam, Ivonne, Bas, Eva.
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(1) Her site: http://alejandrahernandez.com/
(1) http://alejandrahernandez.com/gallery/art-o-rama-marseille-solo-show-with-galleria-laveronica/