Experiences, including travel, often have such a profound impact that they inspire artistic expression and the need to capture the experience in paintings, sketches, and drawings that convey everything that has been lived.
My tour of the city's art galleries took me back to the Chamber of Commerce, where I went without any expectations, but the art exhibition exceeded everything I could have thought or imagined. As is customary in this place, the art exhibition was very extensive.
It is an exhibition about the experiences of the artist and painting graduate Irene López de Castro on a trip to Mali in 1989 that changed her life in every way. I always like it when, in addition to the usual guides, the different galleries have a space where they provide written information about the art exhibition and the artist in question.
In this case, the artist is international, having exhibited in many parts of the world. In addition, in 2022 she published her autobiographical book, in which this trip occupies a privileged place, entitled Memorias del río Níger, el sueño de Tombuctú (Memories of the Niger River, the Dream of Timbuktu).
This is also the name of the exhibition, and it is clear that this trip left a lasting impression on her at the age of only 21 and inspired her to create all this wonderful art. It is through this exhibition and the large number of works of art that she wants to capture and showcase African beauty.
Her paintings have been exhibited in other parts of the world, I believe with the aim of creating a link between cultures or making African culture known.
In the writings that appeared in the exhibition, she also talks about the bridge that architecture has created in the country through the architect Es Saheli, especially in Granada, and she talks about the relationship between cultures through the architecture of the 14th and 16th centuries.
The artist draws on her memories of that life-changing trip to create each and every one of these wonderful works. Today, only memories remain, as the area is too dangerous to visit, but through these paintings we can get an idea of the spaces, the landscapes, the culture, and above all, the people who live there.
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Irene kept travel journals where she took notes, but she also made drawings and sketches, some in color, all of which could be seen in a large, well-organized display case with every detail.
I thought I saw watercolor drawings, and there were also some drawings made on wood. She paid a lot of attention to the human body, especially the faces of women and men, and I think her excellence in that regard is indisputable.
I looked at each painting, each face, and how the artist had managed to capture expressions in the gestures of women, above all, and capture them on canvas and wood panels. Each one I looked at seemed wonderful to me, especially the series I am showing you of five vertical paintings where you can see five women of different ages and it seems that their faces are alive and will come out of the panels at any moment.
The different works depict situations from everyday life, work, homes, mothers with their children, but also men. I want to highlight not only the painting of the faces, which, as I said, is excellent, but also the clothing, the fabrics, the folds, that sense of realism achieved through the skillful use of light and shadow.
On the other hand, one of the things I liked the most and caught my attention are the tones chosen by the artist for almost all the paintings, the sepia and earth tones, the sienna and browns alluding to that area of Africa. This gives a very particular style, not only to the paintings themselves, but to the exhibition as a whole.
I also really liked the works related to fishing, for example, or those featuring boats and barges. In fact, I think that each and every one of the works had something charming and unusual about them, even though some of the paintings may seem realistic or traditional. I believe that by putting her soul into each of them, the artist has given them a very particular and beautiful imprint, a warmth of memory and good experiences.
Irene sees this art as a tool for peace and a language of her soul, and that is the most beautiful thing about this great and wonderful exhibition.
Thank you very much for joining me today. I wish you all a very happy Sunday. See you soon.
Amonet.
All photographs are my own.
