artnexus #68

The name of Magdalena Fernández (Caracas, 1964) appeared initially in connection with the strong tradition of geometric abstraction, and in the case of Venezuela with seminal works such as those by Jesús Rafael Soto, Alejandro Otero, and Gego, highly significant in the context of the geometric abstraction movement. Fernández’s work, however, turns geometry into a field of experimentation where she is able to create spaces in which the subjective and the organic are inescapable conceptual referents. The relationship between work of art, environment, and viewer becomes a significant dialog with empty space, with her body, with light. From her 1998 videos, through works like Vasos comunicantes II. Superficies (2006,) where she offers a suggestive square-shaped tribute, to more recent works like the one at the Arco Fair (2008,) it is evident that Fernández’s proposals cannot be solely associated with the rigid codes of modern geometric abstraction. The subjective, elements from nature, animal sounds, the movement of water, all are appropriated for her interventions into space and its relationship with the natural world. Her proposal for the Biennial of the End of the World (2007) showed her understanding of the event’s driving issue: What are those other possible worlds that can be imagined from the standpoint of art, in the face of phenomena such as global warming or environmental problems? In her installation li007, thousands of suspended fiber optic cables and the shining of small lights generated a highly poetic relationship with the surrounding space; confronted with the “ecological urgencies” of the conceptual node in which her work was included, Fernández proposed the opening of new possibilities in the exploration of the art/nature relationship. For Magdalena Fernández, the elements of light, color, and movement are what make it possible for us to rethink our relationship with space, space where sensuality and intuition have an essential role to play. 
IVONNE PINI