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ORIGINS:
Celia Gradín Montero was born in Puente Caldelas, Pontevedra in 1963.
Young and multi-faceted, she is an artist difficult to classify by
traditional academic means. In her own words she is a "practicing
Galician" and this is the only category to which she is willing to
be assigned. With broad and varied training, after obtaining her degree
in chemistry from the Universidad de Santiago in 1987, she traveled
to various European cities and undertook studies in graphic design.
Her work has been realized in La Coruña, Barcelona, London and Montreal,
showcasing media such as mosaics, painting, and the audiovisual, as
well as the creation of diverse objetive works such as mobiles, lamps
and "boxes of light". From a formal point of view, her creations,
production and selection of media are all caracterized by an interest
in luminous effects, reflections of light and transparence, the likes
of which can be seen in her use of glass mirrors, and sparkling stones.
By the same token, always present in her work is a certain attraction
for the synthesized magic in a way of experience. Eyes, lips, labyrinths,
and crosses are the artist's favorite symbolic iconography under which
are unified sentiment, mystery, and trivia in a sole milieu. In her
pictorial works lies her scientific background. Accustomed to observing
organic forms, in her compositions Organic Labyrinth I (1990) and
Organic Labyrinth II (1991-96) she brings forth visual experiments
whith hybrid orbitals that are highlighted by their chromatic exhaltation
and labyrinthine framework . A oneness and that which preceeds organic
material is very present in these works and evokes a certain air of
"meiga"* in her personality. In her mosaics, she demonstrates more
playfulness than mysticism. Her capacity for inventiveness manifests
itself in the recreation of themes generally considered traditional
in these. In this way the mosaic Flowers from My Garden (1995) exudes
freshness, intransience, and originality in the treatement of the
still life. Rolls of film, colored cables, and a brick with the printed
Quebecois floral motif are some of the most bekoning elements. In
other instances she uses sand, seashells, bits of mirror, and stuck
objects in assemblage; in her work there is always this combination
and accumulation of materials of diverse origin. In contrast to the
above, the mosaics that form the series Hearts set themselves apart.
In Heart of Time (1996) is found her interest in the feeling for "the
shape of things to come". The combination of the pieces of old watch
whith the tesseras in a chromatic range of pastels and neutral tones
are its most important formal qualities. Similar themes are repeated
in the mosaic Classic Labyrinth of Seven Paths (1995), governed by
a crucifix, symbol of sacrifice. Her interest in the fine arts has
driven her to the introduction of art in everyday life as well. In
this way, she has produced decorative pieces including her "boxes
of light" and floating objects. The former are glass boxes in lamp
effect and the latter a series of "homage mobiles", as she herself
likes to call them. Homage to Kieslowski (1996) wishes to render tribute
to the Polish director of the trilogy Three Colors: Blue, White and
Red; it is a mobile consisting of fourteen hanging glass pieces that
remind one of Miró-esque forms
. *Meiga: In Galician
lore, a sorceress that is dedicated to good practices of magic, e.g.
mitigate relations between mortals and good spirits that may unwhittingly
cause harm to them, etc. (Tanslator`s note)
Text: Marisa Herrero, Graduated from Filosophy of the Culture and
Graduated from History of Art.
Translation: Jason Cooper.
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