Blanca Estela Rodríguez

sonares.net | @blanca_es_rodriguez

Light & Space redefined: Blanca Estela Rodríguez recontextualizes her light-based sculptures in the new California landscape.

Blanca Estela Rodríguez Artist Statement:

The darkness we experienced in California in September 2020 due to the amount of smoke produced by the wildfires made us fear and be more aware than ever about our current moment. We lost human lives, homes, forests, as well as the possibility to breathe outdoors. This made us fear about a future where deforestation, haze, smoke and a disturbing orange-hued world could be the normality. The change of light, color and the presence of that haze in the sky will be always a reminder for us to do something and to become a medium of change. 

The connection I see between my work and the theme of The Red Wood is “light” and how we perceive it especially when thinking about its natural transitions and fusion of colors. The change of light and that orange-hued color we observed in the horizon changed our perception and understanding about our sublime reality. In my work I use light as material in conjunction with luminous acrylic glass to create metaphorical spaces that reductively explore the illusion of a stable reality. Shapes appear to bend as reflections confuse boundaries, and shadows complicate the core structures of each sculpture. The palette I use is colorful and almost artificial which plays with the vision and the perception of the viewer. Ultimately light operates as a universal element - its uniformity and consistency is creating a space for shared experience, regardless of viewers pre-existing, and varied perceptions.

Checklist:

1. Metric expansion, Acrylic glass, 23” x 17” x 3,5”, 2019, POR

2. Long Side, Acrylic glass, 8” x 8” x 2”, 2020, NFS

3. A Shape of Light, Acrylic glass, 12” x 9” x 3,5”, 2019, POR