Hulda Guzmán is known for her paintings that carefully examine the spaces of our world, both interior and exterior. She explores the narrative possibilities and difficulties of these spaces. As she says, “I am interested in achieving what I consider a challenge for the medium of painting: to recount an event in a bi-dimensional space that lacks the help of narrative discourses like the ones in cinema. This makes me want to translate the concepts of temporality and storytelling to the painted image.”
So, when Guzmán depicts the mountains and water of her Navegando frente al hermitaño, there are unexpected spatial discrepancies. The painting is vertically divided into three sections, with the two outer sections depicting her landscape as if seen at a distance, and the middle section showing a much closer vantage point. Thus, Guzmán suggests an element of time—even narrative—in what could otherwise be a rather static painting. There is the suggestion of movement, of having seen this landscape from some other location at some other time. Guzmán’s juxtaposition of distinct hypothetical moments results in a brilliantly complex simplicity.
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