Roxana Werner
Biography
Throughout the past thirty years, I have participated in collective and individual shows in both Chile and abroad. An especially meaningful one was "El Porqué de Valparaíso" held at UNESCO in Paris, France and the Florence Biennale 2019.
Experiencing in situ the geographical and ethnographic spaces is vital to connect emotionally and intellectually with the painting. I am always vigilant, watching and learning from human behavior, interrelationships, humans’ habitat and all that it implies regarding religion, politics, geographical areas, culture, history and more. These aspects form the backbone of my painting.
My work consists of four major projects developed throughout my career:” “The reason of Valparaíso”, "Traces of time", "From Saltpeter to Iquique" and “Experiences beyond and close the Frontier”.
Artist Statement
My work arises from the connection of a thought, an emotion, an object and experiences. This is how my motivation for each paint is borned. It is about that first moment that drives you to the creative process. My artwork is sustained on “committed evidence”, not something hidden. Neither the darkness nor the light of reality.
What first prompted you to think of becoming an artist?
I studied textile design and majored in Javanés Art, Batik - it basically consists in resist dyeing. I made several themed tapestries in which patterns were dominant along with the use of colour, these were applied through the resist of themselves. With time the batik technique started limiting my creative field. This is the reason why I decided to go to college to study visual arts, complementing in this way my knowledge with different workshops imparted by renamed teachers. Oil painting and the mixed techniques were constituted as my form of expression.
What kind of an artist do you ultimately see yourself?
There are many variants to define the type of artist I consider myself. The technique is one of them. My first years I focused on academic technique, this because I consider the handling of drawing and color to be fundamental, they are the solid foundation to dive into the search of future forms of expression. In the work process the need to find our own language begins. I dabbled into magical realism bringing together mixed techniques which gave a particular style to my art work.
What are you hoping to communicate to the viewer through your work?
I am an artist that is committed, I don’t hide either the dark or the light of reality - always conscious that everything is relative and that my input even if being subjective it responds to my reality. Humanism as a philosophical thought is present in my work as the foundation of my creation and rationale. Thereon I am inspired by the man’s evolution inserted in his historic cycles, respective societies, religious, cultural, social and political manifestations. As an example, I mention one of my artworks, which illustrates the injustice exercised by the powerful upon the more deprived, situation that was suffered by the Chilean saltpeter mine workers during the XX century. This inspired me to make a series of 32 artworks in which I show and communicate this dramatic situation that talks about the human condition, under a humanistic and not political point of view.
Can you explain the process of creating your work?
When I feel that there is nothing else to communicate inside the cycle in which I am developing a determined project, I finalise the series of artwork that constitute the cycle. But if there is something that persists, it takes part and is connected to the new process I begin. It is not about a graphic or concrete sign, it is more like a subliminal aspect that flows through my art work, connecting it without letting it fracture among the different stages of my creation. The motivation and inspiration related to my work and its election arise from a concept, an idea that is born in my mind in relation to a determined topic. This idea belongs to a tangible reality, which I need to experience in situ. This experience needs to move, catch, and inspire me so I can start my creative process which is also carried with research work. To discover, experience, live, inspire and research and the main factors to start my creative process inside the workshop.
What is your favourite part of the creative process?
The enchantment.
Can you give us an insight into current projects and inspiration, or what we can look forward to from you in the near future?
My current project: “Vivencias de Acá y más Allá de la Frontera” (Experiences from here and beyond the Frontier) is born after my travelling with the interest of getting to know and experience in situ dissimilar idiosyncrasies like for example, India, Morocco, Southeast Asia and Chile, my country, among others. The religious rituals, how they are manifested, their ways and background, depend on the country, its geographical place, cultural, historical, ethical and social background. These situations inspired me to start my current project. The essence of the multiple rituals I witnessed despite the different beliefs each one contains, are based on faith and devotion. This essence, faith and devotion are the common ground among all the communities on the planet that are immersed in their beliefs and rituals, independently of how antagonistic they look to us when it comes to their formal aspects.
Website: www.roxanawerner.cl
Instagram: www.instagram.com/roxana.werner/
