« You do not see anyone on this mountain.
Only voices are heard, far away.
The setting light between the branches.
The moss brings it back, green.»
Wang Wei (王维, 699-761 AD)[1]

The voice of silence invades Beatriz de la Rúa’s works. The calm produced by the contemplation of nature releases colours and graphisms from the deepest of one’s being. That which is most intimate in contact with the most extreme. Thus are born the forests that vigorously grow in the paintings, where they subtly represent the deepest. Each of the works is a gaze, a twist, a wink that involves us as beholders, and in a fleeting instant, we feel part of it.

Silence does not have an imposed order and it gives way to whatever may happen. It is the possibility of listening to that which is subtle, which would go unnoticed if we let ourselves be invaded by noise. Beatriz invites us to silence, she shows us that the possibility of everything lies there, even -and perhaps the most importantly: listening to ourselves. Listening with eyes, gazing while listening. The work speaks. Beatriz paints and draws, glues and builds in calm. Everything can be in the void. The initial silence of the blank canvas breaks down with the sudden appearance of textures and ink strokes that spring with creative energy. The onlooker’s moment arrives: a committed artist knows that the works only belong to the eye of the beholder, who will find in them a message that will nourish their own history.

The forests create a climate, a string of landscapes and time. Going through these works is to feel, to be encouraged to look, to escape from the noise, while finding oneself in the exercise of being a beholder / actor. Walking across the landscapes is to go inwards while revealing our layers one by one, acknowledging ourselves in depth. Thus we discover that we are full of colours, sprouts, roots, feeling that a light of life shines over our path. Cheerful and fulfilled by the inward walk, we embrace the calm that invades us today. This is called calm, I enjoy it, I respect it and I do not want to let go… artist and beholder glimpse the truth in calm. Beatriz is a bowl of calm water from which strong brushstrokes sprout with an assured imprint. And thus we find ourselves being one in the work: artist and beholder in subtle silence.

[1] N.B. From Octavio Paz’s translation into Spanish.