In the paintings of Tery Fuentes, several aspects converge that form the basis of her visual discourse. On one hand, there is a perceptible chromatic gesture that energizes the entire format, thanks to an agile brushstroke that expands through contrasting, diluted, or degraded stains. The treatment she gives to color creates suggestive atmospheres, free from limiting horizons that would confine or trap the viewer's gaze. This is why her compositions convey a dreamlike quality, with shades seeming to extend beyond the edges of the canvas: yellow stripes, broken ochres, sepias, interspersed browns, and whitish blues complement the palette of this artist, who, in some cases, explores monochromatic tones as a way of focusing the viewer's attention on the sketched drawing.

 

On the other hand, Fuentes explores the elements of visual expression, interspersing materials that enhance the fictitious character of her canvases. Oils, acrylics, sand, stencils, newspapers, and cardboard are some of the materials she uses to support her language, which is closely related to both collage techniques and mixed media. Within this pictorial craftsmanship, we can detect a theme that deviates from traditional models of representation. Fuentes' narrative is fragmented—and if you will, materialized in segments—some of which are connected while others are not. She achieves a harmonious relationship between image and technique, figure and background, in a flow that simulates the passage of time outside of chronological order. Each piece can be seen as a mosaic from a vast framework, where memories, longings, and even traumas, shocks, experiences, or impressions, whether personal or collective, nestle in the unconscious. Seen from a distance, these pieces appear to form a kind of puzzle, made up of characters, objects, and actions that might seem inconsequential or even banal, as her stories are far from the grandiloquent rhetoric characteristic of moralizing, or instructive art.

 

Fuentes focuses on the fleeting nature of the present moment—the one that escapes consciousness—implicit in the repertoire of humble items, utensils, and objects with which she constructs a metaphor for the everyday. These objects also symbolize humanity, the final purpose of her creations, forming a sort of contemporary "Vanitas" that alludes to the ephemeral nature of life. Her images reflect the daily actions of existence. Her iconography revels in highlighting items like shoes, footprints, hooks for hanging clothes, motorcycles, bicycles, portraits, or unfinished nudes, among other subjects—all imbued with a feminine filter that she intentionally introduces, either through details or the dispersion and graffiti of lines that invade the entire canvas.

​

​

Gladys Yunes Yunes