Silent Steps brings together some of the most outstanding works of the extensive series of paintings that Tery Fuentes has dedicated to the theme of steps. Since the beginning of her career, the artist has recurrently depicted shoes, feet and footprints, inviting the viewers to be carried away by the meanings and reflections that these everyday forms, turned into symbols by their prominence and reiteration, awaken in their minds. Fuentes not only portrays these elements, but also uses them as vehicles to talk about the passage of life, the flow of time, and the traces we leave behind.  

Tery Fuentes' style, with neo-expressionist roots, is characterized by gestural strokes and an abundance of textures. The artist is not satisfied with the conventional use of pigments; she creates a kind of visual “terrain” through impasto and superimposition of layers of paint, sand, and collages of cardboard and newsprint. This approach not only enriches her pieces in tactile and expressive ways, but also underscores the relationships her work has with the layering of memory and the passing of life. The colors are equally significant: the palette of yellows and ochers evokes the soil, reinforcing the idea of that primordial, fundamental step of humankind in nature. 

For the artist, this vital journey also implies a reflection on femininity and the experience of being a woman, mother, and head of a family, which is constantly expressed in her work. In pieces such as Family, Fuentes represents the members of her home through their shoes, a symbolic act that emphasizes the crucial role of women in the home and in the journey of life.

The works in this exhibit are closely linked to the artist's life, marked by constant changes and migrations. Having lived in several countries, Fuentes has directly experienced what Antonio Machado expressed in his famous poem: there is no predefined path to follow; the path is created with each step taken, and the footprints are evidence of the passage through life. Footprints and shoes, therefore, become metaphors for the relentless walking of all who are alive, and for the physical, mental and energetic marks that we all leave behind as we exist and travel the world. In this way, the artist transforms each footprint and each step into a personal and universal story, a reflection on the place we inhabit, belonging, and the multiple identities that are formed and transformed over time.

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Katherine Chacón