"In these works of art I have created a repertoire of symbolic expressions evoking harmony, serenity and passion. They are a blend of traditional techniques of calligraphy, inspired by both Japanese and Chinese cultures and by my own experiences. In this exhibition I am reflecting on the contrasts of life: the good and the bad, the human and the divine, the freedom and restrictions, the ordinary and the individual, as well as the masculinity and femininity" By Claudia Bardasano



CLAUDIA BARDASANO: SPIRITUAL CALLIGRAPHIES

Claudia Bardasano’s works of art are windows to the Infinite Cosmos. They represent abstract calligraphies; loose gestures of energetic outlines of her hand, which express the movement of the Spirit. Her pictorial proposal points out transcendental concepts towards the Nothing, in the sense that it was defined in the Zen philosophy. The Nothing is the invisible and inexplicable fullness of the Being, where everything lays. The Nothing is the Essence of all things. As a Zen proverb says: “To bear the Nothing within the heart is equivalent to carrying everything.”

In these art works there is a visual poetic design through curves, contours, and outlines that have been accomplished without excess. They are sober, simple and minimal. Bardasano’s paintings are devoid of narration and figures. The circumvent reality has been replaced purely by a non-objective world. Her work shows rhythm and balance; the sketches and colors freely expand over the empty space.

Spontaneous strokes and whimsical traces, in the tradition of Japanese and Chinese calligraphy, dominate the canvas. They are a product of Bardasano’s rich imagination. Strokes and space interrelate in harmonious visual accord, resembling a visual ‘haiku’ poem in their simple purity of lines and colors.

Claudia Bardasano creates every piece in a state of internal unity, and in an attitude of bestowal to the Spirit. It is a meditative state, far from rational intellectualism and academic obligations, allowing her inner emotions to smoothly flow into her gesture over the canvas so that these subtle emotions impress its mystical marks over the surface. Through the free flow of her energy, and without interfering with the creative process, she leaves uncovered cosmic instants of the inner Being. This is a ceremonial process of creation that transforms itself in a spiritual exercise revealing the invisible structures of the Cosmos, as it happens in the ‘Tea’ ceremony and its profound interpretations.

These works of art are cosmic mirrors of the Self in the same tradition as those of Robert Motherwell, Sam Francis, Brice Marden or Mark Tobey, who utilized the Zen calligraphy to approach their works. Bardasano opens a new chapter in this tradition.

The artist emphasizes the ‘dripping’, splashes, random drops and loose lines that are painted according to the cosmic ‘accident’ of the stroke; they become unrepeatable and unique. It is what Hasegawa used to call the ‘controlled accident’ or the disciplined spontaneity.

In her work she uses few colors: red as fundamental vitality of life; black, symbolizing the darkness in every phenomenon; and white in the canvas’ background as the misty purity of the Universe.

The piece ‘Destiny’, featured on the cover, shows two vertical lines symbolically interconnecting heaven and earth and representing the couple, the lovers or the duality of all things. They briefly unite themselves in the middle alluding to the unity of all opposites. In the series ‘Thoughts I’ and ‘Thoughts II’ an iron frame prevails over the canvas, symbolizing human restrictions or social repression. In ‘Thoughts I’ the color red overflows outside the frame referring to the freedom of being beyond repression. In ‘Thoughts II’ drops in different sizes and shapes remain inside the cast.

Claudia Bardasano’s works of art provide ontological spaces where the viewer may mirror himself…..

Milagros Bello, Ph.D.
Miami-based art critic.