It is a school that appeals to innocence and intuition.
This artistic movement, based on spontaneity, attempts an illusion of freedom, a proposal for emancipation.
Naïve art is characterized by its bright colors, informal lines, and free interpretation, or even absence, of perspective.
My brother Rafael (RIP), with his wonderful black humor, regarding the paintings of this artists, used to say that “those who buy them are the naïve ones”.
This introduction is relevant because a few steps from my residence, an art gallery was installed, precisely Naïve Art.
Every weekend there is a different exhibition. I stop to see the collection every time I pass by, and the truth is that I am moved by the motifs, the color, and the lack of rules.
Every time I feel the need for a creative or caloric bite, I go to this gallery and, along with something to eat, a beer or a glass of wine, I rejoice in the interpretation of the intense visions of my favorite artists.
That colorful, simple and at the same time so complex truth, typical of childhood.
On the left side of the gallery doors, you can see its name: Whirlpool.
Yes, you guessed, my private gallery, where I look out every time I want to feed body and spirit, is the refrigerator in my kitchen, where my grandchildren leave me their drawings, held by magnets, when they visit me on the weekends.
In conclusion, this time I am going to disagree with my brilliant (and sarcastic) brother, because the talent and wonderful naivety expressed in the works of my seven and five-year-old grandchildren is priceless.
Not for nothing, Pablo Picasso well said that: “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to continue being an artist once we grow up.”
Leonor Henríquez (Caracas, Venezuela) Civil Engineer by training (UCAB 1985), writer and apprentice poet by vocation. From her time in engineering emerged her Office Stories (1997), another way of seeing the corporate world. Her latest publications include reflections on grief, Hopecrumbs (2020) (www.hopecrumbs.com) and “The Adventures of Chispita” (2021) (www.chispita.ca) an allegory of life inside Mom’s belly.
Today she shares her “impulsive meditations” from Calgary, Canada, where she lives.
leonorcanada@gmail.com