Fernanda Caballero: The Way the Wind Blows

FERNANDA CABALLERO

THE WAY THE WIND BLOWS

NOVEMBER 17, 2023 - JANUARY 6, 2024

Barbara Davis Gallery is pleased to present “The Way the Wind Blows”, a solo exhibition by Fernanda Caballero.

Fernanda Caballero’s movement is confident and soft, her life-sized canvases soaking in every quick brush. Full-body gestures mix with sensitive details to form the fluid and thoughtful compositions. Using her body and a variety of brushes, she leaves her heart bare for everyone to see.

There is a complex depth to Caballero’s work; a glowing color field base meets rich almost-black blue and red with a muted but shining green and periwinkle bursting out like the wind itself is painting in strong gusts and gentle breezes. Sharply pigmented splashes adorn soft and melting clouds of color, creating a hypnotizing dance between loud action and tender consideration. Caballero’s intuition shines in The Way the Wind Blows, her most profound collection yet.

Being so inspired by intuition, Caballero seeks to throw away any “preconceived ideas” and encourages the viewer to do the same. Her work may be specific to her, or it may be a broad amalgamation of feeling, but to the viewer, it is a rich pool to stare into and fish out your own feeling your own curiosity and sensitivity. There are “endless possibilities within,” and the only way to discover them is by being absolutely present with yourself, with the work, and with the space around you.

Walking through this exhibition, the viewer can find an abundance of emotion in each work presented by Caballero. Fueled by her personal journey that follows, each brushstroke is infused with pure soul. With very deliberate vulnerability, Caballero lets go of the nagging control and urge to over-analyze every feeling and thought; in her words, she “searche[s] for the moment [she] inhabit[s], and everything else comes out of that.” The idea is letting the body and the material have a natural interaction, balancing instinct and “the endless search for an honest relationship with the present moment.” It is a meditative practice that comes to fruition boldly and passionately in each canvas.

It is a risk to be so open and to leave your art up to the decisions of your inner self, but Caballero welcomes this risk with open arms, in love with the reward it brings. The Way the Wind Blows is a call to action to do the same–get lost in the work, and, most importantly, get lost in yourself and the beautiful, wild, and sincere instinct you possess deep within.