In the first part of her essay about the work of the US-born Venezuelan artist Rafael Barrios, the curator María Luz Cárdenas identifies the aesthetic and philosophical parameters that influence the artist’s creative process. These include the ability to alter and transform states of perception, and his “spiritual” approach to geometry. The curator also points out where his “poetics” can be found in conceptual art, distinguished by his way of breaking down objects and his tendency to distance himself from conventional perceptual habits. In the second part of her essay, Cárdenas discusses how Barrios is influenced by “playing” and “playful connections” in his visual art. This influence is apparent when his works change direction and alter the perception and arrangement of objects to the point that they distort our sensory and mental vision. In the third part of the essay, the curator describes the artist’s work; instead of approaching it from a chronological perspective, she bases her review on “five basic fields of action,” in terms of his visual art or technique (“conceptual” works, installations, performances, sculptures, and public works).

This essay by the Venezuelan curator María Luz Cárdenas (b. 1952) is from the first monograph to be published on the work of the US-born Venezuelan artist Rafael Barrios (b. 1947). This essay—conceptually complex and imbued with a refined aesthetic—is the most far-reaching and thorough review of Barrios’ work ever undertaken. It is an essential text on Barrios and his work that, in addition to providing an exhaustive description of each of his creative periods, includes an in-depth analysis of his work. Cárdenas attempts to decipher semantic, aesthetic, and spiritual meanings in these works as she explores their philosophical and psychological influences. Her essay is also one of the few to have reviewed each one of the works produced during the periods referred to above. Cárdenas does not arrange her description of Barrios’ work chronologically since, in most cases, due to the difference between one of his works and another, some of the periods overlap. This explains why she organizes her essay according to what she refers to as “five basic fields of action”: (1.) Early Days. Conceptual works from the first period. Dislocation in habitat; (2.) Installations, environments, and theater sets; (3.) Performances; (4.) The Levitaciones series and sculptures that break with directional and gravitational tradition; (5.) Art incorporated into architecture, and works in public spaces. The only two periods that can be defined by specific dates are the first (works created from 1972 to 1978) and the fourth (1982 to 1983).

The first part of the essay is heavily influenced by what the critic Roberto Guevara had previously written about Barrios, and he is therefore quoted frequently. But Cárdenas, unlike Guevara, does not pigeonhole Barrios as a constructive artist (as he is usually defined); instead, she describes his work as “conceptual art.”