[Spanish version]
THE LABYRINTHS OF OLGA HUBARD
By Tanya Torres
The works by Olga Hubard that hang on the walls of Mixta Gallery until March 31st appear quiet, fragile and static as one walks by them without much attention. The soft colors hidden behind the encaustic hold the delicate lines that give this exhibition its name: Laberintos (Labyrinths). But as one takes the time to stand in front of the pieces and observe what goes on under the layers of wax that form each painting, the words of writer Nicholasa Mohr as she saw this exhibition become evident: this woman has something to say.
Olga Hubard has something to say about what she calls “seemingly opposed universes”. It is these universes, the world of science and the world of rituals and symbols, that wrap around us when we observe Hubard’s works in depth.
Some of the pieces present labyrinths formed by lines. They are, to an extent, playful works that invite us to search for the exit of roads that appear to lead nowhere. And this is perhaps what it is all about: not to go anywhere other than inside of oneself. Art often invites us to pay heed to those aspects of society or of our being that we normally ignore. When we attempt to travel through our interior self, human beings can be as complex as a labyrinth.
The pieces in which the labyrinths are not so obvious appear to draw imagery from basic unities of nature such as cells and atoms. Scientific knowledge has brought us closer to these units as a way of solving problems that we did not understand. At the same time, siempre2.html however, this knowledge has raised new questions: What is the role of science in our spiritual existence? Is there a spiritual existence? How can learning from n siempre2.html ature help us come closer to its perfection?
Like our predecessors, we sometimes cannot help interpreting what we do not understand on magical terms, perhaps due to our lack of knowledge. On the other hand, even when we are familiar with scientific principles, our emotions in the face of the perfection and coordination with which natural elements work together, sums up to much more than science can explain. This sensation is precisely like falling in a labyrinth and not reaching an exit or explanation without first experiencing the tortuous paths of life: the turns and the tunnels, the canals and bridges that together make our daily life.
Olga Hubard delicately reveals a strong message in her work. And even though art is open to interpretation, and each person finds a message that agrees with their personal reality, the elements contained in these pieces are charged with a universality that allows each viewer to take a fragment of the key that might very well help us all decipher the labyrinth of life.
