TRANS FIGURATIONS #1

The title comes from the term transfiguration, whose traditional meaning refers to an event narrated in the Synoptic Gospels—according to Saint Matthew, Saint Mark, and Saint Luke—in which Jesus is transfigured and becomes radiant with light on a mountain. The word comes from the Latin transfigurationem (nominative transfiguratio), which means “change of form,” an action derived from the verb transfigurare: “to change the form of.”

Far from alluding directly to this Gospel passage, I take its poetic dimension as the starting point for the work. Transfiguration is understood here as a profound transformation: a change of form capable of revealing the true nature of that which is transformed. The prefix trans, understood as that which passes through and moves from one place to another, thus becomes a sign of our time, marked by constant processes of change.

In the work titled TRANS-FIGURATION, this idea unfolds poetically as a process of transformation and metamorphosis born from within. The paper forms appear fitted into a space that contains them; a void, a niche, is suggested. These forms fold, generating a fractal geometry, and from within the folds emanates a warm light, a metaphor for the spirit, like a luminous blossoming.

The work captures the instant when the folded forms begin to radiate a light that filters through the folds; even the shadows seem to emit a golden glow, as if the paper aspired to transform into something else. The piece thus represents a moment of personal introspection that culminates in a transformation arising from within.

LIGHT ON STILL
This work belongs to the Still Light series, the artist's most recent. In it, the oil paintings represent the culmination of his various artistic explorations through the interaction of space, light, and shadow. A key reference for this series is the still lifes of Sánchez Cotán, a 17th-century painter, in which objects are arranged in a kind of window frame or sill. These are compositions of great restraint that evoke a profound and spiritual way of representing reality.

Pérez's creative process begins with models constructed on paper, proposing a contemporary reinterpretation of the traditional still life genre. Instead of depicting found objects, the artist constructs his own model in order to capture a profound essence: a process of self-knowledge linked to a philosophical reflection on existentialism throughout different eras.
Geometry and light—two hallmarks of this new series—not only function as a pictorial structure and expression of an inherent order of the universe, but also act as symbols of a metaphorical and aesthetic process of self-construction for the artist, what he calls the "archetype of creation."

ON MAKING A PAINTING
For me, making a painting is a profound form of self-knowledge. It's like standing in front of a mirror where everything is revealed. Painting, as a form of representation, has the power to give us an honest reflection and to show what remains hidden in our psyche.

Info and more works by Javier León Pérez
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