FINDING OUR WAY HOME
June 17, 2025
I have always been attracted to human beings and their search for home.
What do they think of when hearing the word? What does it mean to them?
Some think of a place, a dwelling, a city.
Others in a person, a moment, or even in the body itself.
Over the years, I have seen how this word has an individual meaning, one that fits into the perception of cultural and social filters.
This is not a new quest; throughout history, we have witnessed the importance of this concept in a person's life. Abraham Maslow, a pioneer of humanistic psychology, clearly states it in his well-known pyramid as an indispensable component of the basic needs for the development of the self.
Last Thursday was the opening of the exhibition "HOME" by artist Natalia Cárdenas De Bedout in New York.
From the moment I met Natalia, I had a deep connection with her art, because within my own search, this concept of home that has mutated into so many definitions, places, and purposes; the only constant is the fact of being a refuge.
Her art reminds me of this, and every time I see it, I travel back to my own definition of home.
Through different colors and geometric shapes that express the idea of what we know as the archetype of a house, Natalia takes you on an introspective journey to connect with your places, your people, your smells, and tastes.
It makes you question the feeling that, without any warning, transforms as you go through life's journey. Remembering that home is that which mutates between experiences, migrations, people, and moments.
A process that opens space to vulnerability and to that constant search for belonging, the one where you wonder if you are in a safe place or the right one.
Every time I see the fine lines she draws at the bottom of her pieces, those that look like they are forming a subtle grid, give me the feeling of a plane always being available to create.
A grid that begins but has no end. Reminding us also that our own definition of home is a process in constant creation.
Home: Day 1384, 2025
Natalia Cardenas De Bedout.
That’s the real beauty of art, right? The fact that everyone feels differently means everyone can have a different and valid opinion.
But with Natalia's art, something particular happens. There is a common feeling shared by all who contemplate her paintings: that a home, more than something external, is what dwells within us.
At the end of the day, these houses we see are nothing more than a reflection of ourselves, a result of who we are, what surrounds us, our decisions, and our own concept of belonging. Everyone can witness her works and travel to the most intimate place, the one where one allows oneself to be vulnerable, to take refuge.
Natalia,
you are home.
Thank you for always inviting me to see mine.
You can visit the exhibit at the magical space of At One Hundred, which, by wonderful coincidence, is home to an architectural firm.
To see more of her work, visit this link: @amor.amarillo
