Visual Strolls
seasonal residency
Visual Strolls is a residency space for artists who share an affinity for landscapes and wilderness, inner and outer. Foresta is changing with every season as the real forest does. In cyclical circularity it celebrates changing seasons of nature and of our lives. As snow melts away, as days grow longer, as leaves change colour, as they fly with the wind, as stillness settles in, as warmth returns, as birds cross continents — at the turn of each seasonal moment we invite a different artist to bring a new time of the year by creating a portrait of time that later becomes part of the permanent Museum of Seasons.
Winter mini-seasons
In winter ‘Visual Strolls’ at Foresta becomes a space alive with diverse encounters. In the spirit of the entangled pluriversal visions, we invite artists to share seasonal moments they observe and experience across geographies. We are also inspired by the Japanese culture where the understanding of seasons stretches beyond the four times of the year with varying temperature and length of daylight: there are 72 micro-seasons, 72 kō, 72 poetic moments of the year closely observed as things change in the living world around. This winter at Foresta 2 artists from different parts of the globe are sharing their visions of the season.
Winter 2022 Artist in Residence
Andrea Peregrín
Andrea would describe herself as someone who is looking for something and doesn’t know exactly what it is yet. She also draws in the meantime. What moves her is the beauty of simple things, the slow-cooked processes, the crafts, the joy of living -being aware of the position of privilege that this entails -, the care, and who provides it. She’s interested in reconnection with nature, in understanding emotions and human relationships, in the interactive artwork and in the creative process as an engine of change. Even though she never looked for a fixed style you can see certain patterns in her work as the use of colour, imperfect finishes and playful compositions. She wishes she could draw as a kid does, always experimenting.
Autumn/Winter 2022 Portrait: Transitions
“Los bosques son lugares para dialogar con uno mismo. Uno no sale del bosque
igual que entra, hay un proceso de limpieza. El bosque curte y fortalece física y mentalmente.
- Hasier Larretxea
Y añadiría que también espiritualmente. El bosque desacelera los ritmos,
despierta nuestros sentidos, trae agua, brisa y alegría. Para mí, el bosque es la
afirmación de que aunque no todos somos lo mismo, todos somos uno.
Árboles que nos sobrevivirán, arbustos, seres vivos que nadan, vuelan, raptan o
caminan -como nosotras-, minerales, hongos, microorganismos. Todo tiene su
lugar en el ciclo.
Yo con el bosque tengo una relación especial porque nací prácticamente en el
desierto, al sur de España. En Almería, el bosque queda lejos y la playa cerca,
así que no descubrí este paisaje verde hasta pasados los veinte. Lo bonito es
que llegué a ellos a través de amigas y amigos, igual por eso me sentí tan
bienvenida. Pero me quedé, y ahora busco el bosque cada vez que la ciudad
deja de ser amable.
Allí agradecer sale solo y una se siente en deuda. El bosque -todo en la
naturaleza- es sinónimo de vida. Lo menos que podemos hacer por nuestros
bosques es conocerlos, aprender sobre y también de ellos, amarlos por su
belleza y utilidad, respetarlos y también -por qué no- enviarles una carta de
amor.
Igual así reencontramos nuestro lugar en la Tierra.”
“Forests are places for dialogue with oneself. You don’t leave the forest the
same way you enter it, there is a cleaning process. The forest is physically and
mentally strengthening and invigorating.
- Hasier Larretxea
And I would say, it’s also true spiritually. The forest slows down the rhythms, awakes our senses, and brings water, breeze, and joy. For me, it’s the affirmation that although we are not all the same, we are all one; Trees that will survive us, bushes, living beings that swim, fly, crawl or walk -like humans-, minerals, fungi, microorganisms. Everything has its place in the cycle.
I have a special relationship with the forest because I grew up practically in the desert, in the south of Spain. In Almeria, the forest is far away and the beach is near, so I didn’t discover this green landscape until I was in my twenties. The nice thing is that I came to it through friends, maybe that’s why I felt so
welcome. But I stayed, and now I seek out the forest whenever the city is no longer friendly.
There, gratitude comes out alone and one feels indebted. The forest - everything in nature - is synonymous with life. The least we can do for our forests is to get to know them, to learn about them and also from them, to love them for their beauty and usefulness, to respect them and also - why not - to send them a love letter.
Maybe in this way we will find our place on Earth again.”
About Visual Strolls
Visual Strolls is not only an online gallery, an exhibition room, a portrait into the work of the invited artist. It is also a part of our long-term research, understanding arts and creativity as forces that change human states of attention in manifold ways, as forms of cognition and perception, divergent perspectives and poetry of vision, access to intuition and imagination, and empowerment for conscious creation of culture. You can read more about Art into Life research here.
Cover image: Andrea Peregrín