Cecilia de Torres, Ltd.

Inés Bancalari - Paintings and Collages

“One winter morning while visiting Inés Bancalari, I was struck by a painting of great gravity, richness and complexity. At first, I thought Poliakoff? No, the texture was thicker and the colors darker. Then, Inés told me she had painted it. The austerity and refinement of her oils and collages, as well as the ease and fluency of her drawings, captured me. I wanted to know more about the creative process that produced such an original conjunction of geometry and lyricism.”
Cecilia de Torres, 2004

“It was a pleasant surprise for me, thanks to an art gallery owner with an eye for good painting, to come across Inés Bancalari’s beautiful paintings. Like spaces of meditation they attest to her aesthetic adventure -undertaken with rigor and wisdom- to her search for truth, her faith in the possibilities of painting and her total concentration in art itself.”
Juan Manuel Bonet, writer and art critic; former Director of the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid; and of the Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno (IVAM), Valencia, Spain.

“What effect does looking at Inés Bancalari’s work have on me? I would say something like a silent peace, a peace obtained at a high price, as the tragic side of life has not been lost on this artist. Her work is worth getting to know. It was created with obsessive patience and reveals itself slowly. Her paintings are free of nervous gestures in spite of the energy she pours into them. They develop gradually, sometimes taking years to complete.”
Rafael Squirru, art critic and poet; founding Director of the Buenos Aires Museum of Modern Art; former Director of Cultural Affairs, Organization of American States (OAS).

“Her collages bring to mind Kemble’s playful daring. When it comes to work, her energy appears to be limitless. The large color planes in her paintings are organized with geometric rigor, resulting in a balanced composition where a powerful range of reds co-exist in tense harmony with explosive greens; Bancalari’s expert hands keep these colors from disrupting the picture plane. She could well say, as did Miró, “I walk a tightrope because I can.”
Rafael Squirru, art critic and poet; founding Director of the Buenos Aires Museum of Modern Art; former Director of Cultural Affairs, Organization of American States (OAS).