Canción de Invierno

This work is a composition of 20 pieces that meditates on displacement and shifting landscapes, tracing the transition from warm to cold, summer to winter. In the early 1990s, after graduating from Montclair State University and relocating my studio to Montclair, I began a series of works exploring the nature and physicality of ideas, materials, and the act of painting itself. Working outside the constraints of academia granted me a great deal of freedom, allowing me to begin creating my own personal mythology.

Canción de invierno bears the title of a song by Cuban composer Silvio Rodríguez. After moving from Puerto Rico in the late 1980s, music became a sanctuary that kept me connected to my culture and heritage. However, Rodríguez’s music became more than just a refuge; his lyrics and poetry offered profound lessons in art, romance, and creative expression. While living away from my homeland, La Isla, his work kept me focused and inspired, teaching me how to channel nostalgia and melancholy into art.

During this period, I developed a habit of photographically documenting my work-in-progress and its relationship to the workspace—treating the studio as a metaphor for the artistic process. Because mixed media and collage were the techniques where my thoughts naturally found form, integrating these photographs into my process felt like an organic evolution.

These pieces are not intended to directly represent or illustrate the song or poem. Instead, my approach is abstract, aiming to evoke the isolating, alchemical qualities of the creative journey.

José Camacho