Suspended space
A journey into ‘suspended space’ by Arturo Berned
What is the creative process for an artist? What leads them to choose one route over another one?
We have journeyed into the creative universe of the sculptor Arturo Berned while he was giving shape and meaning to a new collection of sculptures. He has given them the title of ´Suspended Space`. The artist explains his work with a series of sketches on card. The search, the discoveries and the discarded ideas. It is all a game of additions and subtractions. Where less is more. Less material, less volume; more presence of the piece. The images show small sculptures in card scarred with marks and signs. Encounters between different planes united by a fragile zeal, marked with traces of graphite or arrows which point to the edges. They are indications which will later serve as guidelines. Or not. Because this is an open process of creation. It may be the right way or it may be one which is discarded. Of course – it will be the piece itself which has the final decision. What is required is endless hours in the workshop.
The video reveals the evolution process of the work. Some sketches are begun and then later are abandoned to wait for better luck. This is the routine of all great artists. Starting, continuing, turning back; tearing up. The camera shows the initial stages of the works and their development. But when is a piece finished? When is it complete? It´s possible that there are no more complex questions nor a more difficult reply for an artist. There is only one possible reply: listen to the work.
This is what we discover when entering the intimacy of the sculpture workshop. The exact moment of the thought. The video shows it with images and words. Arturo Berned in the work space where he spends – in silence – a good part of his life. Because only those creators who are able to spend endless hours in the studio are the ones who, rather than seeking – as Picasso would have it – discover.
This is the route which Arturo Berned has followed for so long. A search which – for the moment – has led him to suspend time. But this is only the beginning.
