“I’m not painting an indigenous person when I’m painting those faces, I’m painting a Latin American that allows oneself to be identified as any part of themself that he or she desires. In short, we are what we are – we are our expressions”.

The passion for recovering the indigenous heritage of Venezuela is the leitmotif of Belkis Granada León. Since her days at Universidad de Los Andes, Belkis studied the ancestral roots of Latin America through her art. She researched different ethnic groups in the Southeast region of Venezuela – Guahibos, Piaroas, Yekuanas, Arawacos, Guaraos – delving into the legacy that remains a vital part of the country’s idiosyncrasy. Belkis Granada directs her gaze towards the threshold of cultural fragility, of union between the indigenous and the acquired. Added to her particular interpretation as an artist, her style expresses through naïve art and magic realism. Symbols of the language of these communities, in addition to Catholic iconographies, creates a work of syncretic content.

She uses acrylic paint and draws strong lines with pencil and crayon to achieve volume. In some of her work the compositions are strict with crude expressions which remind us of social realism, as for the impression of a melancholic and romantic appearance. In other pieces, wildlife that are considered sacred – such as birds, roosters, jaguars, lizards – are depicted to capture the exotic nature of the rainforest. In her work of fauna, the represented animals resemble fables – lavishly decorated, intense color, and a variety of lines drawn from unusual perspectives. The way Belkis stamps the points, lines, circles, waves, and geometric signs remind us of ornaments that indigenous people apply to their skin which expose their idea of beauty. The style, technique, and forms devised by Belkis Granada result from an anthropological and illustrative approach to ancestral knowledge which intervenes to propose a holistic view of history, culture, and art.
Her work envelops us to enter that peculiar space that encounters and that resembles folklore of Latin American. The images that Belkis is building in her work, which brings the scent of her childhood, reminds us of the origin and identity of Latin American people – a mix of different cultures, languages, and races.
Her work includes a dense amount of symbols from everyday life and signs that go through the origin of Latin America. It’s a venture into beauty that strengthens the signs of magical realism that characterizes Latin Americans.