The magic of the four elements is renewed in Maria Bernardino's print artwork "Zodiac," winner of the Young Art Prize from CPS in 2019. Within the set of 36 pieces dedicated to this theme, Water, Earth, Fire, Air, and their respective zodiac signs assume the symbolism of their associated colors. The vibrant red of the fire that fuels all passions and the intensity and radiance of life itself, the blue of water, the quintessential color of the imagination, the starting point of the great journey of dreams and the cradle of all living forms, the golden yellow, solar and alchemical color of a land whose destiny is to expand and resonate with all its creatures under the light of a celestial body that is a symbol of totality and the divine, and the gray of the air that, within its transparent atmosphere, is the source of great transformations, a metaphor for the small and great mysteries.

The artist revives a tradition that spans many centuries, now reborn in the refinement and magic of her simultaneously artistic and poetic signs.

Maria João Fernandes

International Association of Art Critics (AICA)

Artist's Statement:

According to the classical definition, astrology is a pseudoscience that holds that the relative positions of celestial bodies provide information about personality, human relationships, and other spheres, both personal and transpersonal. It can be considered a divinatory activity when used as an oracle, but it can also be used as a tool to understand human emotions, marking emotional aspects by comparing certain tendencies with elements of each individual's personality.

Zodiac was created during a journey of discovery of the elements that make up the horoscope: affinities (tendencies of each sign), aspects (distances between the angles of each planet), planets (which coexist with the signs), houses (which divide the sky of the astrological chart again), and the horizon line (from which the ascendant emerges, making the chart precise). Between interpretive freedom and the inheritance of a long tradition governed by mathematically exact elements, Zodiac is the result of a journey that seeks to be similar to the task of an astrologer — interpreting, setting the tone intuitively and inspiringly, and playing with the field of possibilities that exists in the astrological universe.

Maria Bernardino, Dec. 2021