The magic of the four elements is renewed in Maria Bernardino's print "Zodiac," winner of the Young Art Prize from CPS in 2019. In the set of 36 pieces dedicated to this theme, Water, Earth, Fire, Air, and their respective Zodiac signs take on the symbolism of the colors associated with them. The fiery red that fuels all passions and the intensity and brilliance of life, 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 hue of a land whose destiny is to expand and make all its creatures vibrate in the light of a celestial body that is a symbol of totality and the divine, and the gray of the air, which within its transparent atmosphere is the source of great transformations, a metaphor for the small and great mysteries.

The artist revitalizes a tradition that spans many centuries, which is now reborn in the refinement and magic of its simultaneously plastic and poetic signs.

Maria João Fernandes

International Association of Art Critics (AICA)

Artist's Statement:

According to the classical definition, Astrology is a pseudoscience in which the relative positions of celestial bodies provide information about personality, human relationships, and other personal and transpersonal spheres. It can be considered a divinatory activity when used as an oracle, but it can also be used as a tool for understanding human emotions, 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 astrological map's sky again), and the horizon line (from which the rising sign emerges, making the map precise). Between interpretative freedom and the inheritance of a long tradition governed by mathematically exact elements, Zodiac is the result of a journey that seeks to resemble the task of the astrologer — interpreting, setting the tone intuitively and inspired, playing with the field of possibilities existing in the astrological universe.

Maria Bernardino, Dec. 2021