The work of Marilo Carral is depositary of some of the main plastic schools of the XX century. There are clear reminiscences of Cubism, of the first European stage of Rivera, for example, in the wide gallery of vases, which are only variations on the theme of the still life. There is a legitimate lack of interest in perspective, a naïve treatment of depth that ends by superimposing objects in a deviation from our visual habits.

In some landscapes there are dream elements. The sky of paintings like “La Cieneguita” or the forests that return is not a vacuum just dyed, it is not the mouth of the infinite but rich substance. It is made of oil stuffs, oils, and dyes. There is also a fantastic correspondence between the shades of those firmaments and those of the landscapes: of the leaves, of the trunks, of the relief. The effect is surreal. We do not see completely abnormal worlds as in Dali, but rather strange and familiar places, memories, visions, or imaginations disturbed by dream powers. In other landscapes chromatic is natural, but the elements of composition have been chosen and placed with such care that we feel we are in a world of symbols. The natural panorama seems a living extension of a soul, that of the artist, or perhaps ours.

There is something paradoxical about this. The landscape, which normally releases, which normally expands, is content and intimate here. Carral's palette and psyche rise above those panoramas and envelop them, tighten them, until they become aspects of an inner world. The more private paintings, however, still life’s, strongly suggest environments, personal and familiar places but in the end outside spaces. These alterations, it seems to us, are proof of Carral's dialogue with the modern plastic tradition and, at the same time, of the suggestive ways in which she defies it.

The work of Marilo Carral, an artist who completely dominates her medium, is the product of 24 years of intense plastic activity. The delicacy of its line, the subtle textures serve to accentuate the sensuality of the image. However, under the first impression of tranquility there is an unsettling quality. Marilo Carral is an artist who gets carried away by the fantasy adventure. She does not fear symbols, myths, or magic signs: she manages them freely and naturally, integrating them into our modern world. She is able to dream in broad daylight and give herself completely to her world.

The remarkable unfolding in her work is a challenge that encourages her to create new visions.

Beatriz Vidal | Director of the National Museum of the Print, CONACULTA / INBA