Renata Juncadella
Renata Juncadella is an emerging Argentinian artist whose works tell the story of unknown worlds set in strange and deserted landscapes. Drawing from religious, alchemical, and esoteric traditions and symbolism, her art shares the spiritual reality veiled beneath the visible world.
Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Renata started her studies in film photography. Her early education through film programs and experience in directorial roles currently informs her passion for creating and transporting viewers into immersive visual narratives– a skill that, in a few years, would translate into her two-dimensional canvases.
Renata Juncadella, La Trampa Sagrada, 2022. Oil on canvas, 85x85 cm. Buenos Aires. Photo Courtesy: Renata Juncadella.
Initially, Renata's canvases echoed the realities she captured through her photographic lens, translating tangible scenes into painted compositions. It wasn’t until 2020 that a pivotal moment transformed the trajectory of her artistic exploration. This is the year that the Museum of Latin American Art of Buenos Aires held a retrospective of Remedios Varo, arguably one of the most important Latin American woman artists, a surrealist painter born and working in Mexico. This show catalysed a shift in the women's artistic narrative of Buenos Aires. The myth of the fantastic and unknown transformed Renata’s paintings, moving her works from reality into the realms of enchantment and mystique.
Animals, enigmatic creatures, hybrid humans, giants, castles, and magical landscapes populate Renata’s works. Her canvases connect us with the world of fantasy, dreams and intrigue. Her pieces serve as portals into a dimension where reality dissolves, letting the extraordinary take centre stage. Although the heritage of Mexican surrealist artists like Leonora Carrington and Remedios Varo clearly influenced her works, Renata’s thematic and subject matter is not confined to emulation; rather, her pieces stand as vibrant dialogue between past influences and contemporary expressions.
Renata's paintings capture the essence of a world suspended between the known or familiar and the unexplored, a dialectical relationship that invites the spectator to prolonged contemplation. The works evoke questions: Where do these characters come from? What are they doing? Where are these landscapes from?
Renata Juncadella, Cita con el Amante (A Date with the Lover), 2023. 2022. Oil on canvas, 58x38cm. Buenos Aires. Photo Courtesy: Renata Juncadella.
The desert's image serves as a metaphor within the paintings, embodying a sense of suspended existence where vast emptiness cradles countless tales waiting to be uncovered. The central characters in her narratives often depict female figures who, while conscious, are simultaneously involved in acts of crimes and wounds, not in a negative light, but rather in tranquil and relaxed contemplation. In the diptych Cita con el Amante (2023), the two female characters appear to be meditating in a serene posture, having experienced something cruel. Yet, in the frozen moment, they linger, awaiting our intrusion into the scene.
Renata Juncadella, Caricias Salvajes (Fierce Affection), 2023. Oil on Canvas, 45 x 100 cm. Buenos Aires. Photo Courtesy: Renata Juncadella
Surrealism's resurgence in Buenos Aires proves necessary now more than ever given the current sociopolitical landscape of the country. This harsh reality demands an avenue for escapism, tapping into an imagination that makes the existence of alternative worlds possible. Renata's art is actively engaging in this exploration and quest for new worlds, like her characters, viewers too can enter and become part of these surreal landscapes.
Renata Juncadella’s Studio, 2023. Photo Courtesy: Renata Juncadella.
Currently, Renata is based in Buenos Aires, developing a new body of work for her next exhibition in March 2024. To learn more about Renata Juncadella’s art, follow her on Instagram
Mora Pranteda
Emerging Artists Co-Editor, MADE IN BED