Florencia Castaldo
Those places that created strong memories, the places where I once belonged...
One of my earliest memories is related to the place I used to spend my holidays at.
Spending the day by the river was part of my daily routine. Every day, I went down the hill first thing in the morning to get there and climbed it back up again in the afternoon, tired and sunburned. It kind of made my day complete.
Swimming, fishing or just throwing rocks in the water with my siblings created such lovely memories that have stayed with me even to this day.
I close my eyes and I can still feel it: the cold water, the coarse sand below my feet, the river's hipnotycal, never-ending sound... A place where I found complete peace and happiness, "down there in the river".
Down there in the river
Acrylic and oil on canvas
36x36in - 90x90cm - 2020
Not available
Recorded in my memory are the trips we made to Cordoba. That pilgrimage of every year to spend the holidays with the big family and start our long 3-month vacation in the countryside.
My dad liked to travel before dawn when there was still not a trace of light in the sky and no traffic at all.
While my siblings slept huddled on the seat, I liked to see through the car window the towns that we passed along the route.
At that hour the cities seemed stripped of life. The houses were at rest. Occasionally there were lights, ephemeral and scattered, escaping from their shuttered windows …
Shuttered windows
Acrylic and oil on canvas
24x30 in - 60x75cm - 2020