Jorge Tacla studied art at the Escuela de Bellas Artes, Universidad de Chile from 1976 - 1979 before moving to New York City in 1981 to leave the dictatorial regime of Augusto Pinochet. Tacla is known as a landscape artist; however, his landscapes do not depict the specific appearance of the topography but blend the sociological and personal with the natural to give a more complete sense and definition of the land. In the background of this drawing, one sees the Atacama Desert, located in northern Chile, represented by a barren landscape of rocks and flat ground. The abstract red areas in the foreground of Untitled can be interpreted as representing the corporeal essence of human existence, which is a recurring theme in the work of this artist who straddles two continents and has witnessed human suffering and injustice. Also on the surface of the drawing are abstract symbols which are part of Tacla's visual language and which appear frequently in both his paintings and drawings.
Drawing is an important aspect of Tacla's work. The artist says that drawing happens from a special place in his consciousness, and this part of his consciousness is "like a sponge that stores water -- my drawing mind holds memories." The drawings are very personal expressions for Tacla, which, until very recently, he did not exhibit. Materials and papers are important to the artist for both their texture as well as their art historical and cultural associations. Thus, the Hanji paper on which this landscape drawing is done would have been selected not only for its physical qualities and texture but also for its associations with Chinese calligraphy and brush paintings.
