Querencia

Acrylic Painting

The Title Querencia is an old Spanish word with no true equivalent in English. It describes the place where one feels most safe — a place from which one draws strength, where the soul can rest without armor. In bullfighting, it is the spot in the ring the bull claims as its own, the ground it will defend because it feels unshakeable there. I chose this title because the painting is, at its heart, about exactly that: two people who have become each other's querencia. They do not need a location or a fortress. The shield is the connection itself — that luminous white space that blooms around them simply because they chose to sit together in quiet. Inspiration: 

I kept thinking about how rare and strange it is that two people, out of all the noise of the world, can sit side by side and make everything else fall silent. The painting grew out of that thought. The dark oceanic waves, the terrain erupting in deep crimson, the restless bands of earth and sea sweeping across the canvas — all of it represents the sheer force of the world and the realms beyond it: its chaos, its beauty, its indifference. And yet two tiny figures, no bigger than specks, perch on the dark crescent arc at the centre, and they are untouched. Between them blooms an immense swirling vortex of deep orange – their conversation made visible. It is warm heartfelt words, genuine connection, honesty offered without defence. They sit on the rim of everything, and they are at peace. That contrast — the enormity of what surrounds them and the smallness and stillness of what protects them — is what compelled me to paint. The technique of the painting is built in layers of contrasting textures. The central form is rendered in swirling brushstrokes of deep red orange - warmth of genuine exchange, creating a spiralling intensity that pulls the viewer inward. Around it, a crescent of dark navy blue cradles the glowing core, and beyond that, a field of translucent mint-white radiates outward — soft, washy, almost breathing — forming the protective aura. The sweeping bands of dark brown, gold, and deep blue that cut across the canvas are painted with fluid strokes to suggest strata, ocean currents, or cosmic ribbons in motion. In the far back, the blue realm is densely patterned with tiny figures and symbols, giving the background a teeming, living quality, as though the universe itself is crowded with souls and stories. Geometric rectangles in red and yellow in the upper left introduce a sense of structure — windows or markers against the organic chaos, or maybe even a window to a world beyond this one. The red landmass in the lower right is striated and fibrous, evoking volcanic flow. Every texture serves the central idea: the world is layered, immense, and restless, but the white space around the two souls remains smooth, quiet, untouched. I want you to look past the drama first. Let your eye travel the waves, the fire, the deep blue cosmos full of its countless tiny inhabitants — and then find them. Two small figures, almost nothing, seated on a dark curve at the edge of a blazing world. Once you see them, I want you to notice what surrounds them: not the chaos, but the stillness. That luminous space that holds them apart from everything. I want you to recognise it. Think of whoever makes the world go quiet for you — the friend, the lover, the partner, the soul you can simply sit with while the universe roars on the other side of a silence you built together. That bubble of white is not empty. It is the strongest thing in the painting. Because I believe that the grandest thing a human being can experience is not conquest or achievement but the moment when another person becomes your safe place. We spend our lives navigating enormous forces — grief, ambition, fear, time — and we are so small against all of it. But when you find someone, whose presence turns the noise into quiet, you have found your Querencia. This painting is my attempt to make that invisible bond visible: the protective field that love, trust, and genuine connection cast around two people. The figures are tiny because we are tiny. The world is vast because it is vast. And the white shield between them and everything else is real because I have felt it. That is why this painting is mine before it is anyone else's.

Reem H. Sultan is an Abu Dhabi-based contemporary painter whose richly textured abstract works explore the fluid intersections of femininity, inner strength, and organic movement. Through a masterfully layered use of oils, acrylics, and resin, she translates the complexities of human emotion into evocative compositions that invite deep introspection while balancing a unique sense of power and calm.

NOTE: The image shown is a close up image of the Painting. The 2nd image shows the full painting, with the following images showcasing closeups of the artwork, detailing the work done by the artist.

Painting is signed by the artist 

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