Cristina Bertrand, was born in Madrid, Spain. Before completing her Ph.D. in history and geography at the Complutense University of Madrid, she was granted two Campanile d’Oro awards at the International Art School of Siena. Her doctoral thesis on the I Ching book of Chinese philosophy explores the symbiosis of man, nature and spirit from a humanistic perspective in which East and West coexist. The series of Bertrand’s paintings related to the I Ching elevates humanistic geography to the realm of art. Bertrand contemplates the world from a philosophical perspective, which is projected in her vital, expressionistic mixture of colors. The painter extracts the essence of nature, letting its power mold her landscapes. Through the multilevel elements interwoven in a metropolis – wood, stone, cement – Bertrand is able to distil in her urban landscapes the spirit of the city, its raison d’être. By Chelo Alvarez, journalist