It continues being difficult and adventurous to use the term identity. Indeed, in its name, as well, crimes have been committed. In Jose Apaza’s work, nevertheless, it is not only simple but reassuring to resort to this definition, Otherwise, it is enough to rest the eyes, without prejudice; to put aside all possible exegesis to find ourselves, at once, before the luminous awe of what is ours.
And we say "ours" without boasting nor a folksy spirit (poverty can be picturesque only to those who make it their business to exploit it; for the rest it is and will be a permanent vertigo); rather, it assumes, the unavoidable daily exercise of being filled with those faces of ripe, tough, mature skins, and those constant presences that define our forms and our essence: shacks, would-be stores, courtyards, arid lands; in short, journeys we have walked and continue walking.
It would be a pointless task to take as example one, anyone of the works that form Apaza’s exhibit. This compact homogeneity allows for each one of these works to achieve the same effect; moving, nostalgic, and were it not for the serious, fine chromaticism, Apaza’s indisputable claim, we could add, devastating.
In speaking of the watercolor technique it Is easy to risk sinking in sumptuous common places. It is well known for example, of the impossibility of correcting or mending a mistake in the execution of the work; worse yet, of regret. In Jose Apaza there seems to be no trace of any obstacle. His labor is firm, sure and full of serenity. His dedication to color is equivalent to the realm of playfulness. And the beauty with which his watercolors are resolved, generates feelings of solidarity. Of that identity that shakes and endears.
In the Peruvian Jose Apaza are visible, through his clean watercolors, the signs of identity: strokes and faces, witnesses that assure with solidity our presence on this Earth, on this land not yet promised, and as such real.
Carlos Magdaleno Machaen, 1986
(Director, Museo del Pueblo de Guanajuato, Mexico).