Every time I take part in the ritual of preparing the pushcart with enameled pieces to go into the kiln, I enjoy seeing the lively red flames at the center - where the simple clay will turn into color and shape - with a certain primitive happiness as who witnesses the power of the sacred through the explosive volutes, which bring to my mind the geological strengths, the Milky Way, the celestial bodies and the human thought ruled by time.

The workman who attends to the kiln is called "foguista" (stoker): he manages a team which is in charge of the pushcarts that will enter for a batch of ceramic floor tiles, panels and decorative pieces, he also controls the fire by checking out the necessary temperature for any kind of enamel. His presence is constant and attentive, without him the outcomes would not be reached. Companion of the fire and alchemist, he is an ally in the transformation of the matter.

In contact with these stokers and their teams I have always heard the expression: "It is the art of the fire", meaning that everything was determined by this huge power that influences and interferes in the matter in an unpredictable way, wherefore it is thought the greatest artist, it itself is this magical element, and when they talked on this "art of the fire", they were good-humored and cheerful. I agree fully with them, hence the title of this exhibition.