Featured Artist of The Week: Lena Silva!
"Lena Silva is a contemporary, modern artist, of Portuguese origin, resident in the United Kingdom. A lover of Arts, sophistication and simplicity greatly influenced by the Renaissance art period. Patron to the Florence Academy of Arts. Oftentimes, while creating her pieces, albeit using varied mediums, its meaning becomes clear once the colours absorb light. She often gets a sense of belonging, an escape from the acrimony of daily life and chaos of society. Through her work, Lena aims to evoke light, love, happiness, tranquillity, a sense of belonging, gifted to the observer. Her work is also an expression of her wonder of human's survival, persistence, and perpetuity of life—a fascination with life and its meaning, its consanguinity relating directly to the beauty of the experience. Lena is a self-taught artist with a BSc Honours in Adult Health Sciences. The latest years of her life have led to an awakening of her artistic skills. Lena is a lover of poetry and often finds it comforting to describe the emotive and story side of her work through such beautiful poetic words. Lena's work has been at exhibitions and art fairs in London, Brussels, Madrid, Italy – Genova, Milan. At various occasions seen in Art columns of iconic British Magazines. Lena’s work can also be seen and accessed via M.A.D.S online gallery – www.madsmilano.com . Albe Art Gallery, Abu Dhabi Dubai - www.albeartgallery.com . Her work has been featured twice in the British arts magazine, Artist Talk Magazine - www.artisttalkmagazine.com/issue-16 and 17 . In addition, Lena's work can also be accessed via ArtBook351 (Portugal - Lisbon) - https://artbook351.pt/lenasilva . "
Selected artwork:
Artworks in order:
'Desolation', 2021, pencil & graphite, 30 x 30 cm, 1000 DLLS (american)
The aftermath behind the deep disappointment towards the indolence of a world alien to emotional human fragility, the free fall and the irremediable emptiness was the central idea to create this work.
'Didn't Know Why' 2021, pencil & graphite, 30 x 30 cm, 1000 DLLS
The silent word, the sentiment encapsulated within a secret buried
within a bottle thrown into the calm sea. This portrait speaks of the frustration of a latent love, not manifested, punished with a painful repression.
'Captain Casablanca', 2021, charcoal & ink, 30 x 30 cm, not available
An enigmatic perspective in chiaroscuro, a fascinating story that unfolds between blinks, flashes and a magnetic complicity between the viewer and the song.
This portrait is based and inspired by the video/song 'I dine øjne' of Danish band Efterklang and its frontman Casper Clausen alias 'Captain Casablanca'.
I would like you to feature my work as it poses visual art from the point of view of an observer, of a professional writer. Under this observation, I have explored the reaction of human life with the literary touch of poetry together with the lights of visual art. A couple that I have seen work harmoniously and refreshingly.
I try to provoke in the active viewer the impulse to connect an image to a sentence, to a loose paragraph lost between the pages of a book that you read quietly in a bookstore... I try to evoke an endearing story, a sigh suspended in the autumn air."
Selected artwork:
Artworks in order:
EQUILIBRIUM, 2021, Stretch canvas, 100% cotton, primed with acid free gesso. Winsor & Newton oils and Gloss Varnish, £5160.00
This piece was created through an emotional reflective moment upon life and its meaning. A sentimental reflection on how vulnerable we are, life itself and fragility in direct connection with time. A string representing life, a broken sand timer, how long will it be for, a moment, days, years, who knows. One day we are here the next we are not. We are so consumed in gathering treasures on this earth, yet we take nothing with us when our time comes. We know not the future, yet we constantly make plans not acknowledging or considering that we might not be part of those plans. We are vapour that appears for a short time and in a split moment vanishes.
WHILE SHE SLEEPS, 2021, Stretch canvas, 100% cotton, primed with acid free gesso. Winsor & Newton oils and Gloss Varnish, £5950.00
This artwork, I created while I was doing my study research upon Gustav Klimt to prepare for the collaboration in ‘The Kiss Project’. While researching I was working on this painting and while processing emotions and state of mind at that moment Klimt’s style with a mixture of Renaissance / Baroque (as some comments by viewers been stated) burst through my brushes. As the title of the work states, a moment of a restful sleep while heavenly figures take care of the character. Those moments in life where life’s daily routine and challenges around becoming overwhelming and one yearns for nothing but a peaceful moment, a heavenly feeling to quietly rest without a concern or worry.
THE EMBRACE BEFORE THE KISS, 2021, Stretch canvas, 100% cotton, primed with acid free gesso. Winsor & Newton oils and Gloss Varnish, £6946.00
This piece was created through an invite from another artist to create my interpretation of Gustav Klimt’s artwork – ‘The Kiss’. This art piece is number 1 out of 2 pieces I created. This was a project brought together by a group of artists titled ‘The Kiss Project. I had an immense satisfaction creating it. Klimt’s original work could be interpreted in various ways, and it is always down to the observe and the beauty within of the eye holder. I wanted to express respect and an emphasis to female image and role in society, elevating her on the many roles she ‘plays’ throughout her life and dedication to those the nearest through her. Rather than an image of a woman kneeling as if in submission of herself, being commonly a society image that is imposed on females through their lives, I wanted to display a different reality of what that image should be and overtly is for many. The lover, the friend, the mother, the carer, the provider all within a love relationship. Therefore, the female holding the male in character of all those roles she ‘plays.
IN EXPECTATION OF A KISS, 2021, Stretch canvas, 100% cotton, primed with acid free gesso. Winsor & Newton oils and Gloss Varnish, £7670.00
This piece was created through an invite from another artist to create my interpretation of Gustav Klimt’s artwork – ‘The Kiss’. This art piece is number 1 out of 2 pieces I created. This was a project brought together by a group of artists titled ‘The Kiss Project. I had an immense satisfaction creating it. Klimt’s original work could be interpreted in various ways, and it is always down to the observe and the beauty within of the eye holder. I wanted to express respect and an emphasis to female image and role in society, elevating her on the many roles she ‘plays’ throughout her life and dedication to those the nearest through her. Rather than an image of a woman kneeling as if in submission of herself, being commonly a society image that is imposed on females through their lives, I wanted to display a different reality of what that image should be and overtly is for many. The lover, the friend, the mother, the carer, the provider all within a love relationship. Therefore, the female holding the male in character of all those roles she ‘plays.
www.instagram.com/lenaartsilva