Vira Shcherblyuk Artist

Vira Shcherblyuk Artist

I create paintings using large canvases, acrylic and oil colors, micro-mosaic (the waste of polymers), feathers, textiles, and various other materials with the intention of elaborating “dynamic” works and discovering the richness and infinite possibilities of the canvas and the materials the canvas can accommodate.

I create through myself by placing my image (a print of my photo) in the center of the work as a direct witness of the experience that I feel… emotions that are often perceived as negative… fears, discomfort, suffering, self-control and sacrifice – I depict emotions with shapes and colors, often representing them through fairy tales, and I face my own ‘demons’ on the canvas. 

The sufferings or fears I experience are no longer painful, but begin to exist as an integral and indispensable part of the unity of the picture and of a person’s life itself. 

The print of my photo is realistic because what I express on the canvas is real, it really is the emotions or experiences that I have lived, or I am experiencing. As much as it may seem unreal, what I put on the canvas is my reality.

I often also use my image on purpose in order to emphasize the need to ‘put my face’ to the things I express, taking full responsibility for what I do. I am convinced that only by behaving courageously is a person able to overcome their discomforts and become themselves by accepting all the shades of their personality.
My art for me is a continuous search for the charm of the multiple meanings of symbol, which I use a lot in my work, and thanks to the variety of cultures I have come to know, I am discovering that symbols cannot be traced back to a single interpretative key – this makes my paintings have so many interpretations for the viewer.

I am very curious about the viewers’ perception of my works, I would love to speak with each person and gather their deep inner perceptions in order to create my new works – so my works become not only mine but – ours. I am a great believer in the interconnection between communicating individuals, and consequently in the metamorphotic creation of my paintings after interactions with viewers. 

In fact, I always modify my paintings after the conversations that stirred my emotions. 

I often feel like I am just the instrument of the metamorphosis of my paintings and the real authors are the people who inspired me.

Using print, paint, mosaics, feathers and other materials – I try to create the small details with the intention of bringing the viewer fiscally closer to the work, then to see the whole they must move away – so the vision becomes more dynamic.

My biggest dream is a multi-sensory exhibition where my works are accompanied by texts, music, different room temperatures and light play…

Stand with us

Recently Carmi Flavors (www.CarmiFlavors.com) published "Cry for Ukraine" in its magazine confirming its support to the Ukrainian people and encouraging more and more people to participate all together in responsible help through charity.

The dedicated website www.carmicares.com) takes its cue from the sale of my production "Cry for Ukraine" in the hope that it will be the first of many steps towards the awareness and participation of the artistic universe in such a difficult scenario as that of the war in Ukraine.

Media

“L’Arte nell’Uovo di Pasqua” 2023 di Sergio Valente ed Eleonora Daniele”
L’uovo simbolo della Pasqua, che sfiora la perfezione della natura, raffigurato e reinterpretato da moltissimi artisti dell’arte contemporanea come René Magritte, Salvador Dalì, Andy Warhol, Lucio Fontana e tanti altri è diventato negli ultimi anni anche simbolo di “solidarietà” grazie al progetto “L’Arte nell’Uovo di Pasqua” ideato nel 2002 dal noto Hair Stylist Sergio Valente...

Press


"Azione" - Cooperativa Migros Ticino, 24.04.2023

Il dolore per la guerra e la speranza nel futuro (The pain of war and hope for the future)

“One day we will have a world without wars, without stupid wars, to be precise. Because no war is intelligent.” Vira Shcherblyuk left Ukraine twenty years ago and has lived in Ticino ever since. «I feel half Ukrainian and half Swiss, given that I have lived half of my life here in Lugano», she explains, «and when the Russian aggression began I felt, how to say?, guilty for not being able to
do nothing for my countrymen. In reality, he didn’t do anything, see that a few weeks after the start of the “special operation”, as Putin hypocritically calls it, she went to the Polish border to pick up two girls, daughters of a friend, and brought them to safety in Switzerland. «Yes, but then it occurred to me that I could do something else, and that I could do it with art. I believe God gave me only one talent, painting. Since I was a child I drew everywhere: on my hands, on tables, on doors with the result that I was punished. They told me that artists are all crazy and poor».

But, in her spare time, relaxing after work, she Vira has never stopped painting. And when the war broke out she felt the impulse «to find my fellow men and to express something on the canvas. In those days I happened to walk around with a blue and blue ribbon in my hair and a couple of people greeted me acknowledging the colors of the Ukrainian flag. I took time to paint and at the end of last year I was able to exhibit some of my work dedicated to Ukraine in New York. I then set a condition for the purchase of the works: that the entire proceeds go to my country. I was thus able to send concrete help to various voluntary associations in favor of poor families and orphans, as well as to a special school which hosts children with special needs”.

Now she shows us the second copy of a rather iconic painting sold in New York. It shows a crying woman. Three drops drip from one of her eyes: one red, one blue and one yellow which form a heart with the colors of the Ukrainian flag. «But the message is not only that of pain for the war; I used bright colors, going against the trend of the many paintings that use dark shades when they represent war and death. I did it because I know that the Ukrainians are transmitting to the world an idea of unity and the decision to defend the beautiful values of democracy, of being able to choose our destiny for me, for us. Even in the pain and violence, expressed by the tear of blood, I wanted to convey energy. There is a lot of suffering but it turns into this blue sky and the yellow of the wheat. We’ll make it. What the Ukrainians defend gives me so much energy. There is crying, but the future is bright and colorful.” She is less intuitive reading another canvas. There are four female figures surrounded by two gray wings on the outside of which we see weapons wrapped in blue and yellow ribbons. «I was inspired by a Byzantine icon that my grandmother had and which represents the martyr Saint Sophia with her three daughters Faith, Hope and Charity. Sofia means wisdom and is the mother of
hope, faith and love (charity). Only wisdom, today, can get us through war. The stupid war, in fact. The wings are those of cranes. It is a tribute to my father’s village where there was a statue of a crane. I imagined her gray wings protecting Sofia and her daughters from the aggression of weapons, which remain outside. It means my land protects itself. And not only that: in my opinion, with her battle, Ukraine today protects all of Europe. I dream of a future without walls between Ukraine and Russia, I hope there will be a much bigger, much deeper victory precisely because it is based on wisdom, love, hope and faith”.

«Un giorno avremo un mondo senza guerre, senza stupide guerre, per la precisione. Perché nessuna guerra è intelligente». Vira Shcherblyuk è partita vent’anni fa dall’Ucraina e da allora vive in Ticino. «Mi sento metà ucraina e metà svizzera, visto che metà della mia vita l’ho vissuta qui a Lugano», ci spiega, «e quando è cominciata l’aggressione russa mi sentivo, come dire?, in colpa per non poter
fare niente per i miei connazionali». In realtà proprio niente non l’ha fatto, visto
che poche settimane dopo l’avvio dell’«operazione speciale», come la definisce ipocritamente Putin, è andata al confine polacco a prendere due ragazze, figlie di un’amica, e le ha portate al salvo in Svizzera. «Sì, ma poi mi è venuto in mente che avrei potuto fare qualcosa d’altro, e di poterlo fare con l’arte. Credo che Dio mi abbia dato un solo talento, la pittura. Fin da piccola disegnavo dappertutto: sulle mani, sui tavoli, sulle porte col risultato che venivo punita. Mi dicevano che gli artisti sono tutti pazzi e poveri». 

Ma, nel suo tempo libero, rilassandosi dopo il lavoro, Vira non ha mai smesso di dipingere (vedi il sito www.25vira.art) . E quando è scoppiata la guerra ha sentito l’impulso «di trovare i miei simili e di esprimere qualcosa sulla tela. In quei giorni mi era capitato di andare in giro con un nastro blu e azzurro nei capelli e un paio di persone mi hanno salutato riconoscendo
i colori della bandiera ucraina. Mi son presa del tempo per dipingere e alla fine dell’anno scorso ho potuto esporre alcuni miei lavori dedicati all’Ucraina a New York. Ho poi posto una condizione per l’acquisto delle opere: che l’intero ricavato andasse al mio Paese. Ho potuto così inviare un aiuto concreto a varie associazioni di volontari a favore di famiglie povere e orfani, così come a una scuola speciale che ospita 
bambini con bisogni particolari». 

Ora ci mostra la seconda copia di un quadro, piuttosto iconico, venduto a New York (vedi foto). Mostra una donna che piange. Da un occhio le colano tre gocce: una rossa, una azzurra e una gialla che vanno a formare un cuore coi colori della bandiera ucraina. «Ma il messaggio non è solo quello del dolore per la guerra; ho usato colori vivaci, in contro tendenza rispetto ai tanti quadri che usano tonalità cupe quando rappresentano la guerra e la morte. L’ho fatto perché so che gli ucraini stanno trasmettendo al mondo un’idea di unità e la decisione di difendere i bei valori della democrazia, del poter scegliere per me, per noi, il nostro destino. Pur nel dolore e nella violenza, espressa dalla lacrima di sangue, volevo trasmettere energia. C’è tantissima sofferenza che però si trasforma in questo blu-cielo e nel giallo del grano. Ce la faremo. Quello che gli ucraini difendono a me dà tanta energia. C’è il pianto, ma il futuro è brillante e colorato».
Meno intuitiva la lettura di un’altra tela. Ci sono quattro figure femminili circondate da due ali grigie all’esterno delle quali si vedono delle armi avvolte dentro nastri blu e gialli. «Mi sono ispirata a un’icona bizantina che aveva mia nonna e che rappresenta santa Sofia martire con le tre figlie Fede, Speranza e Carità. Sofia significa saggezza ed è la madre della
speranza, della fede e dell’amore (carità). Solo la saggezza, oggi, può farci superare la guerra. La stupida guerra, appunto. Le ali sono quelle delle gru. È un omaggio al villaggio di mio padre dove c’era la statua di una gru. Ho immaginato le sue ali grigie che proteggevano Sofia e le sue figlie dall’aggressione delle armi, che restano fuori. Significa che la mia terra protegge sé stessa. E non solo: secondo me, con la sua battaglia, l’Ucraina oggi protegge tutta l’Europa. Io sogno un futuro senza muri tra Ucraina e Russia, spero che ci sarà una vittoria molto più grande, molto più profonda proprio perché basata sulla saggezza, l’amore, la speranza e la fede».

credits to Carlo Silini by Migros Ticino

Exhibitions

“L'Arte nell'uovo di Pasqua”
ASSOCIAZIONE SERGIO VALENTE
Via del Babuino 107 00187 Roma
Website lartenelluovodipasqua.com
the proceeds will be donated to charity

Exhibitions

“L'Arte nell'uovo di Pasqua”
ASSOCIAZIONE SERGIO VALENTE
Via del Babuino 107 00187 Roma
Website lartenelluovodipasqua.com
the proceeds will be donated to charity

Amber Green Art Gallery
535 West 23 rd street
New York - U.S.A.
in collaboration with
Agostino Art Gallery
Milano - Italy

Press


"Azione" - Weekly newspaper of information and culture by cooperative Migros Ticino

Il dolore per la guerra e la speranza nel futuro (The pain of war and hope for the future)

“One day we will have a world without wars, without stupid wars, to be precise. Because no war is intelligent.” Vira Shcherblyuk left Ukraine twenty years ago and has lived in Ticino ever since. «I feel half Ukrainian and half Swiss, given that I have lived half of my life here in Lugano», she explains, «and when the Russian aggression began I felt, how to say?, guilty for not being able to
do nothing for my countrymen. In reality, he didn’t do anything, see that a few weeks after the start of the “special operation”, as Putin hypocritically calls it, she went to the Polish border to pick up two girls, daughters of a friend, and brought them to safety in Switzerland. «Yes, but then it occurred to me that I could do something else, and that I could do it with art. I believe God gave me only one talent, painting. Since I was a child I drew everywhere: on my hands, on tables, on doors with the result that I was punished. They told me that artists are all crazy and poor».

But, in her spare time, relaxing after work, she Vira has never stopped painting. And when the war broke out she felt the impulse «to find my fellow men and to express something on the canvas. In those days I happened to walk around with a blue and blue ribbon in my hair and a couple of people greeted me acknowledging the colors of the Ukrainian flag. I took time to paint and at the end of last year I was able to exhibit some of my work dedicated to Ukraine in New York. I then set a condition for the purchase of the works: that the entire proceeds go to my country. I was thus able to send concrete help to various voluntary associations in favor of poor families and orphans, as well as to a special school which hosts children with special needs”.

Now she shows us the second copy of a rather iconic painting sold in New York. It shows a crying woman. Three drops drip from one of her eyes: one red, one blue and one yellow which form a heart with the colors of the Ukrainian flag. «But the message is not only that of pain for the war; I used bright colors, going against the trend of the many paintings that use dark shades when they represent war and death. I did it because I know that the Ukrainians are transmitting to the world an idea of unity and the decision to defend the beautiful values of democracy, of being able to choose our destiny for me, for us. Even in the pain and violence, expressed by the tear of blood, I wanted to convey energy. There is a lot of suffering but it turns into this blue sky and the yellow of the wheat. We’ll make it. What the Ukrainians defend gives me so much energy. There is crying, but the future is bright and colorful.” She is less intuitive reading another canvas. There are four female figures surrounded by two gray wings on the outside of which we see weapons wrapped in blue and yellow ribbons. «I was inspired by a Byzantine icon that my grandmother had and which represents the martyr Saint Sophia with her three daughters Faith, Hope and Charity. Sofia means wisdom and is the mother of
hope, faith and love (charity). Only wisdom, today, can get us through war. The stupid war, in fact. The wings are those of cranes. It is a tribute to my father’s village where there was a statue of a crane. I imagined her gray wings protecting Sofia and her daughters from the aggression of weapons, which remain outside. It means my land protects itself. And not only that: in my opinion, with her battle, Ukraine today protects all of Europe. I dream of a future without walls between Ukraine and Russia, I hope there will be a much bigger, much deeper victory precisely because it is based on wisdom, love, hope and faith”.

credits to Carlo Silini by Migros Ticino

"It all lies in knowing how to do it, in knowing how to concentrate the spirit on one point, in knowing how to abstract enough to give rise to the hallucination and replace the dream of reality with reality itself."

 Joris-Karl Huysmans

SOLD FOR CHARITY

Read all on lartenelluovodipasqua.com

Peace4Life

There is life in the egg. The egg is a divine miracle, with it begins creation, transformation, growth up to birth – however, on condition that it is kept, protected and cared for. Otherwise the process stops. Without the egg there will be no chicken and without peace human life will stop. Achieving peace to ensure life: this is the prerogative of our world to move forward. Peace is the most precious asset, the gold that must be sought and guarded! But where is he today?

As you read these words, the peoples of Ukraine, Syria, Georgia, and part of ex-Yugoslavia as well as many African countries are experiencing the loss of peace, and a terrible word – war – has become part of their everyday life. Ergo also of the mentality, even worse: it has become normality.

height 20 inch x width 20 inch

Pictorial canvas, acrylic colour, polymers, feather.

My work wants to remind us that life must be protected with peace, just like a newborn child must be protected by his parents with all the love and above all possible responsibility. Without that child the parents have no future in the continuity of the family. If they don’t take responsibility for looking after, supporting, educating and preserving him – they certainly can’t hope that in his old age that grown son will take care of them. 

Let us take care of life like newborns, with delicacy, tenderness and responsibility ensuring that peace is always with us because peace is the way, the truth and the life!

SOLD FOR CHARITY

I received an offer for this painting during an exhibition in the United States. The proceeds were donated to some associations in Ukraine. Here is a thank you letter I received.

Cry for Ukraine

As a child I knew that I would leave the village where I was born in Ukraine. Watching the first films that came from abroad, I saw that everything there was so sparkling, colorful and attractive. So, I wanted to be there, I couldn’t wait to grow up and leave Ukraine. And here I am, I left Ukraine 20 years ago, I traveled half of the world, settling in Switzerland.

height 32 inch x width 20 inch

With the “Orange Revolution” and with the Russian occupation of Ukraine, however, I felt like a traitor, I was not there for my country, everything happened so quickly, events precipitated unexpectedly. Among so many half-truths, or rather among so many differently interpretable truths, a very difficult future was slowly emerging for my country of origin. So many doubts came to my mind, I wondered if I shouldn’t have been there, and if I would be able to help more from here. I made some attempts to give my support – but it was never enough.

On February 24, 2022, I woke up in Alba in Italy, from the window I saw a beautiful view of the hills and the first rays of the sun. I had prepared my birthday party which I celebrate on February 25th, and I was waiting for many friends to celebrate with me. The terrible news came from the TV that the Russians were attacking Ukraine… I burst into tears and perhaps for the first time I felt the pain in my chest (…I don’t know why they say that the heart doesn’t hurt). Obviously, I canceled my birthday party. I called my Mom, relatives, friends in Ukraine… I was in tears, and they consoled me by saying that I didn’t have to worry because Ukraine wouldn’t give up and would win.

I spent my childhood with my grandparents who often told me about how they had lived through the Second World War, the five long years of pain, cold, hunger and the hope of living to the next day. War is humanity’s biggest mistake! And now my Ukraine is under attack in 2022?! So many questions made my head explode: how did this happen? I felt a deep anger towards those who had allowed it and those who had not listened to so many warning signs that had been there for so many years; I felt contempt towards those who had the responsibility of having created this monster that today is terrorizing the world… Then the questions ended, and the answers did not arrive, and I was assailed by a deep sadness, still overturned by tears and in the hope that the whole world would mobilize to help Ukraine that has already been crossed so many times by the horses of the “conquistadors” (and now was burned by bombs and devastated by tanks).

I love Ukraine and its people, I wish with all my heart that it becomes a sparkling, colorful and attractive country… and that the girls who see it want to visit it and dream of staying there because it is a fun country full of opportunities… so they won’t leave Ukraine like I did.

The colors of the picture are festive because this is the future of Ukraine, tears fall into the heart and fill it with love. I deeply believe that this country will set an example of how to defend its values and that this war will be the last in Europe.

Art must touch politics! How else would it be possible to stop the war?!

SOLD FOR CHARITY

I received an offer for this painting during an exhibition in the United States. The proceeds were donated to some associations in Ukraine. Here is a thank you letter I received.

Feelings

The creation of the “Feelings” paintings comes from the deep search for happiness. When I spent the evenings alone and without a TV in a small town on the border between Switzerland and Italy… 

I often did not accept the feeling of loneliness because I was convinced that I had to be enough for myself and I tried to fight it…. I started to create festive atmospheres at home, I dressed exuberantly, I cooked a good dinner, I opened a good wine, I prepared a bath with candles, I put on music and then I took the colors and the canvas and transmitted what I felt in that moment onto the canvas.

height 31 inch x width 12 inch

These creations of mine were never intended to be exhibited, they gave me the idea of deep intimacy with myself; it was slightly by chance that they ended up on social media and immediately a friend of mine asked to buy one, then again and again more people asked me the same… Since I spent many evenings alone, there were more and more “feelings” canvases and so I decided to share them with other people even though they are very intimate paintings for me.

And then I realized that even though the canvases left my home and I missed the memories: the more the walls remained bare of canvases the more I felt like creating new ones and the more creative I became. A bit like the bee whose honey is taken from the hive. Then she produces more and more.

height 31 inch x width 47 inch

height 31 inch x width 47 inch

height 31 inch x width 47 inch

Art must leave the space of the creator, it must be allowed to ‘travel’ in the world like children are allowed to leave the house … ‘parents are like bows and children are the arrows’, and that is how the ‘Feelings’ art has become for me – it goes into another space and other people will see it and experience different feelings to mine (perhaps they will feel less lonely) … Maybe certain feelings will coincide with mine or maybe they will change, and maybe those new feelings generated by seeing the painting will somehow change their day – and so I have taken part in the miracle of art.

The bee and the butterfly

The bee and the butterfly – the useful and the beautiful.
The bee is the synonym of the vulnerable foundation of our world but also the synonym of sacrifice to order and to the community; while the butterfly is the beautiful, mutable, frivolous (perhaps even not essential for the survival of the world). And yet the worker bee sacrifices itself for the butterfly, as the fable tells but also as the reflection explains: the bee pollinates and the butterfly benefits from the plants and flowers that the bee pollinates.

height 31 inch x width 47 inch

The bee is logical, not very evolved, easily manipulated and explained by scientists; while the butterfly has its own complicated world of metamorphosis, a variety of colors and foods on which it feeds (from the nectar of flowers to the liquid that oozes from rotting fruit or animal dung, but also from the blood of animals, like vampires). Also, the world of some butterflies is connected by the symbiosis they establish with ants, the larvae go down to the ground and mimic the sounds and smells of ant larvae, so they are raised by the ants.

I created my artwork with the intention of reflecting on the questions “Are the simpler Worlds establishing the basis for the more complex Worlds?”, and “Why do certain Worlds remain simple and continue to sacrifice themselves for the complex ones, even if perhaps not necessarily vital? “, Those who work and are at the basis of the essential and of survival hide and remain humble, while those who benefit from their hidden labor show off? (“The essential is invisible to the eye”, The Little Prince) – What if this order comes from nature itself?

To create this artwork, I used the print of my photo as a direct witness of the question asked, adding acrylic colors, feathers, polymers (taking many hours of work in laying the polymers, one by one) … I tried to ask the questions through the images and materials.

Wonderland

Following the story of Alice in Wonderland I was very curious about the theme of Time and how human beings are looking to ‘stop’ or manipulate it.”… If instead you had kept good relations with him (time), he would have your watch do everything you want”.

height 55 inch x width 39 inch

Time personified, therefore, which can decide for whom to flow (and how to flow) and for whom not to, subjective time is not based on a measuring instrument, but on how each person perceives the passing of minutes and hours according to the different situations they find themselves living.

But can you also “play” with time? When a person has cosmetic surgery or exercises to keep fit – are they trying to manipulate time?

And if, thanks to these ‘manipulations’, the person manages to live longer, perhaps they win time, but the quality of time does not depend on the length of the years but perhaps on the perception and the value we give to our time.

With this picture I wanted to present my personal reflection, which has led me to the conclusion that the world of adults, made up above all of calculating logic on the one hand, and the world of play and continuous entertainment on the other, can really stop time. No one knows how to stay in customized time more than those who play. The adults are represented by the White Rabbit for whom time is never enough and who is always late. Instead for children there is always time to play, always, endlessly… To remain in the moment of the play so time does not pass. Look at the colorful balloons and butterflies and leave behind you the strategies, logic, and whatever else the system of worry wants you to care about.

There is only to learn from players and children how they deal with time, or maybe it would be enough to sometimes remain a child…

White and black

The inspiration for this work came to me after I was deeply touched by Darren Aronofsky’s film “The Black Swan”.

I wondered how many times the black swan in me has suffocated the white swan, two opposites that live in the form of cunning, sensuality and disinhibition on the one hand and grace and innocence on the other.

Watching the film led me to the conclusion that ruthless competition and the fear of failure and loneliness lead us to make sacrifices and as a result we let our black swan win by “devouring” the wings of our white swan, preventing it from taking flight. In doing so, we keep our innocence in check. We often do this for protection, to protect ourselves from suffering: in fact, I wanted to portray the white swan with the black swan in a version where they have a loving approach towards each other. There is no fight between them, even if the black swan has broken the white swan’s wings, it lovingly wraps its legs around it, it seems that it does not let it fly or walk and in doing so it is clear that it’s real intention is to protect.

height 55 inch x width 39 inch

My intention with this work is to encourage the viewer to reflect “how many and what beautiful and innocent feelings have we stifled within ourselves to protect ourselves?”.

Dimensions of the painting (canvas) 55 inch x 39 inch, together with the white veil, height 102 inch, the width with the black wings 79 inch

The shields
of the soul

The soul is our deep being that is not visible and not palpable: we believe it exists, we feel it and often cannot describe it. Is it an energy? Is it mutable and we can change it or is it stable and modifies us by leading us on a predetermined path? 

height 39 inch x width 55 inch

I have asked myself many questions about what my soul is, and I wanted to put my personal reflection on the canvas: I came to conclusion that the soul protects us by creating shields. I realized that I seek communication with the soul especially in difficult moments (or does it seek communicate with me?), I perceive it as a whisper between the deep me without space or time and the real me here and now. I hear it’s warnings, it’s like internal radar coming from deep inside. I often can’t explain why I was able to instantly make this or that decision, which later proved to be beneficial for me.

Four differently colored wings with the eyes inside on the inside (the photos of the eyes were taken in an ophthalmology clinic), two black wings of the nocturnal animal they support (24-hour protection guaranteed ;-).
The sword behind my left shoulder (I have a very special relationship with this shoulder as it has been injured and operated on several times…). Strangely enough, many times, this very shoulder has protected me, at times it has prevented me from doing things, but I am sure it has changed the course of my life because (just like a radar) it helped to distinguish people and select deep relationships.
Three types of shields (24/7 protection ;-)… Templar, Roman, Viking with Celtic runes.
The black dragon at the foot with its teeth out like a guard dog.

The soul protects itself with the mask on its face and the red feather on its shoulders, putting it on guard so that no one gets the unhealthy idea to attack it.
The arrows that try to attack it, in fact, against these shields that the soul has built, become white and therefore harmless.
I fully realize that they are subjective sensations, and I would like to compare myself with the spectators to understand how and what they perceive from their souls … I believe that the ideas of others would inspire me to create the new works because this research stimulates greatly.

 

Angel of Strength

The great desire to obtain Swiss nationality forced me to learn PATIENCE. With this artwork I wanted to express what the waiting process was for me, almost 2 very long years of balancing between arduous desire and patience. The colors red and white are specially chosen in reference to the colors of the Swiss flag.

height 31 inch X width 47 inch

Patience for me was the suffering that I had to accept and live as serenely as possible. I believe that only meditative prayers helped me to overcome that period and for this reason the angel’s wings represent the spiritual strength from which I could draw energy.

The reflection I made: when children crave something and cannot have it immediately, they burst into tears. Then as they mature they teach us that we must learn patience, which sometimes we do, but I think we often learn to pretend to have learned it with seemingly calm behaviors, so we must hold back our energies and meditate but also pray in order not to “explode” with inappropriate behaviors. However, the energy that creates the expectation remains “red” and burns and we try to tame it with patience.

The Phoenix

What leads to a transformation: birth or death, the beginning or the end?

The metamorphosis of the butterfly leads us to reflect on how complex the transformation process is, a phase must be completed to give birth to a subsequent phase. In the butterfly there is nothing of the caterpillar, neither in appearance nor in substance (the caterpillar feeds relentlessly, the butterfly flies and sometimes even lives without even feeding) and for the butterfly to be born the caterpillar must be born… and for the caterpillar to be born the butterfly must be born – it is a cycle.

height 55 inch x 39 inch

My reflection on transformation and change led me to create a work with the blue hourglass that pours the four physical appearance changes (experienced in person) into the phoenix. The hourglass represents time, and the phoenix can break it because the force that enriches change is stronger than time, it is natural. 

The two caterpillars above start the process by eating the ivy leaves that surround the entire hourglass, the 4 personalities cancel each other out by merging and pour into the phoenix which in turn, opening its wings, breaks the boundaries and gives birth to butterflies that soar into flight. Butterflies also leave the boundaries of the picture as a sign that there are no limits for rebirth and transformation or change.

Little Prince

With this artwork I wanted to represent the effect that the separation had on me and how I was inspired by the story “The Little Prince”.

height 31 inch x 47 inch

The rupture of the relationship between the Rose and the Little Prince prompts the Prince to leave her and explore new worlds. A bit like when we, after processing the loss, move towards opportunities that we previously precluded ourselves. Separation, however painful, is necessary, and the separation process leads to differentiation between self and others.

The distance from the Rose allowed the Little Prince to understand their relationship’s importance and to give value to their bond.
Our Rose could also be perceived as the metaphor of the family from which each of us must separate in order to grow, only to find it again as an adult in a different relationship, based no longer on needs but on values and gratitude.

How often do we think of our “Flower” as the Little Prince did? “I ought to have judged her by deeds, and not by words. She cast her fragrance and her radiance over me. I should never have run away from her… I should have guessed all the affection that lay behind her poor little tricks… but I was too young to know how to love her”.

In my painting, the Little Prince is bitten by 6 snakes which for me are: insecurity, suffering, loneliness, fear, boredom, impatience. Despite this, he managed to make his Rose grow more and more and get to the point where he no longer feels the bites, because even if the snakes bite him they no longer have any effect on him – because the love towards what he holds inside has become so solid and great that the only thing he feels is the ecstasy of pleasure.

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