ARTLO ISSUE 6

EXHIBITIONS BOOKS ARTISTS COLLECTORS CURIOSITIES
ARTLO
The International Art Magazine
The Face of Authority: Hans Holbein the Younger and the
Invention of Power in Tudor England
Special Feature: Katja Lührs
Issue 6 | Mar-Apr 2026

Zurbarán
2 May 2026 – 23 August 2026
The National Gallery - London
The first major monographic exhibition in the UK devoted to Francisco de Zurbarán brings together nearly fifty
paintings spanning the full breadth of the artist’s career. Renowned for his powerful naturalism, spiritual intensity
and masterful treatment of light, Zurbarán’s work ranges from monumental depictions of saints and altarpieces to
rare and contemplative still lifes.
Uniting exceptional loans from major public and private collections — including the Louvre, the Art Institute of
Chicago and the Prado — alongside key works from National Gallery, the exhibition offers a comprehensive
exploration of one of the great masters of 17th-century Spain. Organised chronologically and thematically across
seven sections, it reveals Zurbarán’s visionary approach to faith, material presence and quiet emotional force.
NG1930. Francisco de Zurbarán
Saint Margaret of Antioch 1630-4. oil on canvas. 163 × 105 cm
© The National Gallery, London

ARTLO magazine
Edition
Issue 6. March -April 2026
Founder & Editor-in-chief:
Jessie S. Martin
Curator:
Susan Wilson
Art Advisor:
Matteo D’Angelo
Social media manager & web:
Marie Dubois
Website and app development:
Robert Miller
Contributors:
Casilda Fernández
Amanda Heenan
Marie Dubois
Alexander Martin
Susan Wilson
María Teresa Rodríguez
On the Front Cover:
After Hans Holbein the Younger
Portrait of Henry VIII (fulllength),
c. 1540–1547
Oil on panel , Public domain
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Published by ARTLO Magazine
Editor-in-Chief: Jessie S. Martin
Published in Madrid, Spain
Distributed internationally
Dear readers...
Across this issue of ARTLO Magazine, the contemporary art landscape is
approached not as a sequence of events, but as a field of thought — one that
unfolds across exhibitions, texts, histories and lived experience.
Our presence at Art Madrid marks a point of direct engagement with the current
Spanish art scene, yet this issue deliberately moves beyond the immediacy of the
fair. Rather than documenting events alone, it reflects on the conditions that
continue to shape artistic practice today — from the structures of the art market to
the persistence of painting as a language of inquiry.
At the centre of this edition lies our main feature, dedicated to Hans Holbein and his portraits within the
Tudor court. Far from being simple representations of power, these works are examined as instruments
of political construction — images that do not merely depict authority, but actively shape it. In this
context, portraiture emerges not as likeness, but as strategy: a carefully constructed visual language
through which power, identity and legitimacy are negotiated.
This dialogue is expanded through a series of contributions that move between past and present. In her
essay, Dr Casilda Fernández revisits the myth of Saturn through Rubens and Goya, revealing not only
two images, but two radically different ways of understanding violence, history and the limits of
representation. From there, the issue opens towards questions of creativity, perception and meaning —
from Amanda Heenan’s reflection on creativity as a transformative force, to the enduring relevance of
Panofsky’s iconological method and its resonance in works such as Dürer’s Melencolia I.
The essays gathered in this edition share a common concern: how images think. This is particularly
evident in our feature on Frida Kahlo, which resists the reduction of her work to biography and instead
examines the body as a site of perception, construction and identity. Here, as elsewhere in the issue, art
is not treated as illustration, but as a form of knowledge.
Alongside these reflections, the magazine engages with the present moment — from major institutional
exhibitions, such as the retrospective of Tracey Emin at Tate Modern, to broader cultural questions
surrounding access, authorship and the role of museums today. Whether considering the Turner Prize,
the shifting models of institutions like MoMA PS1, or the position of the Prado within global debates on
cultural value, each text contributes to a wider understanding of how art operates within contemporary
conditions.
The second half of the issue is dedicated to a curated selection of artists whose work we believe deserves
visibility. This is not conceived as a neutral catalogue, but as an editorial position — one that brings
together diverse practices while maintaining a clear curatorial perspective.
Across these pages, one idea remains constant:
that art is not only a way of seeing, but a way of thinking — a means of confronting reality, questioning
inherited structures, and shaping new forms of understanding.
Jessie S. Martin
Editor-in-Chief
I E d i t o r i a l C o n t r i b u t o r s I
Dr Casilda Fernández is an art historian and writer based in Madrid. She studied Art History at the
Universidad Complutense de Madrid, where she later completed her doctoral research focusing on Spanish
painting and visual culture.
Her work explores the relationship between artistic production and historical context, with particular attention
to the cultural and social frameworks that shape artistic expression. She has written on early modern painting,
exhibition practices, and the evolving role of museums within contemporary society.
With a rigorous yet accessible approach, Dr Fernández brings a thoughtful and historically grounded
perspective to her writing, combining academic depth with a clear and engaging voice.
Amanda Heenan is a mixed-media artist whose practice is rooted in the relationship between creativity,
healing, and introspection. Drawing from personal experience, her work explores the restorative potential of
artistic practice as a means of navigating vulnerability and transformation. In this issue, she contributes a
reflective text on creativity as a space for renewal, resilience, and inner clarity.
Matteo D’Angelo is an Italian art historian, photographer and advisor with experience across Europe’s
cultural landscape. Trained in Rome and Berlin, he has worked with galleries, institutions and private
collectors, focusing on emerging talent and the shifting dynamics of the contemporary art market. His
expertise bridges critical insight and curatorial strategy, with a particular interest in artists whose work
challenges conventional narratives.
General Enquiries
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45 Fitzroy Street, Fitzrovia
London W1T 6EB
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1º E-I 28045 Madrid
Spain
ARTLO Magazine 3

I I n P e r s p e c t i v e I
T e x t b y D r C a s i l d a F e r n á n d e z , A r t H i s t o r i a n
Rubens / Goya
Two Visions of Saturn
WHEN RUBENS AND GOYA
painted Saturn Devouring His Son,
they were not simply illustrating a
classical myth. They were confronting
a question that goes beyond
mythology: how violence can be
represented, and what a culture is able
—or willing—to see.
Rubens’ Saturn Devouring His Son
remains anchored in the world of
tradition. The god is monstrous, yet
still recognisable as a figure inherited
from classical history. His body is
powerful, sculptural, almost heroic in
its anatomy. The act itself, though
brutal, unfolds within a theatrical logic.
Horror is present, but it is framed. The
viewer is allowed distance.
That distance is crucial. In Rubens,
violence can still be organised as
narrative. It belongs to a story that
gives form and meaning even to
destruction. Saturn’s act horrifies, but it
does not collapse the order of the
world. The image absorbs the violence
and contains it, transforming excess
into spectacle. Even at its most savage,
the painting remains legible,
composed, governed by pictorial
convention.
Rubens’ Saturn still inhabits a moral
universe. The crime, however extreme,
is circumscribed by myth and by form.
The viewer is not implicated; they
observe. Violence is something that
happens there, within the painting,
held at a safe remove by the language
of art. Goya’s Saturn offers no such
containment. Painted centuries later,
on the walls of the artist’s own house,
the figure no longer belongs to myth
but to something closer to a
nightmare. The body is gaunt,
unbalanced, stripped of grandeur. The
god does not perform violence; he is
consumed by it. His eyes are wide and
frantic, fixed not on the act itself but
on an inner terror that cannot be
named.
Left: Peter Paul Rubens Saturn Devouring His Son, c. 1636–38 Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid
Right: Francisco de GoyaSaturn Devouring His Son, c. 1820–23 Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid
Here, violence is no longer narrable. It
is immediate, intimate, and
psychologically unstable. Goya gives
the viewer no position of safety. There
is no theatrical framing, no classical
distance, no inherited story to soften
the blow. The painting confronts the
viewer with something raw and
unresolved, closer to madness than
myth. Saturn is no longer a god acting
within a story; he is a creature trapped
in an endless present of fear and
destruction. The difference between
these two works is not merely stylistic.
It reflects a shift in historical
consciousness. Rubens paints within a
world that still believes in continuity,
order, and meaning, even when
depicting destruction. Goya paints
after that belief has fractured. His
Saturn belongs to a world in which
violence no longer explains itself, and
time no longer guarantees renewal.
In this sense, Saturn becomes more
than a mythological figure. He
becomes an image of history itself. In
Rubens, time devours but also renews.
In Goya, time devours without
promise. The future offers no
resolution, only repetition and decay.
The myth survives, but its moral
framework has collapsed.
Seen together, these two paintings
reveal how profoundly the limits of
representation can change. One shows
violence as something the image can
still master. The other shows what
happens when mastery fails, when
painting can no longer impose order
on experience.
Between Rubens and Goya, the
myth endures—but belief in it does
not.
ARTLO Magazine 6

Theatre Picasso at Tate Modern
17 September 2025 – 12 April 2026
www.tate.org.uk
© Tate (Larina Fernandes)
ARTLO Magazine 7

I I n P e r s p e c t i v e I
T e x t b y A m a n d a H e e n a n - a r t i s t
Creativity as a Transformative
Force
Exploring creativity as a way of
reconnecting with ourselves,
each other, and the living world
Author’s note
This reflection arises from my work
through Art for Healing, where I explore
creativity as a way of reconnecting with
ourselves, each other, and the living world
— especially in times of personal, social,
and systems change. My practice weaves
together art-making, storytelling, and
reflective spaces that invite imagination,
care, and moral courage back into our
shared work.
At times of profound uncertainty and
systems change, creativity is often
framed as a luxury — something to
return to when the “serious work” is
done. My work through Art for
Healing has taught me the opposite.
Creativity is not an add-on to
transformation; it is one of its most
essential forces.
Creativity reconnects us to something
deeply human. It reminds us that we
are not only workers, consumers, or
roles within a system, but sensing,
imagining beings capable of
perceiving beyond what already exists.
In creative practice — whether through
art, movement, making, or imagining
— people often rediscover a sense of
belonging to themselves, to one
another, and to the living world. This
reconnection is not abstract; it is felt,
embodied, and quietly transformative.
Amanda Heenan. Untitled (Stag), watercolour on paper, 41 × 36 cm
A powerful example of creativity as a
lifeline comes from Nazanin Zaghari-
Ratcliffe, who was imprisoned in Iran
for six years. During her detention, she
sewed clothes for her young daughter
using a shared prison sewing machine.
ARTLO Magazine 8

Amanda Heenan. Untitled (Fire Horse), watercolour on paper, 41 × 36 cm
In conditions designed to strip people
of agency and dignity, creativity
became an anti-oppressive force — a
way of remaining inwardly free. While
systems can remove external freedoms,
they cannot take away imagination.
Creativity kept her human, connected,
and alive.
This same truth appears in
peacebuilding. The scholarpractitioner
John Paul Lederach
describes peace not as something
engineered through technique, but as
something imagined into being. In The
Moral Imagination, he argues that
lasting change depends on our capacity
to generate constructive possibilities
that are rooted in the realities of
violence and injustice, yet not bound
by them.
He suggests this capacity resembles an
artistic process — one that listens
deeply, works with uncertainty, and
creates space for what does not yet
exist.
My own understanding of creativity
has also been shaped through art
practice and study, particularly
through Drawing on the Right Side of
the Brain. Edwards describes creativity
as a shift in modes of attention: from
fast, language-based, symbolic
thinking, to a slower, more perceptual
and relational way of seeing. Artists
learn to move beyond labels and
shorthand, noticing tone, shape, space,
and relationship instead. This shift is
not only useful for drawing — it offers
a bridge back into creativity for all of
us.
Much of modern life trains us to live in
strategic, analytical, survival-oriented
modes of attention. Through Art for
Healing, I see again and again how
creative practice offers another way of
knowing — one that allows the
nervous system to settle, perception to
widen, and new possibilities to
emerge. In this sense, creativity shifts
us from thinking about the world to
being with it.
When we understand creativity
in this broader way, its
relevance for systems change
becomes clear. Creativity is
how we stay human inside
broken systems — and how we
begin to imagine more humane
ones into existence.
Text by Amanda Heenan —
Mixed-Media Artist focused on
creativity and healing
www.arcofinclusion.co.uk
ARTLO Magazine 9

I B O O K S I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & M A T T E O D ´ A N G E L O
Meaning in the Visual Arts
Meaning in the Visual
Arts
Erwin Panofsky, 1983
University of Chicago
Press
ISBN: 978-0226645513
Meaning in the Visual Arts, by Erwin
Panofsky, has long occupied a central
position in the intellectual formation of art
historians. Since its first publication, the book
has been regarded not merely as a foundational
academic text, but as a manifesto for a
humanistic approach to the interpretation of
art—one that treats images as complex cultural
documents rather than isolated aesthetic
objects.
Rather than offering a linear history of styles
or artists, Meaning in the Visual Arts proposes
a method. Panofsky argues that works of art
must be understood on several interconnected
levels: from their immediate visual appearance,
through their conventional subject matter, to
their deeper cultural and philosophical
significance. This layered reading—later
formalised as pre-iconographical,
iconographical, and iconological analysis—
became one of the most influential tools in
twentieth-century art history and remains
essential today.
The volume brings together a carefully curated
selection of Panofsky’s most important essays,
many of which originally appeared in Studies
in Iconology and The Life and Art of Albrecht
Dürer. These texts reveal his extraordinary
ability to connect seemingly minor visual
details—gestures, objects, compositional
choices—to broader systems of belief,
intellectual traditions, and historical
circumstances. For Panofsky, a painting is
never mute: it speaks the language of its time,
provided we know how to listen.
Particularly significant are the framing texts
written specifically for this collection.
In The History of Art as a Humanistic
Discipline, Panofsky defends art history as a
field rooted in the humanities, aligned with
philosophy, literature, and history rather than
purely formal analysis. Art, in his view, is a
product of human thought and experience,
shaped by ideas, values, and social structures.
This position was especially important in the
mid-twentieth century, when methodological
debates threatened to reduce art history to
stylistic taxonomy.
The closing essay, Three Decades of Art
History in the United States: Impressions of a
Transplanted European, adds a reflective and
personal dimension. Here, Panofsky considers
his own intellectual journey from Europe to
America, offering insights into the
transformation of art-historical scholarship
across continents. The text reads not only as an
academic assessment, but as a meditation on
exile, adaptation, and the transmission of ideas.
Taken as a whole, Meaning in the Visual Arts
exemplifies Panofsky’s exceptional erudition
and his unwavering commitment to
understanding art as a meaningful human
activity. For contemporary readers—whether
students, scholars, or culturally engaged
readers—the book remains a reminder that
images are never innocent. They are shaped by
thought, belief, and history, and it is precisely
this depth of meaning that makes their study
endlessly rewarding.
The Arnolfini Portrait
Jan van Eyck, 1434.
A paradigmatic example of how
seemingly ordinary scenes operate as
complex cultural texts—precisely the
kind of image that Meaning in the
Visual Arts teaches us to read beyond
surface appearance.
ARTLO Magazine 10

I B O O K S I
Thinking Images:
Dürer’s Melencolia I
and the Renaissance
Mind
Melencolia I
Albrecht Dürer, 1514.
Included as a
paradigmatic example of
Renaissance imagery
requiring iconological
interpretation.
In Melencolia I (1514), Albrecht Dürer offers one of
the most profound visual meditations of the
Renaissance on knowledge, creativity, and intellectual
limitation. The engraving does not depict an external
narrative, but an internal condition: a state of suspended
thought in which reason, imagination, and ambition
coexist with doubt and restraint.
The winged figure, traditionally identified as Melancholy,
is surrounded by instruments associated with measurement
and scientific inquiry—compasses, a balance, a polyhedron,
a magic square. These objects evoke mathematics,
geometry, and rational order, disciplines that had gained
unprecedented prestige in the early sixteenth century. Yet
none of them are in use. Knowledge is present,
accumulated, even mastered, but it does not translate into
action or fulfilment.
This conception of melancholy marks a significant shift
from medieval thought. Rather than a purely negative or
pathological condition, melancholy here is linked to the
intellectual elite: the thinker, the artist, the philosopher. It is
the burden of those who seek understanding and are
painfully aware of the limits of human reason. Time,
symbolised by the hourglass, passes inexorably; perfection
remains elusive.
It is precisely this layered density of meaning that
made Melencolia I central to the iconological method
developed by Erwin Panofsky. The image cannot be
fully understood through formal analysis alone. Its
symbols draw upon Renaissance philosophy,
astrology, theories of the humours, and humanist
debates on the nature of genius. To read the image is
to reconstruct the intellectual world that produced it.
Seen through Panofsky’s lens, Dürer’s engraving
becomes a paradigmatic example of how images
function as vehicles of thought. They do not merely
reflect reality or decorate it; they articulate ideas,
anxieties, and aspirations shared by a culture.
Melencolia I thus stands as a visual counterpart to the
humanistic approach Panofsky championed: an image
that demands interpretation, historical awareness, and
intellectual empathy.
ARTLO Magazine 11

I B O O K S I
From Art Work: On the
Creative Life
Art Work: On the Creative Life
Art Work:
On the Creative Life
Sally Mann
Harry N Abrams Inc
ISBN 978-1419780714
On the Creative Life is not a theory of art,
nor a guide to success. It is a quiet, lucid
reflection on what it actually means to live
as an artist over time. Drawing on decades
of photographic practice, Sally Mann
writes with candour about work, doubt,
discipline, failure, ageing, and the slow
accumulation of experience that shapes a
life devoted to making images.
The book moves fluidly between personal
memory and professional insight without ever
becoming sentimental. Mann speaks openly
about uncertainty, repetition, and the long
stretches where nothing seems to happen—
treating them not as interruptions to creativity,
but as its true material. In her account, creative
life is not defined by moments of inspiration,
but by endurance, patience, and the
willingness to remain attentive even when
progress feels invisible.
There is a marked resistance here to the
mythology of artistic genius. Mann avoids
grand declarations and motivational
rhetoric, focusing instead on the daily
realities of work: returning to the same
questions, accepting limitation, and
continuing despite doubt. Creativity
emerges not as a state of exaltation, but as a
form of sustained commitment, shaped as
much by constraint and frustration as by
insight.
Written with clarity and restraint, On the
Creative Life will resonate with artists and
readers who are sceptical of simplified
narratives about talent and success, and who
recognise creative practice as something
lived rather than performed. It is a
contemporary book, but one grounded
firmly in experience rather than fashion—
calm, intelligent, and quietly exacting,
offering a rare sense of honesty about what
it means to stay with the work over a
lifetime.
ARTLO Magazine 12

Musée d´Orsay
25.03.2026 - 27.07.2026 ARTLO
Magazine 13

I B O O K S I
Just Kids
Patti Smith
ED: Ecco
ISBN 978-0060936228
JUST KIDS IS A QUIET,
INTIMATE MEMOIR about youth,
friendship, and the formative years of
an artistic life. Centred on Patti Smith’s
relationship with photographer Robert
Mapplethorpe, the book traces their
arrival in New York in the late 1960s
and their shared struggle to become
artists, long before recognition or
success.
Written with simplicity and emotional
precision, the book captures the
texture of a life shaped by poverty,
devotion to art, and mutual
encouragement. Smith avoids nostalgia
and self-mythologising, focusing
instead on daily routines, small
discoveries, and the fragile balance
between ambition and loyalty. Art
appears not as a career strategy, but as a
necessity—something lived rather than
planned.
Neither an art-historical essay nor a
conventional autobiography, Just Kids
is a contemporary classic that speaks to
anyone interested in creativity as a way
of life. It is reflective without being
sentimental, accessible without being
shallow, and quietly powerful in its
portrayal of what it means to grow
into art alongside another person.
ARTLO Magazine 14

I B O O K S I
Ewa Juszkiewicz:
Recent Paintings
This publication offers a concentrated
yet expansive view of the recent work
of Ewa Juszkiewicz, an artist whose
practice is firmly rooted in painting’s
historical structures while remaining
unmistakably of the present. Known
for her unsettling reworkings of
classical portraiture, Juszkiewicz
engages with Old Master imagery not
as quotation or homage, but as material
to be reconfigured and questioned.
The book brings together a carefully
edited selection of paintings that
demonstrate her sustained interest in
anonymity, visibility and the
construction of identity. Faces are
concealed, distorted or replaced by
organic and painterly forms, disrupting
the traditional function of the portrait
as a vehicle of recognition. What
emerges instead is a quiet tension
between familiarity and estrangement,
beauty and discomfort.
Accompanied by thoughtful critical
texts, the publication situates
Juszkiewicz’s work within a broader
dialogue on the legacy of European
painting and its relevance today.
Rather than framing her practice
through spectacle or provocation, the
book foregrounds painting as a slow,
deliberate process — one that
acknowledges the weight of history
while insisting on its continued
capacity for reinvention.
More than a monograph of recent
works, this volume reads as a reflection
on how contemporary painting can
inhabit tradition without being
constrained by it, making it a valuable
reference for artists, historians and
readers interested in the ongoing life of
figurative painting.
Publisher: Gagosian
/ Rizzoli
Publish Date: March
03, 2026
ISBN 978-0847874156
Ewa Juszkiewicz, Portrait of a Lady (After Louis-Léopold
Boilly), 2019.
Oil on canvas, 200 × 160 cm.
Offered at auction with a starting estimate of €200,000.
Louis-Léopold Boilly, Madame Saint-Ange Chevrier,
1807, oil on canvas, 74 × 60 cm (Nationalmuseum,
Stockholm, 7298).
ARTLO Magazine 15

I N E W S & E V E N T S I
Tate Modern, London
Tracey
Emin: A
Second Life
27 February - 31 August 2026
https://www.tate.org.uk
This spring season, Tate Modern
will stage the largest ever survey
exhibition celebrating the
groundbreaking work of worldrenowned
artist Dame Tracey Emin
(b.1963). Emin’s commitment to
unapologetic self-expression has
transformed our understanding of
what art can be and continues to
influence contemporary art today,
using the female body to explore
passion, pain and healing. Spanning
her extraordinary 40-year practice -
from seminal installations made in
the 1990s, to recent paintings and
bronzes going on display for the first
time - A Second Lifemarks the most
significant exhibition of Emin’s
career, tracing the key life events
that have shaped her journey and
transformation. Conceived in close
collaboration with the artist, it will
bring together over 90 works
encompassing painting, video,
textile, neon, sculpture and
installation, demonstrating her
uncompromising confessional
approach to sharing experiences of
love, trauma and personal growth.
Charting Emin’s lifelong
commitment to painting, the show
will begin by presenting works from
her first solo exhibition at White
Cube, My Major Retrospective
1982-93, comprising a series of tiny
photographs of her art school
paintings from the 1980s which
Tracey Emin, Why I Never Became a Dancer 1995 ©
Tracey Emin
Tracey Emin, Is This a Joke 2009 © Tracey Emin
she destroyed following a difficult
period of her life. These will be
shown alongside Tracey Emin CV
1995, a self-portrait and first-person
narration of her life up until that
moment and the poignant video
work Why I Never Became A
Dancer 1995, in which the artist
recounts traumatic events from her
teenage years in Margate. Together,
these early works will introduce
visitors to Emin’s instantly
recognisable first-person voice and
confessional approach to storytelling.
Tracey Emin My Bed 1998 © Tracey Emin. Photo
credit Courtesy The Saatchi Gallery, London
Photograph by Prudence C.
ARTLO Magazine 16

Emin's deep-rooted connection to her
hometown of Margate has been a
constant thread throughout her
practice. Leaving Margate aged 15,
Emin returned intermittently during
her late teens and early 20s before
moving to London in 1987 to study at
the Royal College of Art. After
witnessing her mother’s passing in
Margate in 2016 and surviving cancer
in 2020, Emin returned to the seaside
town, making it her permanent home
and establishing the Tracey Emin
Artist Residency, a free studio-based
art school. Tate Modern will showcase
works from Emin’s life centered
around Margate and memories of her
childhood, exploring how she revisits
and retells her personal history.
Emphasising the turbulent years she
spent there, Mad Tracey From Margate:
Everybody’s Been There 1997 lays bare
her most intimate thoughts through
handstitched phrases, letters and
drawings, while the wooden
rollercoaster It's Not the Way I Want to
Die 2005 takes inspiration from the
town’s famous amusement park
Dreamland to reflect on her anxieties
and vulnerabilities.
Emin frequently confronts personal
trauma and pain, dispelling the stigma
surrounding issues that are often left
undiscussed. The exhibition addresses
the artist’s experience of sexual assault,
including the neon I could have Loved
my Innocence 2007 and the embroidered
calico Is This a Joke 2009. In one of her
most personal video works, How It
Feels 1996, Emin gives a challenging
yet empowering account of an
abortion that went wrong, describing
institutional neglect, the physical and
psychological implications of refusing
motherhood, and the misogyny
associated with it. Shown publicly for
the first time, the quilt The Last of the
Gold 2002 is emblazoned with an ‘A to
Z of abortion’, providing advice for
women facing a similar situation.
Tracey Emin, Exorcism of the last painting I ever made
1996 © Tracey Emin
At the heart of the show sit two
seminal installations: Exorcism of the
Last Painting I Ever Made1996 and
My Bed 1998. The first documents a
period of three weeks where Emin
locked herself in a Stockholm gallery
attempting to reconcile her
relationship with painting, which she
Tracey Emin, I never Asked to Fall in Love - You made
me Feel like This 2018 © Tracey Emin.
ARTLO Magazine 17

I N E W S & E V E N T S I
had abandoned six years prior after her
experience of abortion. This is followed
by Emin’s iconic Turner-Prize
nominated installation, documenting
her recovery from an alcohol-fuelled
breakdown. These extraordinary works
move the visitor from Emin's first life to
her second life, post illness and surgery.
The exhibition culminates with the
artist exploring the dimensions of her
second life in painting. While pain and
heartbreak are still present, Emin’s
ambitious large-scale paintings offer a
transcendent, spiritual quality, showing
a resolute determination to live in the
present. Never without a darker side,
the sculpture Death Mask 2002 sits
amongst these expansive paintings
illustrating a life lived to the full.
Moving beyond the gallery walls, the
monumental bronze I Followed You
Until The End 2023 will command the
landscape outside Tate Modern,
inviting passersby to experience Emin’s
groundbreaking, visceral work.
Dame Tracey Emin said “I’m very
excited about having a show at Tate
Modern. For me, it’s one of the greatest
international contemporary art
museums in the world and it’s here in
London. I feel this show, titled ‘A
second Life’, will be a bench mark for
me. A moment in my life when I look
back and go forward. A true celebration
of living”.
Tracey Emin: A Second Life is presented
in the Eyal Ofer Galleries. The
exhibition is in partnership with Gucci,
with additional support from the Tracey
Emin Exhibition Supporters Circle and
Tate Members. It is curated by Maria
Balshaw, Director, Tate; Alvin Li,
Curator, International Art, supported by
Asymmetry Art Foundation, Tate
Modern; and Jess Baxter, Assistant
Curator, International Art, Tate
Modern.
Tate Members get unlimited free entry
to all Tate exhibitions. Become a
Member at tate.org.uk/members.
Everyone aged 16-25 can visit all Tate
exhibitions for £5 by joining Tate
Collective. To join for free, visit
tate.org.uk/tate-collective.
Tracey Emin, I am The Last of my Kind 2019 © Tracey Emin
About Tracey Emin
Tracey Emin was born in 1963 in
London. She currently lives and works
in Margate, UK and France. Emin has
exhibited extensively including major
exhibitions at Munchmuseet, Oslo
(2021); Royal Academy of Arts, London
(2020); Musée d’Orsay, Paris (2019);
Leopold Museum, Vienna (2015);
Museum of Contemporary Art, Miami,
Florida (2013); Museo de Arte
Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires
(2012); Turner Contemporary, Margate
(2012); Hayward Gallery, London
(2011); Kunstmuseum Bern (2009);
Scottish National Gallery of Modern
Art, Edinburgh (2008); Art Gallery of
New South Wales, Sydney (2003); and
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (2002).
Emin’s work is included in museum and
public collections worldwide, including
Arts Council of Great Britain; British
Museum, London; Castello di Rivoli,
Turin; Dallas Museum of Art, Texas;
Fundación Jumex Arte
Contemporáneo, Mexico City; Getty
Institute, Los Angeles; Istanbul Museum
of Modern Art; Museum MACAN,
Jakarta; Museum of Modern Art, New
York; Pompidou Centre, Paris;
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum,
New York; Stedelijk Museum,
Amsterdam; Tate, London; and Yale
Center for British Art, New Haven. In
2007, Emin represented Great Britain at
the 52nd Venice Biennale. In 2011, she
was appointed Professor of Drawing at
the Royal Academy of Arts, London,
and in 2012, was made Commander of
the Most Excellent Order of the British
Empire for her contributions to the
visual arts. In 2024, she was awarded a
Damehood in the King’s Birthday
Honours for her services to art.
Tracey Emin, I followed you to the end 2024.
Yale Centre for British Art. © Tracey Emin
A major
retrospective
spanning forty
years
of practice.
Tracey Emin, Mad Tracey from Margate.
Everyone's been there 1997 © Tracey Emin.
ARTLO Magazine 18

Tracey Emin, Ascension 2024 © Tracey Emin
ARTLO Magazine 19

I B O O K S I
Tracey Emin
A Second Life
Alvin Li
(Edited by)
Maria Balshaw
(Edited by)
Step into the tender, confessional
world of Tracey Emin.
Dame Tracey Emin is one of the
most important contemporary
artists of her generation. She was
catapulted into the public eye in the
1990s with iconic works like her
Turner Prize nominated My Bed,
which sparked fierce critical and
public debate, challenging what art
could be. Emin’s disregard for any
separation of the personal and the
public, along with her commitment
to unapologetic self-expression,
came to define a historic moment
in British culture and global art
history.
Broadening Emin’s story, this
monograph celebrates her raw and
confessional approach as she poses
profound questions on love,
trauma, and autobiography. It also
demonstrates her lifelong
commitment to painting, showing
her recent work as the culmination
of the ways she has channelled her
life into her art.
Published alongside a major
retrospective tracing 40 years of her
groundbreaking practice, the
publication reproduces Emin's
career-defining sensations
alongside works never exhibited
before. Through painting, video,
textiles, neons, writing, sculpture,
and installation, Emin continues to
challenge boundaries, using the
female body as a powerful tool to
explore passion, pain, and healing.
ARTLO Magazine 20

I N E W S & E V E N T S I
The Turner
Prize 2025
has been
awarded to
Nnena
Kalu.
The Turner Prize 2025 has been
awarded to Nnena Kalu. The
winner of the £25,000 prize was
announced on 9 December 2025
at a ceremony held at Bradford
Grammar School, presented by
magician Steven Frayne, formerly
known as Dynamo, in Bradford,
this year’s UK City of Culture,
and broadcast live on BBC News.
The jury congratulated all four
nominees for their unique and
bold presentations, offering an
insight into contemporary art
today. Working across sculpture,
painting, drawing, photography,
sound and installation, this year’s
nominees each reflect their
diverse practices and broad
experience in compelling
ways. The Turner Prize 2025
at Cartwright Hall Art
Gallery in Bradford has
attracted 34,000 visitors to
date.
The jury awarded the prize to
Nnena Kalu, who creates
hanging sculptures from
wrappings of different
materials making cocoon-like
shapes, as well as large-scale
drawings made with
vigorous, rhythmic lines. The
jury commended Kalu’s bold
and compelling work,
praising her lively translation
of expressive gesture into
captivating abstract sculpture
Turner Prize 2025. Photo (c) James Speakman_PA
Stephen Frayne presents the Turner Prize 2025.
Photo (c) James Speakman_PA
Cartwright Hall. Image credit Phil Jackson
and drawing. Noting her distinct
practice and finesse of scale,
composition and colour, they admired
the powerful presence these works have.
One of the best-known visual arts prizes
in the world, the Turner Prize aims to
promote public debate around new
developments in contemporary British
art. Established in 1984, the prize is
awarded each year to a British artist for
an outstanding exhibition or other
presentation of their work.
The members of the Turner Prize 2025
jury are Andrew Bonacina, independent
curator; Sam Lackey, Director,
Liverpool Biennial; Priyesh Mistry,
Associate Curator of Modern and
Contemporary Projects, The National
Gallery; and Habda Rashid, Senior
Curator of Modern and Contemporary
Art, Fitzwilliam Museum. The jury is
chaired by Alex Farquharson, Director,
Tate Britain.
The exhibition of the four shortlisted
artists is at Cartwright Hall Art Gallery,
Bradford until 22 February 2026. It is
co-curated by Jill Iredale, Curator,
Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Michael
Richmond, Curator, Yorkshire
Contemporary, and Sophie Bullen,
Assistant Curator, Yorkshire
Contemporary, for Bradford 2025 UK
City of Culture.
Turner Prize 2025 is produced by
Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture.
Delivered in partnership with Tate,
Bradford District Museums & Galleries
and Yorkshire Contemporary. It is
supported by The John Browne
Charitable Trust and The Uggla Family
Foundation. It is sponsored by
Amplitude Event Solutions.
In 2026, the prize will be held at
MIMA, Middlesborough.
ARTLO Magazine 21

I N E W S & E V E N T S I
About the Turner Prize
Established in 1984, the Turner Prize is
named after the radical British painter
JMW Turner (1775–1851), whose
250th birthday is marked this year.
£25,000 is awarded to the winner, with
£10,000 awarded to the other shortlisted
artists. Originating at Tate Britain, the
Turner Prize regularly travels to a non-
Tate venue in the UK, widening access
to contemporary art by bringing it to a
local leading arts venue.
About Steven Frayne
Since bursting onto the scene nearly
two decades ago, Steven Frayne -
formerly known as Dynamo - has
become one of the most recognisable
figures in global entertainment. From
sold-out arena tours to Sunday Times
bestsellers,
award-winning
documentaries, to countless accolades,
Steven’s legacy has touched millions
worldwide. In 2015, he was named the
Academy of Magical Arts Magician of
the Year and received the Magic
Circle’s prestigious Maskelyne Award
for Performance, achieving the society’s
highest level of recognition. Steven’s
on-screen career has been equally
remarkable, with three BAFTA
nominations, two Virgin Media
Awards, and Sky’s biggest
entertainment launch of the past decade
- 1.8 million viewers tuned in for the
premiere of his hit show Beyond Belief.
About Cartwright Hall
Art Gallery
Cartwright Hall Art Gallery is one of
four Bradford District Museums and
Galleries venues run by Bradford
Council. It can be found in the
stunning Green Flag awarded Lister
Park and is only a mile from Bradford
city centre. Inside you’ll find incredible
paintings, drawings and sculpture from
the district’s own world-class art
collections, including pieces by L.S.
Lowry, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein
and Anish Kapoor. The Hockney
Gallery, dedicated to Bradford born
artist David Hockney gives a playful
introduction to his life and art with a
particular focus on Yorkshire
Rene Matić by Diana Pfammatter
and Bradford, and taking you right
through to his colourful iPad
experiments. Alongside its permanent
displays the venue offers an exciting
programme of exhibitions and activities
and workshops.
About Yorkshire
Contemporary
Yorkshire Contemporary supports and
presents artistic practice across the
region, working with artists to develop
ambitious projects that respond to
current cultural dialogues. Based in
Leeds, the organisation nurtures early
career artists in West Yorkshire while
also showcasing national and
international practitioners, bringing
artists and audiences together through
collaborative, community-focused
initiatives.
Operating without a permanent venue,
Yorkshire Contemporary works in
partnership across Leeds and the wider
region, strengthening local arts
ecosystems as it moves towards
establishing a future permanent home.
Formerly known as The Tetley (2013–
2023), the organisation has supported
over 1,200 artists, including cocommissioning
Tai Shani’s Turner
Prize-winning exhibition Semiramis.
Zadie Xa by Diana Pfammatter
Alongside winner
Nnena Kalu, the other
shortlisted artists for
the Turner Prize 2025
are Rene Matić,
Mohammed Sami and
Zadie Xa.
Mohammed Sami by Sarel Jansen
ARTLO Magazine 22

About Nnena Kalu
Nnena Kalu was born in Glasgow,
Scotland, in 1966. Since 1999 Kalu has
been a resident artist in ActionSpace’s
studio, a visual arts organisation that
supports learning disabled artists across
London, based at Studio Voltaire.
Nnena Kalu is 59 years old and lives and
works in London.
Kalu creates large scale abstract
sculptures and drawings. Often made
onsite in the exhibition space, they
hang down from the wall or ceiling.
Kalu begins with a loop, tube or
armature that forms a base from which
she begins to wrap, fold and knot
colourful streams of repurposed fabric,
rope, parcel tape, cling film, paper and
reels of VHS tape. These brightly
coloured lengths and strips form a
bundle, sometimes resembling a nest or
cocoon. Kalu’s drawings feature
repeated gestural marks, layered to
create abstract forms often in the shape
of vortexes or spirals. Created whilst
standing, each drawing is made with
marks and movements replicated in a
series, usually in pairs or small groups,
using pens, pencils, ink, graphite and
pastels. Together the dense, rhythmic
whirlpool-like forms of line and colour,
echo the contours of her sculptures.
Kalu has been nominated for her
installation Hanging Sculpture 1-10.
Barcelona, presented as part of
Manifesta 15, Barcelona (8 September –
24 November 2024) and for her
presentation in Conversations, a group
exhibition at Walker Art Gallery,
Liverpool (19 October 2024 - 9 March
2025).
For Manifesta 15 Kalu was
commissioned to create a body of work
under the curatorial theme ‘Imagining
Futures’ at The Three Chimneys, a
disused power station. Her installation
consisted of 10 large brightly coloured
sculptures that hung amongst the grey
concrete pillars of the industrial site. In
Conversations Kalu presented Drawing
21 (2021), a work in pen, graphite and
chalk pen on two sheets of paper.
Other solo exhibitions include:
Creations of Care, Kunsthall Stavanger
(2025); Nnena Kalu,Arcadia Missa,
London (2024); Infinite Drawing,
Deptford X, London (2022); Studio
Voltaire elsewhere, Old Burlington
Street, London (2020);
Turner Prize 2025. Photo (c) James Speakman_PA Media Assignments
Wrapping, Humber Street Gallery, Hull
(2019); and Nnena Kalu, Project Ability
Gallery, Glasgow International (2018).
Group exhibitions include: Kaleidoscopic
Realms, Nottingham Castle Museum &
Art Gallery (2024); Trickster Figures:
Sculpture and the Body, MK Gallery,
Milton Keynes (2023); Summer
Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts,
London (2021); Spectrum Arts Prize,
Saatchi Gallery, London (2018); Radical
Craft: Alternative Ways of Making,
Pallant House Gallery, Chichester (2016);
The Trouble with Painting Today, Pump
House Gallery, London (2014); Side by
Side International Exhibition, Southbank
Centre, London (2013); Big Show, Studio
Voltaire, London (2004).
Turner Prize 2025. Photo (c) James Speakman/PA
Nnena Kalu. Courtesy of the Artist and ActionSpace.
ARTLO Magazine 23

ARTLO Magazine 24

Installation view of Nnena Kalu’s presentation at the
Turner Prize 2025, Cartwright Hall Art Gallery. Photo
© David Levene
ARTLO Magazine 25

I N E W S & E V E N T S I
Kimberly Miller
Appointed Global
Managing Director
for Luxury
CHRISTIE’S
8 King Street, St. James’s, London
SW1Y 6QT
www.christies.com
Christie's is pleased to
announce the promotion of
Kimberly Miller to Global
Managing Director for
Luxury. This appointment
follows an exceptional year
for Christie's Luxury. In
Geneva this November, the
Mellon Blue achieved CHF
20.5M (US$25.6M)—the
highest‐value jewelry lot sold
at auction in 2025—
contributing to a week of
sales up 24% year‐on‐year.
Overall, the Luxury category
realized $795M, marking 17%
growth from the previous
year.
Kimberly Miller previously
served as Regional Managing
Director for Luxury
Americas, where she led
business strategy, sales
expansion, and financial
performance across the
Jewelry, Watches, Wine, and
Handbags departments. She
played a pivotal role in the
integration of Gooding as
part of Christie's acquisition
and oversaw the successful
relaunch of wine auctions in
New York with The Cellar of
William I. Koch last year.
Prior to joining Luxury,
Kimberly held senior
specialist and management
roles in 20th Century Design
having begun her career in
the Wine Department at
Christie's in 2010. In her new
role, Kimberly will continue
to be based in New York and
will direct all aspects of our
luxury business across both
live and online auctions and
Private Sales, and will work
closely with colleagues across
the specialist departments in
Geneva, Hong Kong,
London, New York, and
Paris. She holds a BA in Art
History from Temple
University, Summa Cum
Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, and
an MBA from NYU Stern
School of Business.
Kimberly Miller
ARTLO Magazine 26

World’s Oldest Rock
Art Discovered in
Indonesia
Archaeologists working in
caves on the Indonesian island
of Sulawesi have identified
hand stencils dated to at least
67,800 years old, making
them the oldest known works
of art created by humans. The
discovery significantly
predates earlier examples of
cave art in Europe and
challenges long-held
assumptions about when and
where symbolic thought first
emerged.
Created by placing a hand
against the rock surface and
blowing pigment around it,
these images represent one of
the most direct and enduring
forms of human visual
expression. Their age suggests
that the impulse to leave a
trace of human presence is far
older than previously
understood.
The findings indicate that
early human groups in
Southeast Asia were already
capable of complex symbolic
behaviour at a very early
stage. Rather than originating
from a single cultural centre,
artistic practices now appear
to have developed
independently across multiple
regions, pointing to a far
more diverse and
interconnected prehistory of
art.
Hand stencils in prehistoric cave art. Image used for illustrative purposes.
Funerary portrait of a pharaoh, Old Kingdom, Dynasty V–VI (c. 2675–
2130 BCE). Photograph by Mary Harrsch. Courtesy of the Freer Gallery
of Art, Smithsonian Institution. CC BY 2.0.
Ancient Egyptian Statue
May Rewrite Old
Kingdom Art History
A newly uncovered Egyptian
statue dating back more than
4,000 years is prompting
scholars to reassess established
ideas about art and
representation during the Old
Kingdom. The sculpture,
notable for its unconventional
form and iconography, does
not conform to the stylistic
norms traditionally associated
with the period.
Rather than following the
rigid conventions often linked
to early dynastic art, the
figure displays features that
suggest a more flexible and
varied visual language.
This had led researchers to
question the extent to which
artistic production during the
Old Kingdom may have
allowed for experimentation,
regional variation or
individual expression.
Experts believe the discovery
could point to a broader
diversity in early Egyptian
artistic practices than
previously acknowledged. If
confirmed through further
study, the find may
significantly expand current
understanding of how status,
identity and individuality
were represented in one of
the earliest monumental art
traditions.
ARTLO Magazine 27

Claes Oldenburg
D R A W N F R O M L I F E
WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART · THROUGH APR 2026
ARTLO Magazine 28
W H I T N E Y · N E W YO R K

MoMA PS1 and the Politics of Free Access
BEGINNING ON 1 JANUARY
2026, MoMA PS1 will become the
largest free museum in New York City.
For a period of three years, admission
to the institution will be entirely free
for all visitors, removing one of the
most persistent barriers to cultural
participation in the contemporary
museum landscape. The initiative
coincides with the museum’s 50th
anniversary and has been made possible
through a major philanthropic gift
from creative entrepreneur Sonya Yu.
Unlike temporary free days or targeted
discount schemes, this decision
represents a structural shift in how
access is conceived. Free admission will
apply to the full scope of MoMA PS1’s
programme, including its flagship
exhibition Greater New York, opening
on 16 April 2026, as well as all
exhibitions and events marking the
institution’s anniversary year.
Founded in 1976 and housed in a
former nineteenth-century public
school in Long Island City, MoMA PS1
has long positioned itself as an
experimental platform for living artists.
Over five decades, it has played a
defining role in shaping New York’s
alternative art spaces, maintaining a
distinct identity even after becoming
affiliated with The Museum of Modern
Art in 2000. Its mission has consistently
prioritised artistic risk, emerging
practices and critical engagement over
spectacle.
According to Connie Butler, ns:
The Agnes Gund Director of MoMA
PS1, the move toward universal free
admission aligns with the institution’s
long-standing ethos. For Butler, the
donation enables PS1 to extend its role
as a cultural “oasis” in Queens, inviting
broader audiences to engage deeply
with contemporary art rather than
encountering it as an exclusive or
transactional experience.
MoMA PS1 courtyard, Queens, New York.
Sonya Yu has framed her support in
similar terms, emphasising the
importance of building authentic
creative communities and the formative
power of access to art. As a Chinese
immigrant and mother, she has spoken
publicly about how early exposure to
culture shapes imagination and
perspective — a belief that underpins
her decision to support PS1 at an
institutional level rather than through
individual projects or events.
ons span millennia and civilisatio
The announcement has also been
welcomed by local and state cultural
representatives, who have highlighted
MoMA PS1’s role within New York
City’s Cultural Institutions Group and
its contribution to the social and
cultural fabric of Queens. Beyond free
admission, the museum has recently
expanded language access initiatives in
English, Spanish and Chinese,
strengthened partnerships with local
organisations, and introduced
programmes specifically aimed at
residents of Long Island City.
In a global context where museums
increasingly rely on ticket revenue,
blockbuster exhibitions and visitor
metrics to justify their relevance,
MoMA PS1’s decision raises broader
questions. Can free access be sustained
without compromising curatorial
independence? Does removing the
price of entry meaningfully change
who feels entitled to occupy cultural
space? And what responsibilities do
institutions assume when they redefine
themselves as fully public resources?
For MoMA PS1, the anniversary year
offers an opportunity not only to
celebrate its history, but to test a model
of openness that places access at the
centre of institutional identity.
Whether this experiment will influence
other museums — particularly those
operating under similar urban and
economic pressures — remains to be
seen. What is clear, however, is that in
2026, one of New York’s most
influential contemporary art institutions
will be asking audiences to enter freely,
and to engage on different terms.
ARTLO Magazine 29

I E S S A Y S I
TEXT by Jessie S.Martin
Record visitor figures in 2025 reopen the
debate: Is the Prado the World’s Greatest
Painting Museum?
In an art world increasingly driven by metrics, rankings and
spectacle, the publication of museum attendance figures often
tells us less about artistic value than it appears to reveal.
The publication of museum
attendance figures for 2025 has
reignited an old but ever-relevant
debate within the international art
world: should cultural success be
measured by sheer visitor numbers,
or by the nature, depth and
coherence of a collection?
According to recently released data,
the Museo del Prado closed 2025
with over 3.6 million visitors, the
highest figure in its history. For the
Madrid institution, this milestone has
been received not as a race to
compete with the largest museums
on the planet, but as confirmation of
something more enduring: the
Prado’s unique position as one of the
most important pinacotecas in the
world.
By contrast, the Musée du Louvre
continues to dominate global
rankings with attendance figures
close to nine million visitors per
year, reaffirming its status as the
most visited museum on Earth. Yet
these numbers, impressive as they
are, raise increasingly complex
questions about what contemporary
museum success truly represents.
Beyond numbers: two very
different models
At first glance, the comparison
between the Louvre and the Prado
might seem straightforward: one
attracts more than twice the number
of visitors. However, the reality is far
more nuanced.
The Louvre is a universal museum in
the broadest sense. Its collections
span millennia and civilisations:
Exterior view of the Museo del Prado, Madrid — one of the world’s leading painting museums.
Mesopotamian reliefs, Egyptian
antiquities, Greek sculpture, Islamic
art, decorative arts, and, of course,
Western painting. For many visitors,
the experience is condensed into a
short, often hurried pilgrimage to a
handful of iconic works — most
notably Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona
Lisa — before moving on to the next
cultural landmark.
The Prado, by contrast, has never
sought to be encyclopaedic. Its
strength lies precisely in its focus. It
is, by definition and by vocation, a
pinacotheca — a museum devoted
primarily to painting. The term,
derived from the Greek
pinax(painting) and thēkē (container),
refers to an institution where
painting is not one discipline among
many, but the central axis around
which everything revolves.
What does it mean to be a
pinacotheca?
This distinction matters. A
pinacotheca is not merely a building
filled with paintings; it is a space
designed for sustained visual
engagement, historical continuity
and stylistic dialogue. In this sense,
the Prado is exceptional.
Its holdings of Velázquez, Goya, El
Greco, Rubens, Bosch and Titian are
not isolated masterpieces scattered
among unrelated objects. They form
coherent, deeply interrelated bodies
of work that allow visitors to follow
artistic development, influence and
rupture across generations. Few
museums in the world offer such
density of major paintings within a
single tradition, let alone across
several European schools.
This is why many art historians
argue that the Prado should not be
judged by the same criteria as a
universal museum.
ARTLO Magazine 30

It does not aim to be everything. It
aims to be the best at what it is.
A quieter success — and a
deliberate one
The record figures of 2025 have
been welcomed by the Prado’s
leadership, but without
triumphalism. In fact, voices from
within the institution have
repeatedly emphasised that
uncontrolled growth in visitor
numbers is not necessarily desirable.
In recent years, concerns have been
raised — particularly in France —
about the Louvre’s transformation
into something closer to a cultural
theme park. Overcrowded galleries,
brief encounters with artworks, and
visitor experiences shaped more by
social media than by contemplation
have become common criticisms.
The Prado has taken a different path.
Capacity controls, free evening
access for local audiences, and a
programming strategy focused on
scholarship and conservation rather
than spectacle have shaped a museum
experience that remains relatively
calm, even during peak periods.
The result is a paradox: fewer visitors
than the Louvre, but arguably more
time per visitor, more attention per
painting, and a deeper level of
engagement.
International relevance without
spectacle
Another striking aspect of the
Prado’s 2025 figures is the
composition of its audience. More
than half of its visitors came from
outside Spain, confirming the
museum’s strong international
appeal.
«Beyond
numbers: two
fundamentally
different
museum
models»
Diego Velázquez, Las Meninas (1656). Oil on canvas. Museo del Prado, Madrid.
Public domain image. Used for scholarly and editorial purposes (fair use).
Unlike some institutions that rely
heavily on blockbuster exhibitions to
drive tourism, the Prado’s core
attraction remains its permanent
collection.
This raises an important point: the
Prado does not need novelty to
remain relevant. Its relevance is
structural. It lies in the fact that no
serious study of European painting
can bypass Madrid.
For scholars, artists and collectors
alike, the Prado is not an optional
stop. It is a reference point.
Rethinking what “the best”
means
So, is the Louvre a greater museum
than the Prado? In terms of scale and
visibility, undoubtedly. But is it a
greater pinacotheca? That is a
different question — and one
increasingly answered in Madrid’s
favour.
The debate ultimately reflects a
broader cultural tension of our time:
mass access versus meaningful
experience, visibility versus depth,
entertainment versus contemplation.
Museums today are under pressure to
perform not only as guardians of
heritage, but as engines of tourism
and economic growth.
The Prado’s 2025 record suggests
that it is possible to grow without
surrendering to spectacle — and that
excellence, when sustained over
centuries, does not require
reinvention every season.
As the art world digests the latest
figures, one conclusion seems
unavoidable: while the Louvre may
be the most visited museum in the
world, the Prado remains one of its
most serious — and perhaps its most
profound.
And in the realm of painting,
seriousness still matters.
ARTLO Magazine 31

I E S S A Y S I
TEXT by Marie Dubois
The Lived Body: Frida Kahlo and the
Representation of Identity
Beyond biography and myth, this essay examines how Frida Kahlo transformed lived bodily experience into a
sustained visual reflection on identity, presence and representation.
The Lived Body: Accident, Illness
and Direct Experience
To write about Frida Kahlo is to
confront, almost immediately, a
methodological difficulty: the
temptation to reduce her work to her
biography. Few artists of the
twentieth century have been so
persistently explained through a
single event as Kahlo has through the
accident she suffered in 1925. The
collision between the bus she was
travelling on and a tram has become
a narrative shortcut, a convenient
point of origin from which her
entire artistic production is
retrospectively interpreted. Yet this
explanatory reflex, repeated
endlessly, risks flattening a body of
work that resists simple causality.
The accident of 17 September 1925
was undeniably decisive, but not in
the reductive sense often implied. It
did not “create” Frida Kahlo as an
artist, nor did it automatically
transform suffering into creativity.
What it did was establish a corporeal
framework that would condition the
way she lived, perceived herself and,
eventually, represented her own
image. From that moment onwards,
the body ceased to be a silent,
transparent support and became an
unavoidable presence—fragile,
resistant, damaged, observed.
Long before the accident, Kahlo had
already experienced the body as a site
of vulnerability. Born with spina
bifida and affected by poliomyelitis
during childhood, she grew up
aware that the body could fail, that
it could betray expectations of
wholeness and strength. The
accident intensified this awareness
rather than inaugurating it. Multiple
fractures, prolonged immobilisation,
repeated surgical interventions and
chronic pain imposed a life
structured around medical
supervision and physical limitation.
Yet what is striking is not the
accumulation of suffering, but the
refusal to convert it into a defining
narrative of victimhood.
Unlike many later interpretations of
her work, Kahlo herself did not
linger obsessively on the accident as
a visual subject. In fact, she left
remarkably little explicit visual
testimony of the event. There exists
a single drawing, executed almost a
year later, which has often been cited
as evidence of autobiographical
directness. Yet even this image
avoids dramatic reconstruction.
The scene is fragmented, spatially
ambiguous, governed not by linear
perspective but by a mental and
emotional logic. The body appears
duplicated, medicalised, reduced to
parts; vehicles and objects float in the
background like remembered
elements rather than depicted
realities.
This restraint is significant. Kahlo
does not offer the viewer a narrative
of trauma, nor does she seek to fix
the accident as a foundational myth.
Instead, she establishes a distance
between lived experience and
representation.
The Broken Column. Museo Dolores Olmedo, Xochimilco,
Mexico City, Mexico
The event is present, undeniably
so, but it is not aestheticised. Pain is
acknowledged without being
staged.
The accident becomes a condition
of existence rather than a spectacle.
When Kahlo writes about the
accident in her letters, the tone is
notably unsentimental.
ARTLO Magazine 32

Her account is precise, lucid, almost
analytical. She describes the
mechanics of the collision, the
sudden violence, the shock, the
bodily injury, but without rhetorical
embellishment. There is no attempt
to dramatise the event for emotional
effect. This clarity suggests a dual
position: she speaks from within the
experience, yet she also observes it
from a distance. This tension
between proximity and detachment
will later become central to her
painted self-image.
Crucially, Kahlo did not begin to
paint as a conscious artistic vocation
born from suffering. By her own
account, painting entered her life
almost accidentally during
convalescence, as an activity among
others, not as a revelation. There is
something profoundly anti-romantic
in this origin story. Art does not
emerge as redemption or therapy,
but as a form of attention—attention
to the face, the body, the self as a
visible presence.
This distinction matters. To frame
Kahlo’s work as a therapeutic
response to trauma is to impose a
contemporary narrative that
simplifies her relationship to
painting. Her art does not seek to
heal the body, nor to sublimate pain
into beauty. Instead, it insists on the
coexistence of damage and selfassertion.
The body hurts, fails,
bleeds, yet it also desires, adorns
itself, confronts the viewer, insists on
being seen.
From this perspective, the accident
functions not as an explanatory key
but as a structural condition.
«The body
reshapes the
way it is
inhabited and
perceived.»
Self-portrait in a Velvet Dress, now in a private collection in Mexico City
It reshapes the way the body is
inhabited and perceived, without
dictating the content or meaning of
the work. Kahlo does not
universalise her pain, nor does she
propose it as a metaphor for
collective suffering. Her body
remains stubbornly specific—hers,
and no one else’s.
This specificity is essential to
understanding her contribution to
the representation of the feminine.
Kahlo does not construct an idealised
female body, nor does she dissolve it
into abstraction. What she offers
instead is a body experienced from
within, marked by limitation yet
resistant to erasure. A body that
cannot be separated from identity,
memory or time.
The lived body, then, is the silent
axis around which her work begins
to take shape. Not as a theme to be
illustrated, but as a condition that
informs perception itself. In refusing
to dramatise her own suffering,
Kahlo preserves the complexity of
experience. Pain exists, but it does
not explain everything. Biography
matters, but it does not close
interpretation.
In Part II, the focus will shift from
the lived body to the represented
body: the emergence of the selfportrait,
the construction of image
and identity, and the way Kahlo
turns her own face and body into a
site of visual reflection rather than
confession.
ARTLO Magazine 33

The Represented Body: Self-
Portrait, Image and Identity
If the lived body constitutes the
silent foundation of Frida Kahlo’s
work, the represented body becomes
its most visible and persistent form.
Kahlo’s decision to concentrate
almost exclusively on portraiture—
and, more specifically, on selfportraiture—has
often been read as
an act of narcissism or introspection.
Yet this reading overlooks a crucial
point: the self-portrait, for Kahlo, is
not a mirror of the inner self, but a
space in which identity is
constructed, examined and held at a
distance.
Kahlo famously stated that she
painted herself because she was often
alone and because she knew herself
best. While this remark is frequently
quoted, it is rarely examined in
depth. To know oneself “best” does
not necessarily imply intimacy or
self-absorption. In Kahlo’s case, it
suggests familiarity with one’s own
image as something observed
repeatedly—measured, dressed,
corrected,
immobilised,
reconstructed.
The face and the body appear not as
vehicles of expression, but as objects
of sustained scrutiny.
Her self-portraits are remarkably
controlled. Even when they depict
physical suffering, emotional loss or
bodily rupture, they rarely convey
spontaneity or emotional excess. The
gaze is frontal, often fixed,
sometimes defiant, sometimes
distant. Expression is held in check.
Rather than inviting empathy, these
images confront the viewer with a
presence that resists interpretation.
The body is shown, but not offered.
This restraint is central to Kahlo’s
visual language. Pain, when present,
is rarely dramatized through gesture
or composition. Instead, it is
embedded in symbols, objects, or
subtle distortions of the body itself.
The result is a form of representation
that refuses melodrama. Suffering
exists, but it is not performed. The
image remains composed, deliberate,
almost ceremonial.
Equally significant is Kahlo’s use of
duplication and fragmentation. In
several works, the body is divided,
repeated, or anatomically exposed.
These strategies have often been
interpreted symbolically, yet they
can also be understood as visual
equivalents of lived experience.
The body that has been operated on,
examined, immobilised and repaired
is no longer perceived as a unified
whole. Representation follows
perception. Fragmentation becomes
a way of seeing rather than a
metaphor to be decoded. Clothing
plays a crucial role in this
construction of identity. Kahlo’s
carefully chosen attire—rooted in
traditional Mexican dress—has
frequently been discussed in terms of
cultural and political affirmation.
While this dimension is undeniable,
it is equally important to recognise
clothing as a means of controlling
the image of the body. Dress
conceals, structures, stabilises. It
allows the body to be presented on
one’s own terms, counteracting
vulnerability with visual authority.
The represented body in Kahlo’s
work, then, is not a transparent
reflection of the lived body. It is an
artefact, constructed with precision
and intention. Identity emerges not
through confession, but through
repetition and control. The selfportrait
becomes a site where
experience is translated into image
without surrendering to narrative or
explanation.
In this sense, Kahlo’s work occupies
a singular position within twentiethcentury
art. It neither dissolves the
body into abstraction nor elevates it
into idealised form. Instead, it insists
on the body as image—visible,
specific, irreducible. A body that
does not ask to be interpreted, but
simply insists on being seen.
The Two Fridas, 1939 by Frida Kahlo
Public domain image. Used for scholarly and
editorial purposes
ARTLO Magazine 34

The Interpreted Body: Myth,
Discourse and Distance
Few artists have been subjected to
such intense posthumous
interpretation as Frida Kahlo. Over
time, her image has gradually shifted
from that of a singular painter
working from personal experience to
that of a cultural symbol—of
suffering, resistance, femininity,
identity politics. This transformation
has been driven less by her work
itself than by the discourses that have
grown around it, often
retrospectively
projecting
contemporary concerns onto images
that resist such simplification.
One of the most persistent
tendencies in these readings is the
conversion of Kahlo’s body into a
universal metaphor. Her physical
pain is frequently elevated into a
collective emblem, her self-portraits
into statements intended to speak for
others. Yet this move risks erasing
precisely what makes her work
distinctive: its refusal to generalise.
Kahlo does not theorise the body;
she inhabits it. She does not propose
a programme or a visual manifesto.
Her images emerge from experience,
not from discourse.
This distance becomes particularly
visible when Kahlo’s work is placed
alongside later artistic practices that
explicitly engage with the body as a
political construct.
In the late twentieth
century, artists such as
Barbara Kruger
addressed the body
through language,
appropriation and
visual confrontation,
turning it into a site of
ideological struggle. In
these works, the body
is framed, named,
argued over.
Kahlo’s paintings, by contrast,
remain largely silent. They do not
explain themselves. They do not
instruct the viewer on how to read
them.
The difference is not one of
intention, but of position. Kahlo
speaks from within the body, while
much later work speaks about it.
This distinction is crucial. Her
paintings are not arguments; they are
presences. They do not seek to
persuade, but to persist. The body
appears not as a battleground
declared in advance, but as a lived
condition that cannot be abstracted
without loss.
The construction of the Kahlo myth
has often blurred this distinction.
Biographical details are repeated
until they harden into narrative
templates; images are reproduced
until they become icons detached
from their original context. In this
process, the tension and ambiguity of
the work are softened.
Complexity gives way to
recognisable slogans. The risk is not
admiration, but familiarity.
Yet Kahlo’s work ultimately resists
this flattening. Its strength lies in its
refusal to resolve experience into
meaning.
Pain is present, but it does not
redeem. Identity is affirmed, but not
stabilised. The body is shown, but
never fully possessed by
interpretation. What remains is a
form of visual insistence—a demand
to look without immediate
explanation.
To return to Kahlo today, therefore,
is not to reaffirm what we already
believe she represents, but to recover
the distance she herself maintained.
To read her work not as illustration
of theory, but as an image-based
thinking rooted in the body. In
doing so, we are reminded that
representation does not always seek
to convince. Sometimes, it simply
bears witness.
And it is precisely in this quiet
resistance to discourse that Kahlo’s
work continues to retain its
unsettling power.
Text by Marie Dubois
The Wounded Deer, 1946. Oil on masonite. Private collection.
Public domain image. Used for scholarly and editorial purposes
ARTLO Magazine 35

I n P e r s p e c t i v e I
T e x t b y D r . C a s i l d a F e r n á n d e z , A r t H i s t o r i a n
The Face of Authority: Hans Holbein the
Younger and the Invention of Power in
Tudor England
The Invention of a Face for Power.
There are periods in history when power
exists not only in armies, laws, or
institutions, but in something far more
elusive and far more enduring: image. The
sixteenth century was one such period.
Across Europe, the stability that had defined
the late medieval world was dissolving.
Structures that had appeared eternal — the
unity of the Church, the continuity of
dynasties, the permanence of inherited
authority — were suddenly subject to doubt.
In their place emerged a new and unsettling
reality, one in which authority could no
longer rely solely on tradition. It had to be
asserted, reinforced, and above all, made
visible.
Visibility became power.
This transformation did not occur
overnight, nor did it arise from artistic
ambition alone. It was born from crisis. The
Protestant Reformation, initiated in 1517,
did not simply fracture religious doctrine; it
destabilised the entire symbolic framework
upon which European monarchy had long
depended. For centuries, kings had ruled
not merely by force or lineage, but by the
implicit sanction of a divine order mediated
through the Church. The monarch was not
simply a political figure, but part of a cosmic
hierarchy that extended from God to
sovereign to subject. When that hierarchy
was called into question, the very nature of
kingship was exposed to uncertainty.
In England, this uncertainty found its most
dramatic expression in the reign of Henry
VIII.
Few monarchs in European history have so
completely reshaped the structure of their
realm. Yet Henry’s transformation of
England was not the inevitable unfolding of
stable authority,
Hans Holbein the Younger Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, 1523. Oil on panel
Kunstmuseum Basel (version) Public domain
Next Page: Hans Holbein the Younger Sir Thomas More, 1527 Oil on panel Public
domain image
ARTLO Magazine 36

ARTLO Magazine 37

but the result of a deeply precarious
sequence of decisions, each of which carried
profound risk. His desire for a male heir,
driven by dynastic anxiety and the fragile
memory of civil war, led him into direct
conflict with the most powerful institution
in Europe. His break with Rome in the early
1530s, formalised through the Act of
Supremacy in 1534, severed England from
the spiritual authority of the papacy and
placed the king himself at the head of the
newly established Church of England.
This act was revolutionary not only in its
religious implications, but in its symbolic
consequences. By declaring himself
Supreme Head of the Church, Henry did
not merely alter ecclesiastical governance.
He redefined the very foundation of his
own authority. No longer validated by the
universal structure of Catholic Christendom,
his sovereignty had to justify itself within a
newly created national framework. The
king had become both the source and the
guarantor of his own legitimacy.
Such a position demanded certainty. Yet
certainty could not be assumed. It had to be
constructed.
The political reality of Henry’s reign was
marked by instability, suspicion, and
constant negotiation. His marriages, each of
which carried dynastic and diplomatic
significance, exposed the vulnerability of
succession. His ministers rose and fell with
alarming speed, their fortunes determined
not by continuity but by proximity to royal
favour. The dissolution of the monasteries,
carried out between 1536 and 1541,
dismantled one of the most visible and
enduring manifestations of religious life in
England, redistributing vast wealth while
simultaneously provoking resistance and
unease. Even the king’s own body, once
athletic and vigorous, began to betray him.
A severe jousting accident in 1536 initiated
a period of physical decline from which he
would never recover. Chronic pain, limited
mobility, and increasing corpulence
transformed his physical presence in ways
that could not easily be reconciled with
traditional ideals of sovereign strength.
And yet, paradoxically, it is precisely at this
moment of physical and political
vulnerability that Henry VIII would acquire
the visual form that has come to define him
for all subsequent history.
This transformation did not occur through
military triumph or ceremonial spectacle. It
occurred through portraiture.
In an age before mechanical reproduction,
before photography, before the
instantaneous transmission of images,
painted portraits served as the primary
means through which authority could
extend beyond the physical presence of the
ruler.
Most subjects would never encounter
the king in person. Their knowledge of
him would be mediated through
representations displayed in noble
households, administrative centres, and
diplomatic environments. These
images did not merely record the
monarch’s appearance. They
constituted his presence. They allowed
power to inhabit space where the
physical body could not.
The portrait became a surrogate for the
sovereign.
It is difficult, from a modern
perspective saturated with images, to
fully grasp the intensity of this
substitution. Today, the proliferation of
visual representation has diminished the
authority of any single image. In the
sixteenth century, the opposite was
true. The rarity of the image enhanced
its power. A portrait was not one
representation among many; it was the
representation. It defined how the
monarch would be seen, understood,
and remembered.
This is the context in which Hans
Holbein the Younger entered the
Tudor court.
Holbein’s arrival in England marked
not simply the introduction of a
talented foreign painter, but the
emergence of a new visual language of
authority. Born in Augsburg and
formed within the intellectually
rigorous environment of Basel,
Holbein belonged to the Northern
Renaissance tradition, distinguished by
its commitment to empirical
observation and material precision. His
early work demonstrated an
extraordinary capacity to render
surfaces with uncanny clarity: the
translucency of skin, the weight of
fabric, the reflective properties of metal.
Yet his true significance lay not in his
ability to imitate appearance, but in his
capacity to interpret it.
Holbein understood that the portrait
was not a neutral record. It was an
instrument.
When Holbein painted Henry VIII, he
did not merely observe the king. He
constructed him.
The now-lost Whitehall mural,
completed around 1537, represents the
culmination of this construction.
Though the original has been
destroyed, surviving copies and
preparatory drawings preserve its
essential structure.
Henry stands facing forward, his body
occupying the pictorial space with
overwhelming solidity. There is no
contrapposto, no classical elegance, no
suggestion of movement. The figure is
static, frontal, and immovable. The legs
are set apart in a stance that conveys
both physical stability and territorial
command. The arms extend outward,
increasing the horizontal breadth of the
figure and reinforcing the impression
of mass.
The king does not inhabit the space.
He dominates it.
Most striking of all is the absence of
vulnerability. There is no trace of
physical decline, no hint of fatigue, no
concession to mortality. The face,
though recognisably individual, has
been stabilised into an expression of
impenetrable calm. The eyes do not
seek engagement. They assert control.
The body, enlarged and
monumentalised, becomes less a
biological organism than a structure —
something architectural, permanent,
and resistant to time.
This was not deception in the
conventional sense. It was
transformation.
Holbein’s portrait did not falsify Henry
VIII’s identity. It redefined it. The
physical reality of the aging, injured
monarch was replaced by a visual
reality that expressed the authority he
required rather than the body he
possessed. The portrait became a
corrective to contingency. It ensured
that the king would appear as he
needed to be seen, not as he happened
to be.
In this sense, Holbein’s work
participated in a broader shift in the
function of art itself. Medieval images
had often served devotional or
symbolic purposes, subordinating
individual identity to theological
meaning. The Renaissance had
introduced a renewed interest in
human individuality, exploring the
psychological interiority of the subject.
Holbein’s portraits at the Tudor court
represent a further development. They
do not simply reveal the individual.
They stabilise the institution embodied
by that individual.
Henry VIII is not presented as a man
who possesses power. He is presented
as power made visible.
ARTLO Magazine 38

The implications of this transformation
extend far beyond the historical
moment in which the portrait was
created. The image established by
Holbein has proven more durable than
any written account. It has shaped
historical memory, cultural
representation, and popular
imagination. When Henry VIII is
invoked today — in scholarship,
literature, or public consciousness — it
is Holbein’s king who appears: the
immovable figure, the commanding
presence, the embodiment of absolute
authority.
This endurance is not accidental. It is
the result of an image constructed with
extraordinary clarity of purpose.
Holbein did not merely capture a
likeness. He created a model of
sovereignty.
Through his work, the uncertainties of
Tudor England were converted into the
appearance of inevitability. The
instability of succession, the fragility of
the king’s body, the contested
legitimacy of his religious authority —
all were subsumed beneath the visual
certainty of the portrait. The image did
not reflect power. It produced it.
In doing so, Holbein accomplished
something unprecedented. He
transformed the portrait from a record
of identity into an instrument of
political reality.
The Foreign Artist: Holbein’s
Arrival in England
When Hans Holbein the Younger
arrived in England in 1526, he
entered a world that was both
culturally sophisticated and
politically unstable, a court rich in
ceremony yet shadowed by
uncertainty. He was not yet the
defining artistic voice of Tudor
authority. He was, instead, a
foreigner: a painter from the
continent, formed within the
intellectual traditions of Central
Europe, seeking opportunity in a
kingdom whose political future
remained unresolved.
Holbein did not come to England by
accident. His arrival was the result of
both ambition and necessity.
Born around 1497 in Augsburg, one of
the most prosperous commercial cities
of the Holy Roman Empire, Holbein
grew up in an environment where art
and commerce existed in close
proximity. His father, Hans Holbein the
Elder, was an established painter whose
workshop exposed the young artist to
the technical discipline of the craft from
an early age. Yet Augsburg, despite its
wealth, was not the centre of the
intellectual transformation that would
The king acquired not merely an
image, but a form that could outlast
him. Authority, once dependent upon
the contingencies of life, was given the
illusion of permanence.
Power, at last, had a face.
«The portrait did
not reflect power
— it created it.»
Hans Holbein the Younger
Portrait of Henry VIII, c. 1537
Oil on panel
Public domain
ARTLO Magazine 39

define Holbein’s early development. That role
belonged to Basel.
By the second decade of the sixteenth century,
Basel had become one of the most important
centres of humanist thought in Europe. Its
printing houses produced books that
circulated across the continent, disseminating
new ideas about philosophy, theology, and the
nature of human knowledge. Scholars,
printers, and intellectuals gathered within its
walls, participating in a cultural movement
that sought to reconcile classical learning with
contemporary life. It was in this environment
that Holbein’s artistic identity took shape.
Basel did not merely teach Holbein how to
paint. It taught him how to see.
The humanist tradition placed extraordinary
emphasis on the individual — not only as a
theological subject, but as a psychological and
intellectual presence. Portraiture, within this
context, acquired new significance. It became
a means of recording not only physical
appearance, but intellectual identity. Holbein’s
early portraits of scholars and thinkers
demonstrate an acute sensitivity to this
dimension. His sitters do not appear as generic
figures. They possess weight, interiority, and
presence. Their faces are not symbolic. They
are specific.
Among the most significant of Holbein’s early
connections was the Dutch humanist Erasmus
of Rotterdam, one of the most influential
intellectual figures of the age. Holbein painted
Erasmus multiple times, producing images
that circulated widely and helped to establish
both the sitter’s and the artist’s reputations.
These portraits reveal qualities that would later
prove essential at the Tudor court: clarity of
form, restraint of expression, and an
extraordinary precision in the rendering of
surface and detail.
Hans Holbein the Younger. Sir Henry Guildford, c. 1527
Oil on panel, Royal Collection Trust, Windsor Public domain.
Next Page: Hans Holbein the Younger. Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex, 1532–1533
Oil on panel Public domain
Yet the intellectual vitality of Basel could not
shield it from the broader forces transforming
Europe. The Reformation, which had begun
as a theological dispute, soon developed into a
social and political upheaval that reshaped
cities as well as doctrines. Basel, like many
urban centres, experienced waves of
iconoclasm in which religious images were
destroyed as symbols of Catholic authority.
For painters, whose livelihoods depended
upon the production of such images, the
consequences were severe.
ARTLO Magazine 40

ARTLO Magazine 41

Holbein, whose artistic practice had included religious
commissions, suddenly found himself in an environment
where traditional patronage was diminishing. The stability
that had supported his early career was eroding. Like many
artists of his generation, he was forced to look beyond his
immediate surroundings in search of opportunity.
England offered precisely such an opportunity.
At the time of Holbein’s arrival, the English court was
already known as a place of cultural ambition. Henry VIII,
educated in the humanist tradition, possessed genuine
intellectual interests. He collected books, patronised scholars,
and sought to position his court within the broader currents
of European culture. Yet England remained geographically
and culturally distinct from the artistic centres of Italy and
the German states. The presence of an artist trained within
the Northern Renaissance tradition offered something new: a
visual language of clarity and authority that could serve the
needs of a monarchy increasingly conscious of its own
image.
Holbein did not enter the court immediately. His initial
point of contact was Thomas More.
More was among the most respected intellectual and political
figures in England, a man whose reputation extended across
Europe. Scholar, statesman, and humanist, he embodied the
intellectual ideals that had shaped Holbein’s early career in
Basel. It was likely through letters of introduction from
Erasmus that Holbein gained access to More’s household.
This connection proved decisive.
The portrait Holbein painted of Thomas More in 1527 stands
among the most remarkable achievements of Renaissance
portraiture. More is shown seated, his body turned slightly,
his gaze directed outward with quiet intensity. The image is
rich in detail, yet entirely controlled. The textures of fur,
fabric, and flesh are rendered with extraordinary precision,
but nothing distracts from the psychological presence of the
sitter. More does not perform authority. He embodies it.
This portrait achieved something more than likeness. It
demonstrated Holbein’s capacity to translate intellectual and
political identity into visual form.
Within More’s circle, Holbein encountered other figures of
influence — scholars, diplomats, and courtiers who
recognised the significance of his work. He painted members
of this milieu with the same clarity and restraint, establishing
a reputation that extended gradually toward the centre of
royal power. His portraits distinguished themselves from
existing English traditions, which had often prioritised
symbolic or decorative elements over psychological and
material realism. Holbein introduced a new visual discipline,
one in which the authority of the image derived from its
internal coherence.
It is essential to understand that Holbein’s foreignness was
not a disadvantage. It was an asset.
As an outsider, he was not bound by the conventions that
governed English artistic production. He brought with him a
visual language shaped by the intellectual and artistic currents
of continental Europe. His work possessed a precision and
structural clarity that aligned perfectly with the needs of a
court increasingly concerned with the projection of
authority.
«England needed
images — Holbein gave
them authority.»
In a period when England was redefining its position within
Europe, Holbein offered a means of articulating that position
visually.
Yet his path was not without interruption. Holbein returned
briefly to Basel in 1528, perhaps in response to changing
circumstances in England or unresolved obligations on the
continent. When he came back to England in 1532,
however, the political landscape had altered dramatically.
Henry VIII’s break with Rome was no longer a distant
possibility. It was an unfolding reality. The court was
entering a period of intense transformation, in which loyalty,
identity, and authority were subject to constant
renegotiation.
It was precisely at this moment that Holbein’s work acquired
its greatest significance.
The court required not merely decoration, but definition. It
required images capable of stabilising authority in a world
where traditional foundations had been dismantled. Holbein
possessed the technical mastery, the intellectual discipline,
and the psychological insight necessary to fulfil this role.
He was no longer simply a visiting artist. He was becoming
something far more consequential: the visual interpreter of
Tudor power.
In the years that followed, Holbein would gain direct access
to the king himself. From that point forward, his work would
cease to be merely observational. It would become
instrumental. He would not only depict the figures who
governed England. He would define how they would exist in
the eyes of history.
The foreign artist had found his place at the centre of power.
And power, in turn, had found its image.
ARTLO Magazine 42

After Hans Holbein the Younger
Portrait of Henry VIII (full-length), c. 1540–1547
Oil on panel , Public domain
Constructing the King: Holbein and the Creation
of Henry VIII
By the mid-1530s, Hans Holbein the Younger had secured a
position of extraordinary proximity to the centre of English
power. No longer merely a portraitist working within the
intellectual circles of humanists and courtiers, he had become, in
effect, the principal visual interpreter of the Tudor monarchy.
This transformation coincided with one of the most volatile and
consequential phases of Henry VIII’s reign. The king had broken
with Rome. He had declared himself Supreme Head of the
Church of England. He had executed ministers and dissolved
monasteries. He had remarried, reordered the structure of
religious authority, and reshaped the political identity of the
nation. England was no longer what it had been. It required not
only new institutions, but a new image of power.
Holbein would provide it.
To understand the magnitude of his achievement, it is
necessary to recognise that Henry VIII’s authority, despite its
outward force, was not self-evident. It had to be continually
asserted. The king’s position was the product of decisions that
had destabilised centuries of continuity. His legitimacy could
not rely solely on inherited symbolism. It had to be actively
constructed. The portrait became one of the most effective
instruments through which this construction could occur.
The most decisive expression of this new visual authority
emerged in the mural commissioned for the Privy Chamber
at Whitehall Palace around 1537. Though the original
painting was destroyed in a fire in 1698, copies and
preparatory drawings preserve its essential form. The
composition depicted Henry VIII standing alongside his
father, Henry VII, his mother, Elizabeth of York, and his
third wife, Jane Seymour. The dynastic message was
unmistakable. The Tudor line, born of conflict and
consolidation, was presented as stable, legitimate, and
continuous.
Yet it is Henry VIII himself who dominates the composition.
Unlike traditional royal portraiture, which often presented
the monarch in profile or engaged in symbolic gesture,
Holbein chose to depict Henry frontally. This decision was
radical. The frontal pose eliminates mediation. It confronts
the viewer directly. The king does not exist within a
narrative context. He exists as presence.
His body fills the pictorial space with deliberate density. The
wide stance, expanded shoulders and rigid frontal pose
eliminate any trace of vulnerability. Velvet, fur and gold
embroidery do more than signal wealth; they enlarge the
figure, merging flesh and fabric into a single, monumental
presence. The king appears less as a man than as a structure —
stable, immovable, architectural.
By the time Holbein designed the Whitehall mural, Henry
VIII’s physical condition had significantly deteriorated. Yet
none of this reality enters the image. The portrait does not
record the aging, injured monarch; it constructs the
sovereign he needed to be. It transforms contingency into
certainty.
This was not deception but strategy. The image functioned
as a political instrument. Through copies and circulation,
Henry’s likeness travelled across England and Europe,
projecting authority where his body could not. Each viewing
reinforced the impression of absolute sovereignty.
Holbein did not merely capture power. He engineered it.
The portrait became a model of authority so stable and
compelling that it outlived the king himself.
ARTLO Magazine 43

The Portrait as Diplomatic Instrument
If Holbein’s portraits of Henry VIII established the visual
architecture of royal authority within England, their
function extended far beyond the domestic sphere. In
sixteenth-century Europe, portraiture operated within the
machinery of diplomacy itself. Paintings travelled across
borders in place of bodies. In an age when distance limited
direct encounter, the portrait became a proxy for presence —
a substitute through which political and dynastic decisions
were made.
Nowhere is this clearer than in Holbein’s role as painter of
royal brides.
For Henry VIII, marriage was never merely personal. Each
union carried implications for succession, alliance, and
stability. The selection of a queen was a diplomatic
calculation conducted across European courts. The king
could not travel to meet prospective brides; he relied on
intermediaries — ambassadors, envoys, and crucially, artists.
Holbein became one of the most trusted of these.
His task was not simply to produce a likeness, but one that
could be trusted as truth. The credibility of his work carried
political weight. A misleading portrait could distort alliances.
Holbein’s reputation for precision made him uniquely suited
to this responsibility.
The most consequential example is the portrait of Anne of
Cleves, painted in 1539. At a moment of diplomatic tension,
Remigius van Leemput. Copy of the Whitehall Mural after Hans Holbein the
Younger, 1667. Oil on canvas, Public domain
Next Page: Hans Holbein the Younger Jane Seymour, Queen of England, 1536–
1537 Oil on panel Public domain
a marriage to Anne promised strategic advantage. Holbein
was dispatched to Cleves not as a decorative painter, but as
an agent of representation. The image he produced would
inform the king’s decision.
Anne is presented with clarity and restraint: composed,
dignified, and materially precise. The portrait avoids
theatrical idealisation. It appears credible — and credibility
was essential. When Henry saw the painting, he believed he
was encountering an accurate representation.
The marriage, however, proved disastrous. Henry’s
disappointment upon meeting Anne in person led to
annulment within six months. Later speculation suggested
that Holbein had flattered his subject, yet there is no
compelling evidence of distortion. The portrait remains
consistent with his structural clarity and discipline. What
mattered most was that it was trusted.
This trust reveals the extraordinary authority attributed to
portraiture. The image was not merely illustrative; it was
evidentiary. It shaped decisions at the highest level of power.
Holbein performed a similar function in his portrait of
Christina of Denmark. Painted in 1538, the image presents a
figure of intelligence and composure, enclosed within
austere garments. Christina ultimately refused Henry’s
proposal, yet the portrait functioned as a formal diplomatic
introduction between courts.
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Through such works, Holbein’s portraits became
integrated into the diplomatic infrastructure of the Tudor
state. They travelled across Europe, mediating negotiations
and shaping alliances. The portrait ceased to be merely
representational. It became operational.
Holbein’s clarity made this extension of power credible.
His images inspired confidence because they appeared
truthful. In his hands, the portrait became an instrument of
statecraft.
Power no longer required physical proximity. It could
travel as image.
«Power no longer
required presence — it
travelled through
images. »
The Faces of Power: Holbein and the
Construction of the Tudor Court
If Holbein had painted only Henry VIII, his place in
history would already be secure. Yet his deeper
achievement lies elsewhere. He did not merely define the
image of the king; he constructed a visual system through
which the entire Tudor court acquired coherence and
authority.
Power, in Holbein’s hands, was never singular. It was
relational.
The Tudor state did not function through the monarch
alone. It operated through ministers, councillors,
diplomats, scholars, and heirs — each occupying a precise
position within a fragile and often volatile hierarchy.
Holbein’s portraits transformed these individuals into stable
visual presences. Through them, the architecture of
governance became visible.
The contrast between Thomas More and Thomas
Cromwell illustrates this transformation with particular
clarity.
In his portrait of More, Holbein presents a figure grounded
in moral and intellectual authority. The fur-lined garments
convey dignity rather than ostentation; the face, alert and
composed, suggests inward conviction. More appears as a
man whose authority derives from principle — anchored,
reflective, resistant. Even in retrospect, knowing his
eventual execution, the portrait preserves his integrity as a
structural quality.
Cromwell, by contrast, embodies a different form of
power. Compact, controlled, surrounded by documents
and instruments of administration, he appears as the
machinery of governance itself. His authority does not rest
in lineage but in function. Holbein captures not aristocratic
grandeur but bureaucratic precision. Cromwell’s presence
is severe, concentrated, almost architectural in its restraint.
Together, these portraits reveal Holbein’s sensitivity to the
nuances of political identity. He does not impose a single
visual formula. Instead, he calibrates each image to reflect
the source of authority embodied by the sitter. Moral
conviction, administrative control, dynastic continuity —
each is given a distinct visual language.
Hans Holbein the Younger
Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan, 1538
Oil on panel
Public domain
ARTLO Magazine 46

This logic extends to the representation of the royal family.
In the portrait of Jane Seymour, Holbein constructs not
simply a queen but a symbol of stability. Her composed
symmetry and richly structured attire emphasise her role as
bearer of the Tudor future. The individuality of the sitter
recedes slightly behind her dynastic function.
The portrait of the young Edward VI carries this principle
further. The child, dressed in garments that echo adult
sovereignty, becomes a vessel of continuity. Holbein
presents succession not as uncertainty, but as inevitability.
The future king exists visually before he can rule.
Through these works, Holbein did more than depict
members of the court. He stabilised them. Individuals whose
political fortunes would prove fragile — some executed,
others disgraced — are preserved within a visual order that
appears permanent. The volatility of Tudor politics is
concealed beneath the calm authority of paint.
The court, as history remembers it, is inseparable from this
visual construction.
Holbein created a unified field of power in which king,
minister, queen, and heir exist as components of a coherent
structure. Authority is not chaotic; it is organised. It is
embodied in faces that appear fixed, grounded, and selfassured.
In this sense, Holbein transformed portraiture into political
architecture. He gave the Tudor state not only institutions
and laws, but a visible system of human forms through
which its authority could be recognised and believed.
The king stood at the centre.
But it was the surrounding faces that made the structure
complete.
The Eternal Image: Holbein and the Permanence
of Power
When Hans Holbein the Younger died in London in 1543,
probably a victim of the plague that moved intermittently
through the city, he left behind no manifesto, no written
theory, no explicit declaration of artistic intent. Yet the true
measure of his achievement did not require explanation. It
existed in the images themselves.
Unknown artist. The Family of Henry VIII, c. 1545 Oil on canvas Royal Collection,
Hampton Court Palace. Public domain
Next Page: Hans Holbein the Younger Edward VI as a Child, 1538
Oil on panel Public domain
Within a period of little more than a decade, he had
accomplished something no artist in England had achieved
before him. He had given visible and enduring form to the
Tudor state. He had transformed political authority into a
visual structure capable of surviving the individuals who
embodied it..
In doing so, he altered not only the history of portraiture,
but the history of power itself.
The most immediate effect of Holbein’s work was the
stabilisation of Henry VIII’s authority at a moment when its
foundations remained deeply uncertain. The king’s break
with Rome, the reorganisation of religious institutions, and
the violence that accompanied political transformation had
created a climate of instability beneath the surface of royal
control. Authority had to be asserted repeatedly, through
law, through ritual, and through force. Yet these
mechanisms operated within the limits of time and
circumstance. They required continual reinforcement.
The portrait offered something different. It offered
permanence.
Holbein’s image of Henry VIII did not age as the king aged.
It did not weaken as the king’s body weakened. It did not
die when the king died. It preserved a form of authority
independent of biological existence. Long after Henry
himself had vanished, the image remained intact —
immovable, unquestioned, and complete.
This permanence was not simply a by-product of artistic
success. It was the fulfilment of a deeper political function.
The portrait allowed the monarch to exist beyond the
contingencies of life. It transformed authority into
something that could be seen, recognised, and believed in
across generations.
Holbein had created not merely a likeness, but a model.
This model would prove extraordinarily influential.
Subsequent traditions of royal portraiture across Europe
would adopt many of the structural principles Holbein had
established. The frontal stability of the body, the controlled
expression, the integration of material richness with physical
presence — these elements became standard components of
the visual language of sovereignty.
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ARTLO Magazine 48

Later artists would develop these principles in new cultural
contexts, but the essential transformation had already
occurred: the ruler was no longer merely depicted — he
was constructed.
Holbein’s influence extended beyond the king. His
portraits of ministers, diplomats, and scholars established a
new visual language of authority. These figures were not
decorative adjuncts to power but structural components of
it. Through Holbein’s disciplined clarity, the Tudor court
appeared coherent and stable, even as its political reality
remained volatile and often violent.
Executions, shifting alliances, religious upheaval — none of
this instability disrupts the calm permanence of his images.
The visual system endured where the political system
faltered.
For modern viewers, the Tudor court exists less as a
sequence of events than as a constellation of faces. Henry
VIII, Jane Seymour, Thomas More — we encounter them
through Holbein.
His representations have shaped not only historical
memory but perception itself.
Holbein did not simply record power; he fixed its image.
The aging, injured king has receded behind the
monumental figure Holbein created. The image has
outlived the man.
In doing so, Holbein marked a turning point in the
relationship between art and authority. Portraiture became
an instrument of political identity, a means through which
sovereignty could be stabilised and believed. The principle
endures: authority must be seen to be accepted.
Nearly five centuries later, the Tudor state survives in
paint. The king remains immovable. The court remains
composed. Through Holbein, power acquired a form that
time has not erased.
Hans Holbein the Younger. The Ambassadors, 1533
Oil on panel , The National Gallery, London. Public domain
Hans Holbein the Younger
Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan, 1538
Oil on panel
Public domain
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A r t F a i r s — A r t M a d r i d 2 0 2 6
ARTLO at Art Madrid 2026. A Measured
Space for Discovery Within Madrid’s
Art Week
Held from 4 to 8 March in the
Galería de Cristal of the Palacio de
Cibeles, Art Madrid returned for its
21st edition, reaffirming its position
within Madrid’s increasingly
complex Art Week.
While the city continues to expand as a
network of fairs, exhibitions and
parallel initiatives, Art Madrid occupies
a distinct and carefully balanced role—
neither defined by the scale of the
international market nor by the radical
experimentation of alternative formats,
but by a sustained commitment to
accessibility, plurality and direct
engagement.
This year’s edition brought together 35
galleries and more than 200 artists,
offering a broad overview of
contemporary practice across painting,
sculpture, installation, photography and
hybrid media. Rather than adhering to
a single curatorial thesis, the fair
maintained an intentionally open
structure, allowing diverse artistic
languages and positions to coexist. The
result was not a unified narrative, but a
layered environment in which different
generations and approaches could be
encountered without rigid hierarchies.
At the centre of this edition was a clear
shift towards experience. The Parallel
Programme functioned as a conceptual
and physical extension of the fair,
activating the space through
performances, curated routes and sitespecific
projects. Under the
overarching framework of inhabiting
the ephemeral, the fair proposed a
reading of its own architecture as a
Jessie Martin, Editor-in-Chief of ARTLO Magazine, at Art Madrid 2026. Photo: © ARTLO Magazine
relational system—one in which
corridors, distances and transitions
became part of the artistic experience
itself. Viewing was no longer a passive
act, but a process shaped by movement,
attention and personal interpretation.
This emphasis on spatial awareness and
perception was reinforced by the idea
of “imaginary distances”, a notion that
moved beyond the physical separation
between artwork and viewer to
encompass subjective experience:
the time spent, the paths chosen and
the individual connections formed. In
this sense, the fair subtly redefined its
role—not simply as a marketplace, but
as a space of constructed meaning.
One of the most significant
contributions to this direction was the
Open Booth programme, dedicated to
presenting an artist without gallery
representation. In its third edition, the
project featured a large-scale
installation that transformed the booth
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A r t F a i r s — A r t M a d r i d 2 0 2 6
into an environment built from urban
remnants and industrial materials.
Rather than presenting discrete objects,
the work operated as an ecosystem in
tension, inviting visitors to move
through and physically engage with the
space. This approach reinforced the
fair’s ongoing interest in supporting
emerging practices while challenging
conventional modes of display.
Alongside this, the fair continued to
strengthen its mediation between artists
and collectors. Initiatives such as One
Shot Collectors introduced a more
guided approach to acquisition,
offering tailored advice and
encouraging a more informed and
reflective engagement with collecting.
This was complemented by the
Patronage Programme, which
expanded its network of awards and
acquisitions, involving private
collections and corporate partners in
the direct support of artists. These
mechanisms, while embedded in the
market structure, pointed towards a
more sustained and relational model of
support.
The performance cycle further
extended the fair’s temporal dimension.
Daily activations transformed the
exhibition space into a stage where the
body became both medium and
archive, engaging with questions of
memory, labour and presence. These
interventions disrupted the rhythm of
the fair, introducing moments of
intensity that contrasted with the more
static experience of viewing artworks.
Open Booth 2026, featuring Despiece. Protocolo de mutación by Daniel Barrio. Art Madrid
Photo: © ARTLO Magazine
Curated routes, developed by art
historians, offered additional layers of
interpretation. Rather than guiding
visitors through a fixed narrative, these
itineraries proposed frameworks for
reading the works—addressing themes
such as visibility and aesthetic language
—while encouraging a more attentive
and contextualised experience.
Within this structure, the selection of
galleries played a crucial role in
defining the tone of the edition.
The balance between emerging and
established artists created a dynamic in
which discovery remained central.
Several presentations demonstrated
strong engagement from collectors,
with notable sales and institutional
acquisitions reinforcing the relevance
of the fair within the Spanish context.
ARTLO Magazine 52

Open Booth – Art Madrid 2026
As part of the Parallel Programme, the third edition of Open Booth was presented as a platform dedicated to artistic
creation and contemporary experimentation. The initiative focuses on artists who are not yet represented by galleries,
offering a professional context of high visibility in which emerging practices can unfold, engage with audiences and
consolidate their position within the current art landscape.
This year’s edition featured Cuban artist Daniel Barrio (b. 1988), who presented the site-specific installation Despiece.
Protocolo de mutación.
Barrio’s practice centres on painting as a space of experimentation through which he examines the commodification of
the social sphere and the dynamics of mediated approval. Drawing on imagery sourced from the press and other media, he
intervenes pictorially to disrupt and reconfigure their original meaning. Through this process, his work proposes
alternative readings while questioning the mechanisms through which meaning is constructed, positioning painting as a
space for reflection, tension and release.
Despiece. Protocolo de mutación is constructed from urban remnants, industrial materials and fragments of history,
prompting a reflection on the memories we inherit, consume and construct. Floor, walls and volumes come together to
form a landscape in tension, where the sacred coexists with the everyday, and where fractures hold more significance than
resolution.
In this context, Art Madrid continues to expand the boundaries of the traditional fair format, reinforcing its role as a
space for dialogue between artists, institutions and audiences, while opening new avenues of visibility for emerging
practices.
ARTLO Magazine 53

ARTLO’s Selected
Highlights from Art
Madrid 2026
The following selection gathers a
number of galleries and artists whose
work stood out within Art Madrid
2026 for its clarity, material presence
and conceptual consistency. Rather
than offering a comprehensive
overview, it reflects a more focused
reading of the fair—highlighting
practices that, in different ways,
articulate a strong visual language
and sustain a meaningful dialogue
with the viewer. Taken together,
these works point towards the
diversity and depth that continue to
define the contemporary scene.
Collage Habana
Based in Havana, Collage Habana has,
since 2004, played a central role in the
promotion and circulation of Cuban
visual arts within the framework of the
Fondo Cubano de Bienes Culturales.
Through a network of galleries with
distinct profiles, the programme brings
together artists at different stages of
their careers, from emerging
practitioners to nationally recognised
figures. Its exhibitions and initiatives
reflect the breadth and diversity of
contemporary Cuban artistic
production, offering a dynamic and
evolving perspective on the scene.
Daniel Aguila
Daniel Aguila’s practice introduces a
new direction within his work while
maintaining a recognisable visual
language. In the series “Invisible
Portraits”, he turns his attention to the
representation of Black female figures,
presenting them with a quiet yet
commanding presence. These
compositions suggest layered narratives
that unfold subtly, inviting the viewer
to engage with questions of identity,
memory and cultural inheritance.
Through this body of work, Aguila
opens a space for reflection on voices
that often remain unheard, constructing
a visual discourse that is both personal
and expansive.
Daniela Águila at Art Madrid 2026. Photo: © ARTLO Magazine
Selected works by Daniela Águila, presented at Art Madrid 2026. Photo: © ARTLO Magazine
ARTLO Magazine 54

Daniela Águila, Zoila, from the series Habana nombre de mujer, 2025, mixed media on canvas, 130 × 100 cm
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A r t F a i r s — A r t M a d r i d 2 0 2 6
Lavio
Founded in 2012 in Shanghai and now
operating between Shanghai and
Murcia, Lavio works in close
collaboration with galleries,
foundations, artist estates and
institutions to present works of
museum-quality standard. Through an
international network, the platform
supports exhibitions, collections and
cultural initiatives, positioning itself at
the intersection of advisory, curation
and global art circulation.
Gemma Alpuente
Gemma Alpuente’s practice is grounded
in a multidisciplinary approach that
combines material exploration with
conceptual inquiry. Her work moves
fluidly across techniques and formats,
developing a personal visual language
shaped by ongoing research. With an
established presence in international
circuits, her work has entered
collections across Europe and Asia,
while recent recognition—including
national awards—has reinforced her
position within the contemporary
scene.
Gemma Alpuente, Art Madrid 2026. Photo: © ARTLO Magazine
Gemma Alpuente, Untitled, 2026, paint and resin on canvas, 33 × 33 × 7 cm
ARTLO Magazine 56

Nuno Sacramento Gallery
Established in 2003 in Aveiro, Portugal,
Nuno Sacramento Gallery has
developed a consistent programme
dedicated to contemporary practices
across multiple disciplines, including
painting, sculpture, photography,
installation and video. Alongside its
exhibition activity, the gallery
reinforces its curatorial discourse
through publications and critical texts,
situating its artists within a broader
intellectual and cultural framework.
Mario Valdés
Mario Valdés’s work investigates the
relationship between the human
condition and its surrounding
environment through sculptural
compositions that combine glass,
photographic imagery and carbonised
organic materials. His practice unfolds
through a dialogue between
transparency and solidity, creating
intimate spatial atmospheres. These
works suggest a quiet reflection on
environmental fragility and the
psychological dimensions of
contemporary life.
Top: Estudio Mario Valdés, Symmetría Dichroica 5 “Yang”, 2026, glass,
dichroic process, on light base, 20 × 30 × 22 cm
Bottom: Symmetría Dichroica 4 “Ying”, 2026, glass, dichroic process, on light base, 20 × 30 × 22 cm
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A r t F a i r s — A r t M a d r i d 2 0 2 6
Banditrazos Gallery
Since its founding in 2007, Banditrazos
Gallery has positioned itself as a
platform for cross-cultural exchange,
connecting South Korea with artistic
practices from Latin America and Spain.
Through curated exhibitions and
institutional collaborations, the gallery
operates as a bridge between different
cultural contexts, presenting a wide
range of artistic approaches while
fostering dialogue between audiences
and international contemporary art.
Kim Han-Ki
With a background in semiconductor
engineering and academic research,
Kim Han-Ki develops a practice that
merges art, science and technology. His
work translates complex systems—
ranging from artificial intelligence to
quantum mechanics—into dense visual
compositions that remain deeply human
in tone. Through layered symbols,
equations and cultural references, he
reflects on obsolescence, digital
memory and the emotional impact of
technological life, inviting a
reconsideration of what is often
overlooked or discarded.
Jessie Martin, Editor-in-Chief of ARTLO Magazine, in conversation with Banditrazos Gallery at Art Madrid 2026.
Photo: © ARTLO Magazine
Devesa Acquisition Award — Art Madrid 2026
At Art Madrid 2026, Kim Han-Ki was awarded the Devesa Acquisition Award, a distinction that
involves the direct acquisition of a selected work into a private collection. Unlike symbolic
recognitions, this award reflects a tangible commitment from the sphere of contemporary collecting.
Presented within the context of the fair, the award highlights practices that resonate not only
conceptually, but also within the evolving landscape of collectors. In this case, it acknowledges a
body of work that engages with technological thought while maintaining a strong human
dimension.
ARTLO Magazine 58

Kim Han-Ki, We Still Adore You No.56, 2025, mixed media on canvas, 65.1 × 50 cm.
Recipient of the Devesa Acquisition Award at Art Madrid 2026. Represented by Banditrazos Gallery, Seoul, South Korea.
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A r t F a i r s — A r t M a d r i d 2 0 2 6
Inéditad Gallery
Founded by curator and cultural manager
Luis López Almarcha, Inéditad Gallery centres
its programme on the idea of art as a vehicle
for social transformation. The gallery places
particular emphasis on giving visibility to
artists whose work expands perspectives and
foregrounds alternative narratives and
identities. Its selection reflects a clear
commitment to practices that engage
critically with the present, encouraging both
emotional response and intellectual reflection.
Carmen Mansilla
Born in Madrid in 1962, Carmen Mansilla
trained in Design and Illustration at the
Escuela Superior de Diseño ESSED. Her early
interest in the classical human figure led her
to further develop her practice in Florence, as
well as through workshops with
internationally recognised artists such as José
Sánchez Carralero, Antonio López, Alex
Kanevsky and Vicente Desiderio.
Her work has been presented in both solo and
group exhibitions at a national and
international level, and she has been part of
initiatives such as Women Painting Women
in the United States. Her paintings are held in
public and private collections, including the
MEAM Museum in Barcelona and the Museo
del Dibujo Castillo de Larres, as well as
collections across Europe and the United
States.
Mansilla’s figures deliberately move away
from prevailing trends and conventional
standards of beauty, instead proposing a more
introspective and timeless approach to the
human form. For Art Madrid 2026, she
presented a new body of work developed
specifically for this edition.
Carmen Mansilla, Guillermo, 2026, oil and coloured pencil on linen, 50 × 50 cm
Photo: © ARTLO Magazine
Nnena Kalu. Courtesy of the Artist and ActionSpace.
Carmen Mansilla, El estudiante, 2026, 50 × 50 × 1 cm Photo: © ARTLO Magazine
ARTLO Magazine 60

Pigment Gallery
Founded in Barcelona in 2016, Pigment
Gallery takes its name from the very
substance that gives colour to painting
—an origin that reflects its core focus on
materiality and artistic expression. The
gallery is dedicated to the promotion of
contemporary art, presenting a
programme that spans from modern
figuration to pure abstraction.
With a strong commitment to
supporting both local and international
artists, Pigment Gallery actively
participates in major art fairs across
Europe, the United States and Asia. Its
approach is grounded in a desire to
move beyond trends and conventional
narratives, seeking instead to identify
new voices and perspectives within the
contemporary scene.
Through its exhibitions and projects,
the gallery fosters dialogue and critical
engagement, positioning itself not only
as a space for display, but as a platform
for exchange and reflection.
Irene Ortiz
Born in Barcelona in 1970, Irene Ortiz
is a textile artist whose practice centres
on hand weaving, approached through
an intuitive and experimental process.
Working outside predefined structures
or conventional patterns, she explores
the expressive potential of textile as a
medium in itself.
Each piece emerges through an open
and evolving process, where colour,
texture and composition develop
organically. Her work is guided both by
the inherent qualities of the materials
and by their transformation over time,
resulting in compositions that feel at
once tactile, fluid and deeply connected
to process.
Textile work by the artist Irene Ortiz Photo: © ARTLO Magazine
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A r t F a i r s — A r t M a d r i d 2 0 2 6
Overview of the Fair
Art Madrid 2026 reaffirmed its position within
Madrid’s Art Week as a carefully balanced and
accessible fair, bringing together a diverse selection of
galleries and more than 200 artists. Painting and
sculpture maintained a strong presence, supported by
installation, photography and hybrid media, creating
an open framework in which different artistic
languages could coexist without rigid hierarchies. The
fair’s structure, complemented by its Parallel
Programme, encouraged a more experiential
approach, where movement, perception and
individual interpretation became central to the
visitor’s engagement.
At the same time, one absence became noticeable.
While textile art has been steadily gaining recognition
and visibility within the contemporary art scene, its
presence at the fair remained limited. This was
particularly striking given the strong response it
generated—textile works were among the first to be
acquired, reflecting a clear interest from collectors. A
broader representation of textile practices would have
further enriched the dialogue of the fair.
Even so, the overall quality and diversity of the
presentations reinforced Art Madrid’s role as a space
for discovery, where emerging and established voices
meet within a dynamic and evolving contemporary
landscape.
Selected views from Art Madrid 2026. Photo: © ARTLO Magazine
ARTLO Magazine 62

JUAN USLÉ
FROM 26 NOV 2025 TO 20 APR 2026
www.museoreinasofia.es
ARTLO Magazine 63

S P E C I A L F E A T U R E : K a t j a L ü h r s
Katja Lührs
Painting the Earth
as a fragile,
luminous presence
www.katjaluehrs.com
@katjaluehrs
«The Earth does not belong to
us—we are merely temporary
guests.»
Katja Lührs’ recent body of work operates within a
sustained investigation of proximity, scale and ethical
perception. Working in oil, she isolates botanical forms—
leaves, stems, dense vegetal clusters—and removes them
from narrative or geographical context. What remains is a
compressed visual field in which nature is no longer
background but subject, no longer scenery but structure.
Her canvases are characterised by tight framing and
compositional concentration. The absence of horizon or
spatial recession produces a form of pictorial immersion:
the viewer is not placed before a landscape but within a
field of vegetal presence. This strategy alters scale
perception. The leaf ceases to function as detail and instead
assumes an architectural status, occupying the canvas with
a monumentality usually reserved for human or
constructed forms. Technically, Lührs employs oil in a
controlled, layered manner, building depth through
successive applications that allow colour to resonate rather
than simply describe. Greens transition into cooler
tonalities; warm inflections emerge from beneath darker
planes. The effect is not theatrical illumination but an
interior luminosity—light that appears to inhabit the
surface rather than strike it from without.
This approach situates her practice within a lineage of
painters concerned with the phenomenology of light, yet
her surfaces remain resolutely contemporary in their clarity
and restraint.
Although her discourse explicitly references ecological
urgency and the notion of humanity as “guest” on the
planet, the paintings themselves avoid overt didacticism.
Lührs does not depict crisis; she stages attention. By
magnifying what is ordinarily peripheral, she redirects the
hierarchy of vision. The gesture is subtle but decisive: what
is typically overlooked demands duration, scrutiny and
stillness.
Yet behind this compositional restraint lies an unmistakable
conviction. Lührs repeatedly affirms that there is no
alternative planet, no second chance, no “Plan B.” The
image of Earth suspended in space—fragile, luminous,
singular—functions not only as metaphor but as moral
framework. From that vantage point, oceans, forests, cities
and all living beings share the same vulnerable surface. Her
paintings, while focused on botanical intimacy rather than
cosmic distance, operate within that expanded
consciousness.
ARTLO Magazine 64

S P E C I A L F E A T U R E : K a t j a L ü h r s
In this respect, her work engages with broader questions
concerning the politics of looking. In an era saturated with
accelerated imagery, fragmentation and environmental
abstraction, Lührs insists on sustained visual encounter. Her
canvases do not overwhelm; they decelerate. They propose
that contemplation is not passive but constitutive—that the
act of looking carefully may itself carry ethical weight.
The ecological dimension of her practice extends beyond
representation. The disappearance of rainforests, the
accelerating loss of species, and the destabilisation of
ecosystems form the unspoken horizon against which her
paintings unfold. Rather than illustrating catastrophe, she
offers an alternative mode of engagement: attention as
preservation, intimacy as resistance. The magnified leaf
becomes emblematic of a biosphere under pressure—
complex, interdependent, irreplaceable.
Her insistence on protection is not abstract. For Lührs,
safeguarding nature and animals is not solely a moral
aspiration but a necessity for survival. Healthy ecosystems
sustain air, water and food; biodiversity underpins stability.
In this light, her paintings may be read as quiet affirmations
of interdependence—reminders that human life is
inseparable from vegetal and animal existence.
The Politics of Looking
Art-historically, faint resonances with Monet’s serial
engagement with light or Georgia O’Keeffe’s enlargement
of organic form can be discerned. Yet Lührs’ practice
distinguishes itself through its compositional containment
and its refusal of excess. Where others might pursue
expressive gesture, she opts for precision; where spectacle
might tempt, she maintains composure. The result is a
body of work that navigates the threshold between
aesthetic seduction and reflective awareness.
Her broader professional trajectory—spanning media,
writing and advocacy—suggests a public-facing biography.
Yet the paintings themselves move in the opposite
direction: inward, concentrated, deliberate. They articulate
a counter-position to cultural velocity. They slow the eye.
Ultimately, Lührs’ paintings are less statements than
propositions. They ask what it means to encounter the
natural world not as resource, ornament or backdrop, but
as presence—and as inheritance. The Earth, in her view, is
both legacy and responsibility: a gift received and a trust to
be passed on. They reposition botanical life as structural,
luminous and deserving of undivided attention.
To stand before her work is not merely to observe nature,
but to recognise its fragility—and our role in its survival.
Blue Night Fog-120x90 cm
ARTLO Magazine 65

«Awareness often begins not with
knowledge, but with feeling.»
Your work repeatedly describes the Earth as a
“precious, vulnerable, unique planet.” When you
paint, do you feel you are portraying beauty, fragility,
or responsibility?
With my oil paintings and prints, I want to remind us how
infinitely precious the Earth is. A planet of overwhelming
beauty—full of life, color, breath, and wonder. That we
were born here is not a possession, but a gift.
The Earth carries us, nourishes us, protects us—it is our
home. And yet, it does not belong to us. We are merely
temporary guests. This realization fills me with gratitude
when I paint, but also with responsibility.
It pains me to see how carelessly we often treat this gift.
Landscapes are marred by trash, habitats disappear, living
beings suffer. I am particularly troubled that in an age of
knowledge and opportunity, forms of factory farming still
exist that destroy nature, devastate forests, and poison the
water.
In my paintings, I try to give space to this quiet sorrow and
hope. I am not only meant to depict beauty—I am meant
to remember, to touch, and perhaps to awaken a quiet
inner feeling.
If a person pauses before a work of art and feels for a
moment that this Earth is worth protecting, then my art
has fulfilled its purpose. Because awareness often begins
not with knowledge, but with feeling.
The image of Earth from space appears repeatedly in
your reflections. What does this perspective mean to
you as an artist?
The perspective of Earth from space deeply moves me
because it relativises everything human and simultaneously
makes visible everything that connects us. From this
distance, boundaries, claims of ownership, and differences
disappear. What remains is a silent, luminous, vulnerable
habitat in the darkness.
For me as an artist, this view is a moment of radical clarity.
It reveals not only the beauty of our planet but also its
fragility. Earth no longer appears as a self-evident
environment but as something unique that needs
protection—almost like a precious, floating being.
Morgentau- Morning dew - 120x80 cm
ARTLO Magazine 66

S P E C I A L F E A T U R E : K a t j a L ü h r s
Summertime, Oil on canvas, 100x100 cm, 2024
This perspective changes my perception when I paint. It
shifts my focus from the individual to the whole, from
possession to interconnectedness. I don't simply paint
landscapes or forms, but rather the idea of a shared home.
Looking at things from afar reminds me that we are part of
a larger context—and that responsibility arises not from a
sense of duty, but from understanding and wonder.
Many astronauts report that seeing Earth from space
changes their thinking forever. From this perspective, there
are no boundaries, no ownership, no separation—only a
luminous, vulnerable habitat in the darkness of the
universe.
This experience is often described as a profound sense of
interconnectedness, coupled with a new responsibility for
all life on this planet.
The German astronaut Alexander Gerst spoke of how thin
and protective the atmosphere appears—like a fragile shell
that preserves all life.
For me as an artist, this perspective represents an inner
shift: away from humanity as the centre, toward the Earth
as a precious whole. The view from afar reveals not only
beauty but also vulnerability—and it is precisely this
tension that I try to make visible in my work.
Viewing Earth from space means no longer taking it for
granted, but experiencing it as a gift. This realization
accompanies my artistic process and shapes my message:
We are not the owners of this planet, but part of a shared
home worthy of protection.
ARTLO Magazine 67

«I apply layer upon layer until light no longer rests on the surface, but
seems to breathe from within, revealing the Earth not as an object, but
as a luminous, fragile presence—something to be contemplated,
preserved, and quietly protected.»
Your paintings are described as
“a fragile jewel surrounded by
the infinity of space.” How do
you translate this sense of
sacredness into oil painting?
For me, sacredness arises in the
stilling of colour. I apply layer
upon layer until the light no
longer lies on the surface, but
seems to breathe from within. In
this way, the Earth is not painted
as an object, but as a luminous,
protected moment in space. I leave
space so that silence can speak.
Within this silence, fragility
becomes visible—in delicate
transitions, in floating hues, in a
balance that feels ever-present.
When I paint, I try not to possess,
but to preserve. Every brushstroke
is a gesture of mindfulness, a quiet
reminder that beauty requires
protection. Thus, the canvas
becomes a place of reverence for
me—silently radiant, like a
precious jewel in infinite space. A
caption under a picture could read:
"The Earth shines like a precious
jewel in infinite space. Fragile,
beautiful, worthy of protection—a
moment of awe we must
preserve."
Nature in your paintings is
luminous and intensely alive. Is
light the central emotional
element in your artistic
language?
ARTLO Magazine 68

“Save the Earth”
Oil painting and mixed media90x70 cm.
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S P E C I A L F E A T U R E : K a t j a L ü h r s
Light is truly the central emotional element for me. It is
more than brightness or colour; it is a carrier of vitality,
warmth, and hope. Light creates depth, rhythm, and
tension on the canvas—it makes nature breathe, glow, and
shine. In my paintings, I want to show not only what
something looks like, but also how it feels. Light creates
this emotional bridge: it allows the viewer to directly
experience the power, beauty, and fragility of nature. At
the same time, light is a symbol of responsibility and
awareness for me. It reveals what is alive, what should be
protected—and reminds us that we are part of a greater
whole that must be cherished. In every ray, in every
glimmer, I try to make this connection between humanity,
Earth, and the universe visible. For me, light is the
language in which the Earth speaks to us. A caption under
a picture could read: "Light flows through nature, letting it
live, shine and remind us of its importance."
Your oil paintings display remarkable depth and
luminosity. Could you describe your technical process
—do you work in thin glazes, layered applications, or
build colour more directly on the canvas?
My oil paintings are created in multiple layers, usually as
fine glazes applied one on top of the other. Each layer is
transparent and contains light and depth. This layering
creates a luminosity that seems to emanate from within,
not just from the surface. Sometimes I apply paint more
directly to set accents or to make the energy of a moment
immediately palpable. However, the fundamental
technique remains layering: patience, mindfulness, and the
interplay of light and transparency determine the
composition. This method allows me not only to depict
forms and colours, but also to convey atmospheres, moods,
and a sense of space. The goal is for the viewer to almost
feel the depth, movement, and radiance of nature, as if it
were alive.
Your compositions often focus closely on leaves and
botanical forms, creating an almost monumental
presence. How do you decide the scale and framing of
each subject?
The decision regarding size and composition usually arises
intuitively for me, often during the initial sketching or
painting process. I observe the form, the sweep, and the
movement of each leaf or botanical structure and sense
how much space it needs to unfold its presence. By
enlarging individual elements, monumental moments
emerge, inviting the viewer to lose themselves in nature
and consciously perceive its beauty.
At the same time, the chosen composition allows for
reduction: unnecessary details are eliminated, leaving only
the essential, concentrated and intense. For me, it is a
balancing act between closeness and vastness, between
intimacy and monumentality. I want each motif to be
powerful enough to captivate attention, yet open enough
to leave room for individual associations and feelings.
You often speak of gratitude as a core value. How
does gratitude shape your creative process in the
studio?
Gratitude is like an invisible companion in my studio. It
shapes every brushstroke, every layer of paint, and every
decision about form and light. Before I begin, I pause and
feel appreciation for the Earth, for nature, and for all the
life that inspires me. This feeling transforms the creative
process into a kind of ritual: I paint not only to show, but
to honour. Gratitude makes me attentive to small details, to
subtle transitions, and to the interplay of colour and light.
It is also an attitude towards the world: everything I paint
is an expression of my appreciation for our planet.
Gratitude makes the work not only more conscious, but
also deeper, more mindful, and more moving—for myself
and, hopefully, for the viewers as well. A caption under a
painting could read: "Gratitude carries every brushstroke.
For light, colour, and nature—for all life that surrounds us.
My paintings are an expression of this appreciation."
Your first oil painting was titled “Save the Earth 1.”
Did you already feel, at that moment, that art would
become your way of protecting the planet?
When I painted "Save the Earth 1," my work as a writer
and presenter had already made me acutely aware of the
urgency of the issue. Art offered me a new and powerful
way to convey this message. It was not a random impulse,
but a conscious decision: with my oil paintings, I wanted
to make the urgency, the vulnerability, and the beauty of
our planet visible. Even with my first piece, I felt that
painting is not only an expression of creativity, but also a
way to emotionally connect with the viewer. Since then,
my goal with every painting has been to remind people
that the Earth is worth protecting—and that we all share
this responsibility.
You have collaborated with animal welfare
organisations and written books on veganism. How
do writing, activism and painting nourish one
another in your life?
For me, writing, activism, and painting are not separate
paths, but rather different expressions of the same
responsibility: to protect the Earth, nature, and all living
beings. Through my books and journalistic work, I have
been able to share knowledge and educate people. Activism
has taught me how urgent change is and how important it
is not only to inform but also to touch people. Painting
complements this on an emotional level: it speaks to the
heart, conveying beauty, vulnerability, and awe. While
writing and activism inform and provoke rational thought,
art allows people to pause, to feel, and to experience a
connection. All three areas reinforce each other.
ARTLO Magazine 70

Fabulous, Oil on canvas, 70x90 cm
ARTLO Magazine 71

S P E C I A L F E A T U R E : K a t j a L ü h r s
My commitment to animal welfare inspires motifs and
messages in my paintings; the intensive work with colour
and light, in turn, deepens my sensitivity to the world and
reinforces my commitment to remaining authentic in my
writing and actions. This creates a cycle of perception,
expression, and responsibility.
You have cited Georgia O’Keeffe, Claude Monet and
Henri Rousseau as important influences. What have
you learned from them about portraying nature?
From Georgia O’Keeffe, I learned that nature can be
magnified, isolated, and almost monumentalised without
losing its intimacy. Her blossoms, leaves, and forms
demonstrate how to reveal the essence of a subject through
reduction and focus. Claude Monet teaches me the magic
of light. Through his Impressionist technique, one senses
that colour and light are constantly changing and that
nature is not static, but vibrant and fluid. His powers of
observation inspire me to capture moods and reveal the
invisible pulse of nature. Henri Rousseau showed me how
imagination and rich detail can merge. His lush, sometimes
surreal landscapes open up spaces where nature appears
both real and poetic. From him, I learned the importance
of having the courage to create one's own visual worlds in
order to convey feelings and atmospheres. All three artists
demonstrate that nature is more than mere representation.
It is an expression of emotion, perception, and inner
connection. These lessons shape my own work: I paint
nature to make it tangible, vulnerable, luminous, and at the
same time worthy of protection.
Having exhibited internationally, have you felt that
your message of environmental care resonates
differently across cultures?
Yes, I have the impression that my message is received
differently depending on the culture. In some countries,
the issue of environmental protection is very directly
linked to responsibility and urgency, and viewers react
immediately, emotionally, and consciously to the
vulnerability of the Earth. In other regions, the focus is
more on the aesthetic effect: first, the beauty, luminosity,
and vibrancy of nature are perceived before the message of
protection and responsibility becomes conscious. However,
everywhere I have experienced that art functions as a
universal language. Regardless of language or cultural
background, people sense the fragility, the light, and the
interconnectedness that my works convey. This immediate
feeling is often the first step towards reflecting on
responsibility and experiencing a deeper connection to
nature.
If you could express your artistic mission in a single
sentence for future generations, what would it be?
"My art aims to make the beauty, fragility and vibrancy of
our Earth tangible, and to remind people that we are all
guests on this planet full of wonders—and that we all need
to protect our shared home."
You describe humanity as ‘guests on this planet’. How
would you like viewers to behave after standing in
front of your paintings?
I hope that after viewing my paintings, viewers will pause
for a moment and realise that the Earth is more than just a
backdrop or a resource. That they will recognise how
vulnerable, unique, and precious our planet is—and that we
are only temporary guests. My goal is for them to become
more mindful with this awareness in their interaction with
nature, animals, water, air, and the Earth. I hope that the
paintings not only touch them aesthetically but also
awaken a sense of responsibility and gratitude. Ideally, I
would like viewers to act on an inner impulse after leaving
the room—with gestures both small and large that
demonstrate that we respect and protect our shared home.
“Living in Peace”, oil painting on canvas 100x100 cm.
ARTLO Magazine 72

I E D I T O R ’ S P I C K S I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N
A Curated Selection
Jessie S. Martin
Editor-in-Chief of ARTLO
Magazine, Jessie S.
Martin is a curator and
editor with a
background in the
humanities, classical
music and independent
publishing. Her career
spans over a decade of
experience in editorial
direction, content
curation and crossdisciplinary
storytelling.
With a particular interest
in the intersection
between visual culture,
language and critical
thinking, she leads the
magazine’s vision with a
sharp editorial voice and
a commitment to
independent artistic
perspectives. Her
curatorial approach is
guided by sensitivity,
contextual depth and a
deliberate distance from
market-driven
narratives.
A personal editorial selection.
In each issue of ARTLO Magazine, Editor’s Picks highlights a small number
of artists whose work has particularly captured the attention of the
editor. These selections reflect a personal curatorial perspective — artists
whose visual language, conceptual strength or distinctive voice stood out
during the preparation of this issue.
Curated by Jessie S. Martin
Within the pages of ARTLO Magazine, Editor’s Picks offers a more intimate curatorial moment.
While the magazine brings together a wide range of contemporary artists across its different
sections, this space is dedicated to a small number of practices that resonated especially strongly
with the editor.
Rather than forming a hierarchy or ranking, these selections reflect moments of recognition —
works that remain in the mind, invite closer looking, or reveal a distinctive artistic voice.
Sometimes these artists are well-established; at other times they may be newly discovered. What
unites them is a sense of authenticity and a visual language that feels both personal and
compelling.
In an art world shaped by constant production and endless images, pausing to focus on a few
practices can reveal unexpected depth. Editor’s Picks therefore functions as a moment of editorial
attention — a way of highlighting artists whose work encourages curiosity, reflection and
sustained looking.
ARTLO Magazine 73

I E d i t o r s ’ P i c k s
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N
Robert Ram
www.robertram-art.nl
Born in 1952 in The Hague, Netherlands,
Robert Ram developed a love for drawing
at an early age, and his passion for art has
continued to grow over the decades. He
studied model drawing, lithography and
watercolour, but is largely self-taught in
oil painting, a medium that allows him the
freedom to fully express his imagination.
Ram’s work is deeply influenced by
movements such as surrealism and magical
realism, although he prefers not to limit
himself to any particular artistic “ism”. His
paintings emerge from a wide range of
sources that spark his imagination —
newspaper articles, passages from books,
photographs, holiday snapshots or
fragments from films. Once an idea takes
shape, his imagination guides the
composition, allowing the image to
develop organically.
A central element in his work is the
creation of an atmosphere of estrangement
or quiet mystery. By combining and
rearranging elements within a scene, Ram
constructs unusual visual narratives that
invite the viewer to pause and explore their
own interpretations. His paintings often
evoke an ambiguous, almost timeless world
in which reality and imagination subtly
merge.
The artist currently works primarily on
panel, a surface that supports the fine detail
and careful structure that characterise his
compositions. Through this meticulous
technique, Ram builds intricate scenes that
balance precision with dreamlike imagery,
encouraging viewers to engage with the
poetic and imaginative dimensions of his
work.
Reflecting on his approach, Ram explains:
“In order to convert my rich fantasy into
an image that is attractive to me, I am very
much looking for alienation.”
Art critic Gabriele Walter has described
the artist’s work as “a fantastic, surrealist
symbiosis of natural motifs and mystery
with an element of mysticism”,
highlighting the fairy-tale atmosphere and
poetic qualities that define his imagery.
Bird’s Eye View, 2024, oil on panel, 80 x 66.5 cm
ARTLO Magazine 74

The Fight (3-hatch),
2024–2025, oil on
panel, 153 x 80 cm
ARTLO Magazine 75

ARTLO Magazine 76
Robert Ram Walking Flowers (2-hatch), 2021, oil on panel, 60
x 92 cm

ARTLO Magazine 77

I E d i t o r s ’ P i c k s
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N
Max Werner
www.maxwernerart.com
Max Werner was born in Ghent
Belgium, studied Fine Art in London at
the Byam Saw School of Art, and the
Slade School of Art. He later taught
etching in both schools. Then set up his
own printing ( etching) workshop in
London
His next project took him to Argentina,
where contracted by Buenos Aires
gallery, he completed, during 5 years, a
series of paintings about Argentine
landscapes and the gaucho- cattle world
of rural Argentina.
On completion of this project Max
moved to the USA, where he now lives
and works.
He has exhibited in solo and mixed
exhibitions in galleries and various art
fairs around the world including the UK,
Europe, North and South America, Japan,
and Taiwan.
His work has been purchased by private
collectors and museums around the
world.
Max has also completed in the past a large
public project in Lisbon, Portugal, with
the Portuguese artist Bartolomeo Dos
Santos, which consisted with the
decoration of an entire underground
station using the unusual technique of
etching on limestone.
In 2003 Max was commissioned by the
Household Cavalry, to commemorate
in a painting an event occurring once
every 10 years called “The Changing
of Standards And Guidons Parade”, a
private ceremony attended by Her
Majesty The Queen, and the Duke of
Edinburgh in Whitehall in London.
Glacier Pass, 2025 111.76 × 68.58 cm Acrylic on canvas
ARTLO Magazine 78

Approaching Hidden Creek. 2025 Acrylic on canvas 100x76cm
ARTLO Magazine 79

ARTLO Magazine 80

Max Werner Where the Buffalo Once Roamed. 2010. 120x114
ARTLO Magazine 81

I E d i t o r s ’ P i c k s
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N
Britt Knoff
www.britt-knoff.com
Top: Diversitas 1,
2025, 32x32cm,
woodcut
monoprint
Bottom: Moving
but where, 2025,
100x100cm,
acrylic painting
Britt Knoff – Where Materials and
Memories Meet
Britt Knoff is a Norwegian visual artist
whose practice moves fluidly between
painting, drawing, printmaking and
sculpture. Allowing the inherent qualities
of each material to guide the process, she
often works in series where different
techniques intersect and intertwine,
connected by a common thread that gives
each piece its own character.
Her works develop into complex visual
expressions that reflect human
relationships, memory, and the influence
of nature on our emotional landscape.
Chance, rhythm and texture play a role as
important as form and colour, turning each
work into a dynamic visual experience.
Knoff’s art balances contrasts: structure and
spontaneity, strength and vulnerability,
precision and playfulness. Each project
develops its own visual rhythm – a
dialogue between surface, colour and
theme that invites the viewer to explore
and discover.
Her artistic approach is informed by a fiveyear
art education as well as a background
in civil engineering within building
construction and architecture. This
combination of technical precision and
artistic sensitivity provides her with a
strong spatial awareness and a deep
understanding of materials, allowing her to
move naturally between structural clarity
and intuitive exploration.
As an active member of the Norwegian
Visual Artists Association (NBK), Knoff
draws inspiration from encounters,
memories and the environments that
surround her. For the artist, the creative
process is a journey – an ongoing
exploration in which ideas emerge, evolve
and ultimately come to fruition through a
dialogue between experimentation,
reflection and completion.
ARTLO Magazine 82

Diversitas 2, 2025, 32x32cm, woodcut variation I
ARTLO Magazine 83

I E d i t o r s ’ P i c k s
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N
Carmen Schaefer
www.carmenschaeferart.com
Carmen Schaefer is an American artist
whose work transforms personal
experience into evocative visual
narratives. Working across drawing,
painting and mixed media, she
explores themes of identity, memory
and emotional reflection.
Raised in a Navy family, Schaefer
experienced a transient childhood that
deeply influenced her artistic
sensibility. This sense of movement
and rootlessness continues to resonate
in her work. Inspired by Impressionist
and Neo-Impressionist masters,
particularly Toulouse-Lautrec, she
combines expressive techniques with a
strong sense of observation.
Schaefer holds an MFA from Ohio
University, an MA from Indiana
University and a BA from SUNY
Stony Brook, where she studied with
artists including Arnold Gasson, Henry
Holmes Smith and Allan Kaprow. Her
work has been exhibited widely in the
United States, including presentations
in New York and Rochester.
Today she divides her time between
her lakeside cottage near Conesus
Lake, New York, and her studio in
Rochester, where she continues to
create works that reflect on memory,
place and human experience.
Top: The Last Happy Day. Color pencil and ink On paper
Bottom: Within the Silent Tangle. Graphite, charcoal and
color pencil on paper.
ARTLO Magazine 84

Rome Remembrance
Graphite and charcoal on paper.
ARTLO Magazine 85

ARTLO Magazine 86
Carmen Schaefer Chair of Dreams
Color pencil and ink on paper.

Carmen Schaefer Blue Woman
Color pencil and ink on paper.
ARTLO Magazine 87

I E d i t o r s ’ P i c k s
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N
Jason Bennett www.bennettfolk.com
Jason Bennett (b. 1969, Los Angeles) is an
American oil painter and singersongwriter.
While he has written and
produced numerous albums of acousticbased
music throughout his career, his
visual practice focuses on expressive oil
paintings that blend elements of
contemporary folk art and expressionism.
Influenced by artists such as Vincent van
Gogh, Gabriele Münter and Richard
Diebenkorn, Bennett has developed a
distinctive painterly language characterised
by ragged textures, muted tones and an
intuitive, narrative quality. His work
reflects a deep appreciation for traditional
artistic influences while maintaining a
contemporary sensibility.
Right: Chico Jangles
Oil on canvas panel, 2025
27.94 × 35.56 cm
Left: Manuel Contemplates
Oil on canvas panel, 2025
20.32 × 25.40 cm
ARTLO Magazine 88

ARCHIBALD ARRIVES
ARTLO Magazine 89

ARTLO Magazine 90
Evening Stroll For Lucien

I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
Contemporary Voices Worth
Knowing
Jessie S. Martin
Editor-in-Chief of ARTLO
Magazine, Jessie S.
Martin is a curator and
editor with a
background in the
humanities, classical
music and independent
publishing. Her career
spans over a decade of
experience in editorial
direction, content
curation and crossdisciplinary
storytelling.
With a particular interest
in the intersection
between visual culture,
language and critical
thinking, she leads the
magazine’s vision with a
sharp editorial voice and
a commitment to
independent artistic
perspectives. Her
curatorial approach is
guided by sensitivity,
contextual depth and a
deliberate distance from
market-driven
narratives.
Susan Wilson
Susan is an awardwinning
painter and
former gallery owner
based in London. After
decades curating
exhibitions and
representing
international artists—
including through her
own gallery—she brings
to Artloving a precise,
experienced eye. Her
past work in advertising
and branding, combined
with her lifelong
dedication to the arts,
make her an essential
voice in selecting works
that balance visual
impact with substance.
A curated space for contemporary voices.
In this section, we bring together artists whose work has resonated with us—
whether through their mastery of technique, conceptual richness, or the quiet
power of their visual language. Some are well-established names, others are
new to our radar, but all share a commitment to authenticity and the kind of
art that lingers. On Focus is not about novelty; it is about depth, connection,
and the pleasure of truly looking.
Curated by Jessie S. Martin & Susan Wilson
In a world saturated with noise and visual
overproduction, On Focus offers a deliberate
pause—a space to look closely. Conceived as an
evolving curatorial project within the pages of
this magazine, the section presents a group of
contemporary artists selected for their capacity
to move, challenge, or simply linger in the
mind’s eye.
The selection is not guided by the market, nor
by dominant art world narratives. Instead, it
reflects a curatorial sensibility shaped by shared
values and aesthetic intuition. The aim is to
trace practices that resonate—sometimes quietly,
sometimes defiantly—but always with
authenticity. From emerging talents to underrecognised
mid-career artists, these profiles are
not endorsements, but invitations: to look
deeper, to engage, to connect.
Art is not only what hangs on walls, but what
shifts our way of seeing. And in that spirit, On
Focus aims to shine a light on those creators
whose work, regardless of fame or recognition,
feels urgent, necessary, or simply unforgettable.
Whether poetic, political, tactile, conceptual,
playful or raw, the voices featured in these pages
remind us that contemporary art is not a style,
but a constellation of ways of being in the
world. To focus, here, is to care.
ARTLO Magazine 91

I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
Anna Stuart
www.annastuartart.com
Mountain Hut on a Moonlit Night. Acrylic on canvas 60x40cm
Anna Stuart is an artist and
illustrator whose work blends
narrative imagery with
atmospheric landscapes and
poetic scenes. Working with
watercolour, gouache, acrylic
and pastel, she creates detailed
compositions that often
contain subtle elements of
humour and visual
storytelling.
Her paintings frequently
invite the viewer into quiet,
contemplative moments,
where imagined stories unfold
within
dreamlike
environments. Some works
even incorporate playful visual
puzzles, encouraging the
viewer to look more closely
and discover hidden details
within the scene.
Driven by a continuous
exploration of visual
expression, Stuart approaches
her practice with a spirit of
openness and experimentation,
guided by a simple principle:
that creativity should remain
free from rigid rules.
Her work has been published
in several art magazines and
exhibited in various galleries.
Today her paintings are held
in private collections across
Russia, France, the United
Kingdom, Canada, the United
States, Armenia, Hungary, the
Czech Republic, Ireland and
Kosovo.
A Star for a Friend. Acrylic on canvas 35x45cm
ARTLO Magazine 92

Waiting for the Miracle, watercolour/acrylic on cotton paper, 30 x 40 cm.
ARTLO Magazine 93

I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
Toti Cuesta
Toti Cuesta is a Spanish watercolor
artist whose work explores the
subtle bond between humanity and
the natural world. Her paintings
often centre on the female figure as
a symbol of life, resilience, and
creative force, intertwined with
trees, roots, animals, and other
organic forms. Working in a
language between hyperrealism and
dreamlike surrealism, she uses
transparency and light to evoke
emotional depth and inner silence.
For her, painting is an act of deep
attention and attentive listening:
each image arrives almost as a
symbol or intuitive image, and the
work itself gradually guides the
process. Through this visual
universe, Cuesta invites viewers into
a quiet, contemplative space where
beauty, vulnerability, and our
belonging to the Earth can be felt
rather than explained.
wwwtoticuesta.com
I am tree, 2023, 56 x 76 cm, watercolor.
ARTLO Magazine 94

Upholding Life, 2024, 76 x 56 cm, watercolour
ARTLO Magazine 95

I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
Marcelo Pedrozo
In Good Company, 2024.n 30 cm x 34 cm Acrilyc on paper.
www.artbymarcepedrozo.com
Marcelo Pedrozo is a visual
artist whose work explores
abstraction as an
emotional and intuitive
language.
Through expressive color
palettes and gestural
forms, he creates
compositions that reflect
inner
states, memory, and
transformation. His
practice focuses on
translating mood and
sensation into
visual narratives that invite
personal interpretation.
El Valle de los Deseos,2024. 42 cm x 29,37 cm
Watercolor, ink, oil pastel and graphite on paper 250 g
ARTLO Magazine 96

Ecos del Olimpo, 2025 Watercolor, acrylic, ink, oil pastel, and rhinestones on paper 250g. 42 cm x 29,37 cm
ARTLO Magazine 97

I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
Patrick Egger
www.artpegger.jimdofree.com
Percée lumineuse - 2024 - 50x60cm - Peinture acrylique sur toile.
White Day over the Drus reflects the
artist’s sustained engagement with
the Alpine landscape, shaped by his
daily view of the Mont Blanc massif.
The Drus, a striking and
recognisable formation, are
approached not only as a physical
subject, but as a presence
conditioned by light and
atmosphere.
In this work, the mountain is
rendered with notable precision, yet
its form appears partially softened by
a dense veil of mist. This interplay
between clarity and diffusion creates
a quiet tension, where the subject
seems to emerge and recede at once,
resisting complete definition.
While the artist works with a high
level of detail, approaching a form
of hyperrealism, this precision is not
used for effect. Instead, it grounds
the image in a restrained and
controlled visual language, where
atmosphere plays a central role.
Developed from a photographic
reference, the painting was
constructed through a careful
layering process, allowing for both
accuracy and subtle transitions.
Particular attention is given to light
and diffusion, creating a surface
where form and atmosphere become
closely intertwined.
Ultimately, the work moves beyond
straightforward representation,
offering a measured vision of the
landscape in which precision and
ambiguity coexist in delicate
balance.
ARTLO Magazine 98

Ultimes rayons sur le Cervin - 2025 - 60x80cm - Peinture acrylique sur toile.
ARTLO - 82
ARTLO Magazine 99

I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
Sonia Indelicato
Roseval
www.soniarosevalartist.net
Sonia Indelicato Roseval is a
Montreal-based artist whose
large-scale ink drawings arise
from an intuitive and
contemplative practice.
Working freehand with
Japanese ink, she approaches
each sheet of paper without
premeditation, allowing
complex organic structures to
emerge gradually through
gesture and repetition. Her
compositions develop as
intricate constellations of
looping lines, layered forms
and breathing voids, creating a
visual rhythm that feels both
expansive and introspective.
At the core of her work lies an
exploration
of
interconnectedness and
consciousness. The dialogue
between filled and empty
space becomes a metaphor for
balance — light and dark,
strength and fragility, presence
and absence existing
simultaneously. Through this
meditative process, Roseval
invites the viewer into a state
of quiet reflection, where
density and openness coexist
in equilibrium, suggesting a
personal and universal journey
towards wholeness.
Top: Connections #31
71.1 × 55.9 cm Freehand
mixed media on Arches
paper 2023
Bottom: Connections #20
76.2 × 104.1 cm Freehand
ink drawing on Arches
paper 2022
ARTLO Magazine 100

Connections – Samurai #1 71.1 × 55.9 cm
Freehand ink drawing on Arches paper. 2022
ARTLO Magazine 101

I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
Edith Jung
«Jung’s paintings unfold as contemplative inner
landscapes, where layered fields of colour and gesture
hover between the visible and the sensed. Working in
mixed media on wood, she builds surfaces that
shimmer with quiet spatial ambiguity, allowing
symbols to surface not as narratives but as traces —
fragments of an intuitive visual language that seem to
emerge from silence itself. Her abstraction resists
spectacle, favouring instead a meditative presence in
which light, shadow and mark become vehicles for
psychological and spiritual reflection».
www.edith-jung.de
Born in Germany, Edith Jung studied
at the State Academy of Fine Arts in
Karlsruhe and completed her studies
with a scholarship from Baden-
Württemberg Art Foundation. This
was followed by a six- month-long
guest stay as artist in residence at Villa
Massimo, Rome.
She has exhibited in galleries all across
Germany and also in Switzerland, Italy
and the United States and her work
was shown at well known art fairs like
LA Art Show,
Art Basel and Affordable Art Fair,
Milano. Her artworks are collected
internationally and also are
represented by nameable art
collections.
She lives and works as an artist in
Karlsruhe.
Invocation Mixed media
ARTLO Magazine 102

Ritus. Mixed media
ARTLO Magazine 103

I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
Harald Brandl
@brandlha
Harald Brandl’s engagement with colour,
objects and diverse materials has accompanied
him since childhood. Although recognised early
for his pronounced artistic talent and interest in
design, he initially pursued a career in the civil
service, following the advice of his parents.
A later illness marked a decisive turning point in
his life. Through confronting his own health,
consciously retreating into nature, and
rediscovering its elemental force, Brandl found a
renewed access both to himself and to his artistic
practice.
Recent recognition includes the Stipendium
award by Winstage Gallery (Wiener Neustadt,
Austria), leading to an eight-week exhibition
featuring selected works. The award also
includes a professional media campaign and a
televised interview broadcast, among others, on
the Austrian cultural television channel ORF III.
Destroyed love
Crocus
The rose of peace
ARTLO Magazine 104

During a walk through local forests,
his guiding question — “what can
you see?” — emerged. It was further
shaped by a fleeting apparition that
only became visible later, when
reviewing a video recording.
This idea underpins his work:
although we inhabit and observe
the world, we do not always fully
perceive it in the moment. This
ongoing reflection continues to
inform his practice, inviting viewers
to look more closely, to question,
and to seek deeper meaning.
Brandl’s work is characterised by an
open and meaningful visual
language that encourages the
viewer to construct their own
narrative through personal
experience. His aim is to awaken
curiosity and to establish an
emotional connection between the
artwork and its audience.
Wintertime
Maria
The world is not enough
ARTLO Magazine 105

I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
Lihong Zhang
www.lihongzhangart.com
Lihong Zhang takes the lotus as her theme,
exploring contemporary Impressionist painting
and developing a distinctive personal style. She
uses bold colors and strong brushstrokes,
blending Eastern Zen aesthetics with
Impressionism to express tranquility and
harmony. Often inspired during the night or in
dreams, she creates works that feature abstract
and surreal elements. Lihong Zhang's oil
paintings merge Eastern and Western cultures;
through her Lotus and Garden series, she hopes
to offer viewers both visual enjoyment and
mental comfort. Each painting reflects her
passion for art, nature, and culture, as well as her
creative journey.
The Lotus Series No. 58 Oil on Linen 100x100cm. 2024.
.
The Lotus Series No. 15&16 Oil on Canvas 200x120cm 2019
ARTLO Magazine 106

The Kingfisher 1 Oil on Canvas 40x50cm Artist Lihong Zhang 2019
ARTLO Magazine 107

I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
James Offenhartz
James Offenhartz was born in Brooklyn,
NY, where light falls across windows,
stoops, and passing faces in ways that
quietly linger. Now working in Port
Chester, NY, he draws from the town’s
immigrant community and its steady
rhythms of labor, waiting, and return.
Painting in layered oils, Offenhartz
builds scenes the way a film holds a
frame—allowing light to arrive
unevenly, spaces to breathe, and figures
to remain absorbed in their own
thoughts. Streets, interiors, and
buildings become emotional settings
rather than backdrops, and moments feel
suspended between what has just
happened and what might come next.
His work finds its weight in
moments that refuse to announce
themselves. Offenhartz has been part of
shows from New York to Barcelona and
studied painting in New York and Italy
before graduating from Bennington
College. His work can be found at
jamesoffenhartz.com and on
Instagram @JamesOffenhartz.
Waiting. 2020,122x122cm Oil on Canvas
Girl on Phone. 2021,122x91cm Oil on Canvas
ARTLO Magazine 108

Nirvana. 2023, 61x76cm, Oil on Canvas
ARTLO Magazine 109

I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
Debbie O Lucas
www.debbieonaturephotography.com
For Debbie O Lucas, photography
is both a way of seeing and a way of
remembering—an ongoing
exploration of nature’s subtle beauty
and power. Her work is grounded
in curiosity and close observation, a
passion first sparked during her
college years when a biology
professor introduced her to
photography and the art of noticing
small details.
Nature is central to Debbie’s
practice, with flowers serving as a
source of inspiration. She
approaches floral subjects as intimate
portraits rather than botanical
records, revealing each bloom’s
unique character, movement, and
emotional resonance. Through
thoughtful composition and
nuanced use of light, familiar forms
are transformed into evocative,
contemplative images.
Embracing a diversity of subjects
and styles, Debbie’s work ranges
from vibrant blooms to tranquil
water reflections to abstract details
to untamed landscapes. Across all
themes, her photography seeks to
uncover the extraordinary within
the ordinary, inviting viewers to
slow down, look closely, and
rediscover the beauty that surrounds
them.
Right: Bold Petals. 2016, Photography
Left: Whispers of Spring. 2012, Photography
ARTLO Magazine 110

Twins. 2022, Photography
ARTLO Magazine 111

I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
Anthony
Emerton
@anthony17417
Anthony Emerton (b. 1952, London) is a
British artist whose practice spans both
sculpture and painting. He studied art at St
Martin’s School of Art in London, Leeds
Polytechnic (BA), and later at the
University of California, Santa Barbara,
where he completed postgraduate studies in
the Art Studio programme. In 1988–89 he
received a Pollock-Krasner award for
sculpture, and during his time in the
United States he presented four solo
exhibitions focused on sculptural work.
After returning to Europe, Emerton
gradually shifted his attention towards
painting. Since the early 1990s he has
explored a wide range of visual languages,
moving between abstraction and more
figurative approaches while developing a
highly personal painterly vocabulary.
In recent years his practice has focused
primarily on abstract painting, often
working in acrylic on paper in formats
around 42 × 30 cm, while also producing
larger canvases. His compositions
frequently begin as small coloured-pencil
drawings that are later enlarged and
translated onto paper or canvas, allowing
the initial idea to evolve into a more
complex painted structure.
Emerton has exhibited widely across
Europe, particularly in Italy. Recent
exhibitions include presentations at the
MUST Museum of Contemporary Art in
Lecce and collaborations with ItsLiquid in
Venice. His work has also been shown with
Monat Gallery in Madrid as well as at art
fairs in Monaco, Innsbruck and Munich,
and with the Amsterdam Whitney Gallery
in New York.
Orange Y, 2025., 84cm x 61cm
Acrylic on canva
ARTLO Magazine 112

Blue ZZY, 2026. 84cm x 61cm. Acrylic on canvas
ARTLO Magazine 113

I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
Judith Beale
«For me, making marks is the initial objective. Finding images that
speak to me in an intuitive and expressive manner remains the goal
each time I work.
I think of myself as a painter or 2D artist first with no constraints.
However, I also find working in 3D to be just as satisfying as painting
or drawing or printing when I can physically handle the materials.
After years of creating work, I still find the beginning of a piece to be
as exciting as I remember my first efforts».
www.jdbeale.com
Judith currently resides in the
United States. She works as a
multidisciplinary artist
participating in regional,
national and international
exhibits and competitions.
She completed her BFA
degree in 1972 majoring in
Art and Art History at the
Little Rock UALR campus.
During the late 1970’s to the
mid 90’s she worked as an
independent commercial
illustrator and in various roles
within her family’s business
operations. In 1995 she
received an MFA degree with
Honors in Studio Arts
(concentration painting) from
the University of Memphis,
Memphis, Tennessee. Her
works are held in collections
of private individuals,
universities and corporations
in the United States and in
Europe. Much of her work
comes from an “art for art’s
sake” abstract expressionist
perspective combined with
what might be termed a mark
makers sense of spirituality.
Abstract No 2358, 2025 Acrylic and Ink on paper 29 x 21 x 0 in (73.66 x 53.34 x 0.0 cm)
ARTLO Magazine 114

Nurture IV, 2018 Acrylic on paper 29 x 21 x 0 in (73.66 x 53.34 x 0.0 cm)
ARTLO Magazine 115

I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
Elizabeth Gorcey
www.egorcey.com
Elizabeth Gorcey’s creative career spans
film, literature and painting, unified by
a sustained interest in overlooked
narratives and personal authenticity.
With extensive experience in cinema as
an actress, director and producer, she
has developed documentary-style
projects exploring socially sensitive
subjects such as ageing and disability,
bringing visibility to stories often left
outside the mainstream.
Her collaborative work with her
daughter resulted in the award-winning
children’s book series Liv on Life, a
project centred on confidence, empathy
and intergenerational dialogue.
The series reflects Gorcey’s broader
@elizabeth_gorcey_art
commitment to honest expression
across both personal and artistic
contexts.
Although largely self-taught as a
painter, Gorcey began creating visual
art in childhood, receiving recognition
at the age of ten when her watercolour
Chinese Tea Pot was exhibited at the
New Jersey State Museum. She is
currently studying at Zhenya Art
Academy and has exhibited in New
York, Portland, Los Angeles, as well as
in Canada and Europe, where her work
has entered private collections.
Across disciplines, her practice remains
grounded in a personal philosophy she
summarises simply: “Creating is
nourishment for my soul.”
Right: Passing. oil & Charcoal on Canvas,
121x91cm
Left: Lamy, oil on canvas, 91,44 × 91,44 cm
ARTLO Magazine 116

Open Heart.
Oil on Canvas,121,92 × 91,44 cm.
ARTLO Magazine 117

I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
Irena Vujanovic
@resetivism
Born in Belgrade, Serbia. Following the breakup
of Yugoslavia, Irena moved to Chicago.
She was studying in Belgrade, Moscow, and
Chicago. After receiving her Master and
Doctorate, she started her carrier at the
University, simultaneously as an artist and
scientist.
As an artist, painter, she was working, and
exhibiting for more than couple of decades,
combining her art, with dancing and voice
performances under the name
“IRENADEARTE”.
In 2015 she started a project “BOKIKI” with
Bojan Jovanovic. It was a digital art collaboration
which lasted for almost ten years.
In April 2024 she began working on her own
digital projects, and at the beginning of the next
year she changed her artistic name into
“RESETivism”. Irena is driven by passion for
innovation and exploration. With a power of
artistic ideas, she is RESETTING all of the
boundaries, and transforming artistic expressions
into her own, new artistic language is connecting
her viewers via art through time and space.
Primal Peace.
Mixed Media 120x90
RESETIVISM. A New Visual Language Between Memory and
Technology
The artistic project of Irena Vujanović, gathered under the name
RESETIVISM, was born as a response to the present time: an era in
which images circulate rapidly and superficially, and perception risks
being flattened by an excess of visual stimuli. RESETIVISM is not
merely a technique, but an aesthetic philosophy that invites us to
rethink the relationship between past and present, memory and
identity, tradition and technology.
At the core of this language lies the gesture of the reset: not an
erasure, but an act of regeneration. Vujanović’s works are not limited
to being new creations; they often emerge from the reinvention of
pre-existing materials - images, paintings, traces of color and pixels -
transformed through digital tools. This layering thus becomes a
metaphor for both collective and individual memory, which does not
disappear but is constantly renewed.
In a world dominated by the speed of social media and the incessant
production of images, Vujanović’s work proposes a different sense of
time: contemplative, layered, meditative. The viewer is invited to lose
and rediscover themselves, to reflect on their own identity and the
transformations that shape it.
RESETIVISM is therefore both an act of resistance and of openness:
resistance against forgetfulness and simplification, openness towards
new possibilities of perception and expression. It is a language that
looks to the future without severing ties with the past, but instead
transforming it into an inexhaustible source of new visions.
Amaride Ferrante
ARTLO Magazine 118

A NEW CIRCLE IN THE
SPIRAL OF THE MIND
It’s not the end.
It’s a beginning,
A new circle
In the spiral of the mind.
A new thought,
The new weight of the old one,
A new circle
In the spiral of your mind.
With silence,
I mask the noise,
A new circle
In the spiral of my mind.
A painting.
I apply layers of white.
A new circle
In the spiral of her mind.
The canvas remembers,
Color is stubborn;
Beneath layers of whiteness,
It emerges.
Defiantly, I whiten it out.
I suppress the old.
A new painting,
A new circle,
In the spiral of his mind.
Millions of spirals,
Hidden,
Beneath a new circle
In the spiral of our mind.
by Irena Vujanovic
Top:
Time.
Mixed Media 30x40
Bottom:
Love
Mixed Media 120x90
ARTLO Magazine 119

I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
d.W.WHITFIELD
www.davidwwhitfield.com
Untitle. 2025/2026 Acrylic on canvas. 100x80cm
David Whitfield’s work is rooted in a
profound exploration of human psychological
and behavioural dynamics. Originally from
Newcastle, Whitfield brings to his practice a
background shaped not only by artistic
dedication but also by extensive experience as
a cartographer and later as a psychiatric nurse.
These formative years continue to inform his
visual language, granting his paintings an
acute sensitivity to the complexities of the
human psyche.
In his recent body of work, notably presented
in the exhibition beyond appearance,
Whitfield advances an existential reflection on
contemporary life. His compositions oscillate
between abstraction and figuration,
combining fine linear structures with
overlapping faces and fragmented gestures.
Figures seem to emerge and dissolve within
the pictorial space, evoking the fragility of
memory and the fleeting nature of human
relationships.
There is a palpable tension in his canvases:
large chromatic fields encounter the precision
of delineated lines that both unite and divide
the image. This duality mirrors the emotional
condition of the characters portrayed —
individuals who appear to communicate with
one another while remaining isolated within
their own thoughts. Repeated gestures and
layered visages suggest inner conflict,
vulnerability and the complexity of emotional
exchange.
Whitfield’s palette, often composed of
softened tonal transitions and stratified colour
planes, creates an atmosphere of introspection.
Rather than imposing a definitive narrative,
the artist invites the viewer to engage actively
with the work, to question, interpret and
construct personal meaning. His paintings
resist simplification; they demand
contemplation.
Positioned between lucid anxiety and
visionary intensity, Whitfield opens what
might be described as the subconscious terrain
of modern society. By discarding social masks
and exposing emotional undercurrents, he
proposes art as a space for awareness — perhaps
even redemption — within a culture
increasingly marked by fragmentation and
psychological strain.
Visionary yet disciplined, expressive yet
controlled, David Whitfield’s work stands as a
sustained inquiry into time, memory and the
human condition. It is painting that does not
seek easy answers, but instead creates a field of
reflection in which the viewer becomes an
essential participant.
ARTLO Magazine 120

Untitle. 2025/2026 Acrylic on canvas. 100x80cm ARTLO Magazine 121

I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
Yue Zeng
www.yuezengartstudio.com
Moonlight sail. 40.64 x 50.8cm. Oil on canvas
Under a luminous full moon, a wooden sailboat drifts across a celestial sea.
Ethereal wolves — embodiments of ancient guiding spirits — move ahead of the
vessel, their glowing traces suggesting protection, movement and destiny.
Yue Zeng: Between Myth and Memory
Yue Zeng is a Chinese-American selftaught
artist based in Woodbury,
Minnesota, where she has lived since 2008.
Working primarily in oil on canvas, her
practice centres on mythical creatures and
animals rendered through a language that
moves between Impressionism and fantasy.
Saturated colour, organic forms and
dynamic brushwork define a visual universe
where imagination and reality coexist.
Zeng’s interest in art began in childhood,
though her early academic path led her
elsewhere. She earned a Master of Science
degree from SUNY College of
Environmental Science and Forestry in
Syracuse, New York, and initially pursued
a career in the chemistry industry. In 2017,
however, physical complications forced her
to leave the field. The experience marked a
turning point. She returned to painting
with renewed clarity and commitment,
choosing to dedicate herself fully to her
artistic practice.
Oil painting became her primary medium.
While she experiments with gouache,
pastel and digital techniques, canvas and oil
remain central to her expression. The
material’s flexibility and depth allow her to
explore emotional states through layered
colour and shifting light.
Her paintings often depict mythical beings
as tangible presences rather than abstract
symbols. Set against seascapes and
landscapes, these creatures are infused with
what she describes as “a natural spirit and
magic.” Through bold contrasts between
foreground and background, light and
shadow, Zeng creates compositions in
which bodies and landscapes intertwine
through flowing, organic forms.
At the core of her practice lies a deeply
personal motivation. “My paintings are an
outlet to express the imagination I have
inside my head that I cannot put into
words,” she explains. Over nearly a decade
of dedicated practice, her artistic journey
has been marked by emotional challenges
as well as transformation. As 2026
approaches — ten years since she began
painting seriously — Zeng reflects on
having found a sense of inner peace. “No
matter how life changes in the future —
whether stormy or harmonious — I still
have many fascinating dreams waiting to
be painted on my canvas.”
ARTLO Magazine 122

Underwater Ruin. 2023 40.64 cm x 50.8 cm Oil on canvas
ARTLO Magazine 123

I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
Karel
VEREYCKEN
www.artkarel.com
Born in 1957 in Antwerp, the Franco-
Belgian painter, engraver and historian
Karel Vereycken graduated from the
Saint-Luc Institute in Brussels and
trained in engraving at the Royal
Academy of Fine Arts, where he
obtained his certification with
distinction.
His parents worked in the port and ship
repair industry. The war and the need to
support their siblings and family abruptly
interrupted their adolescence, studies and
career plans. For this reason, they were
determined to offer their children the
opportunity to develop their cultural
horizons to the fullest.
At the age of twelve, Karel won his first
art prize. His teacher, the sculptor
Herman Cornelis, convinced his mother
of her son’s exceptional talent. Taking
this advice seriously, she sent him to
Brussels to study visual arts.
Now living and working in France and a
member of the National Federation of
Printmaking, Karel Vereycken further
confirmed his technical mastery at
Atelier 63 in Paris and continued to
refine his practice in the workshop of
Halfdan Halbirk in Montreuil, son of the
Danish engraver Bo Halbirk.
Alongside his artistic practice, he writes
on art history, produces audio
commentaries and, above all, dedicates
himself to what he does best:
watercolours and engravings.
In 2025–2026 he received several
distinctions. He was awarded the Mona
Lisa Prize by the Paris Galerie Mona Lisa
and received the Collectors Art Prize –
Art Legends of Our Time, an honorary
title awarded by Contemporary Art
Curator Magazine.
He also won the Top in Category Award
for Printmaking from the Circle
Foundation for the Arts in New York, as
well as several Talent Prize Awards,
Honorable Mention Awards, and Artist
of the Year and Artist of the Year Finalist
awards from Teravarna Art Gallery,
Camelback Gallery, Artist Space Gallery,
Artio Gallery and Artavita Art Gallery.
His work has been featured in several
professional magazines, including
CloseUp and Contemporary Art Curator
Magazine, which published an extensive
interview on his creative method, centred
on metaphor rather than symbol. His
work has also appeared in the Londonbased
contemporary art magazine Divide
(No. 16) and in Modern Renaissance Art
Magazine (No. 29, October 2025). He
was selected for inclusion in the book
100 Artists of Europe, and his profile and
portfolio appear in the Investable Artist
2026 Online Directory.
In April 2026, Karel’s work will be
presented at Art Shopping 2026 at the
Paris Carrousel du Louvre, where it will
be shown digitally at the booth of the
Circle Foundation for the Arts.
Abbey of Vallemagne 2024
Watercolor on Arches Paper 55 x 70 cm
Sneeuwpret (Fun in the snow) 2025
Intaglio etching on zinc 50 x 40 cm
ARTLO Magazine 124

View on the Thames, London 1902, 2025
Intaglio etching on zinc 40 x 50 cm
ARTLO Magazine 125

I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
Alpana Mittal
‘Tejaswini’
www.tejaswiniart.com
In the work of Alpana Mittal, known
artistically as Tejaswini, repetition
becomes revelation. What at first appears
ornamental gradually unfolds into a
contemplative field of rhythm, devotion,
and memory. Working meticulously
with beads on canvas, she constructs
intricate visual architectures that echo
the ephemeral tradition of Rangoli—
ceremonial floor drawings created
during festivals in Bharat—while
transforming their transience into
permanence.
Each bead functions as both unit and
pulse. Thousands of small circular forms
accumulate into patterns that oscillate
between geometry and intuition. The
surface shimmers, not only through
colour but through density, creating an
optical vibration that invites prolonged
looking. From a distance, the
compositions read as unified harmonic
structures; up close, they dissolve into
countless individual gestures of
placement.
Spiritual symbolism emerges through
structure rather than illustration. In
works such as Diya and Om – The
Meditation Mantra, light and mantra are
not depicted as narrative images but
constructed through repetition and
chromatic intensity. The act of placing
each bead becomes devotional—an
embodied meditation translated into
material form.
Tejaswini does not pre-plan her
compositions. Instead, they unfold
organically, guided by instinct and
internal rhythm. This intuitive discipline
allows the works to breathe within their
symmetry. In large-scale pieces such as
Galactic Bliss, the patterned field expands
beyond cultural reference into
something almost cosmological—
suggesting cellular systems, star maps, or
woven tapestries of energy.
There is a compelling tension between
labour and stillness in her practice.
The meticulous process contrasts with
the serenity the finished works evoke.
Ornament here is reclaimed as a language
of depth rather than decoration. Through
repetition, she constructs silence; through
pattern, she creates space for
contemplation.
Tejaswini’s practice bridges geography
and memory, ritual and abstraction,
transforming an ephemeral cultural
tradition into a sustained visual
meditation on unity, rhythm, and quiet
transcendence.
Based in New Jersey, her practice has
developed into a distinctive exploration
of bead-based compositions rooted in
cultural memory and spiritual symbolism.
Raised in Bharat, she carries forward the
visual sensibility of its ornamental and
ritual traditions into a contemporary,
materially complex language.
Her series Dream Reflections, initiated in
2008, marked a decisive commitment to
bead work as both medium and
meditative discipline. Since then, her
practice has expanded through largescale
patterned works that have gained
international visibility.
Her work has been exhibited at venues
including ArtExpo New York, the
Salmagundi Club (NYC), Crocker Art
Museum (Sacramento), Europe Art Fair
(Amsterdam), and Boomer Gallery
(London), and has appeared on Times
Square digital billboards. It has also been
featured in publications across France,
Germany, and the United Kingdom.
Beyond her studio practice, she has
contributed actively to the arts
community, serving as Vice President
and Board Member of Pro Arts Jersey
City. Her work is held in private and
public collections internationally.
The Lamp. (2016). Beads on canvas. 50,8x40,6cm
ARTLO Magazine 126

Going Places (2021). Beads on canvas. 50.8 X 40.6cm
ARTLO Magazine 127

I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
Ulla Plougmand
www.ulla-art.com
Painting Life in Colour: A
Soulful Vision
Born in Denmark and currently
based in London, this artist has
developed a distinctive visual
language defined by colour,
emotional resonance, and
philosophical reflection. Her work,
held in both public and private
collections internationally, has
received several awards over the
course of a career spanning three
decades.
Nature plays a central role in her
visual vocabulary. Trees and
flowers frequently function as
metaphors for human experience.
As she explains, “I often use nature
— trees and flowers — as metaphors
for people.”
Her paintings emerge from
memory, imagination, and lived
experience. Having travelled
extensively and embraced what she
describes as “a colourful life,” she
relies primarily on what she calls
her “mind’s eye,” conceiving and
executing each canvas from an
internal vision rather than external
reference. Every work is therefore
singular, whether rooted in reality
or entirely imagined.
Wessex in Bloom
122X122cm Acrylic on canvas
The Longleat CollectionPrivate collection
My Childhood’s Dream Fields
51X41cmAcrylic on canvas
ARTLO Magazine 128

Stylistically, her practice may be
described as a form of abstract
Impressionism, though it
increasingly incorporates symbolic
and conceptual elements. At times,
a deliberate naivety appears — not
as simplicity, but as clarity of
emotional intention.
Her thematic universe is broad yet
cohesive. Over the years, she has
explored dreamscapes, female forms,
playful cosmic imagery, and
exuberant floral compositions. More
recently, her work has turned
toward themes of hope and love,
reflections on Ukraine, and
evocative memories of her
Scandinavian heritage.
At the heart of her practice lies a
deeply personal impulse. As she
succinctly states: “I paint my life in
colour — from the heart.”
Three Trees. Dream Reflection. 2
41X51cm Acrylic on canvas
Scandinavian Early Spring
51X41 cmAcrylic on canvas
ARTLO - 84
ARTLO Magazine 129

I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
Stanley D. Auspitz
Stanley D. Auspitz is a travel and landscape photographer who became enamored
with California’s natural beauty which he recorded with his camera. Born and
raised in Philadelphia and graduate of Temple University’s Tyler School of art,
where he received his Masters of Art Education and Art Teaching specialist’s
certification, Stanley decided to move to San Diego where he laid the foundations
for an art career. He studied architectural drafting in Phoenix and received
certificates in Commercial Art, Graphic Reproduction and Desktop Publishing in
San Diego, CA. Stanley has over 12 years of experience in photography, having
received a Graduate Certification from the New York Institute of Photography
and a Digital Photography certificate from Cornell University. He has taken
over 20 courses covering different aspects of photography at BPSOP, the Brian
Peterson School of Photography. Moreover, he has studied landscape photography
with Serge Ramelli and Tim Shields who have spurred on his interest in the genre.
Recently, he completed a freelance photography program which he took at San
Diego City College.
The scenes depicted here are mainly seascapes of the Pacific Coast found at
Monterey, Oceanside and La Jolla, California. I would get up early in the morning
around sunrise to capture these images which have, because of the time of day, a
serene and quiet quality to them. I hope to convey my wonder also in the beauty
of the scenes and how they have impacted me favorably.
www.sapho2.com
Yellow Sunset Oceanside, Photography
ARTLO Magazine 130

Leaning Tree at Cove. Photography
Rocky Pacific Coastline Photography
ARTLO Magazine 131

I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
Standa
Standa is a Czecho-Canadian artist whose work explores the complexities of
human emotion, adaptation and inner conflict. Drawing inspiration from life’s
dilemmas, his practice moves fluidly between sculpture and digital media,
combining cast resin, aluminium, canvas and gold leaf to create layered,
emotionally charged compositions.
Over the past three decades, he has developed a distinctive visual language rooted
in balance, colour and symbolic form rather than literal representation. His work is
guided by a surreal-abstract approach, refined over the last ten years, through
which he seeks to express the ongoing tension between emotional experience and
human resilience.
Standa’s works are held in private collections across Europe, North America and
Asia, and have been featured in numerous exhibitions, publications and
international projects. Influenced by figures such as Hieronymus Bosch, Pablo
Picasso and Salvador Dalí, as well as architects Frank Lloyd Wright and Frank
Gehry, his practice reflects a dialogue between imagination, structure and
emotional depth.
At the core of his artistic philosophy lies a simple yet powerful idea: just as a
compelling story allows the reader to imagine, a strong image invites the viewer to
construct their own meaning.
@stanriha
Pebble and crystals. 2025, 74cm x 46cm, mixed media, (ink on fine art media with copper foil and gold leaf)
ARTLO Magazine 132

Diarist's box. 2025, 66cm x 41cm, mixed media, (ink on fine art media with copper foil and gold leaf)
Abandoned beach house. 2025, 81cm x 51cm, mixed media, (acrylic on canvas with copper foil and gold leaf) cm x 41cm, mixed media,
ARTLO Magazine 133

I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
Irina Howard
www.irinahoward.com
Irina Howard is a New York–based artist
whose work explores the hidden patterns and
interconnectedness that shape human
experience. Born in Kiev, Ukraine, and
shaped by decades of life in New York, her
practice reflects on identity, resilience, and
transformation through layered,
contemplative compositions.
Drawing on a multidisciplinary background
that includes the medical field, cognitive
psychology, and art therapy, Howard studied
fine and integrated arts at the City University
of New York and Yale Gordon College of
Arts and Sciences. This diverse foundation
informs a body of work that combines
intellectual inquiry with emotional depth.
Her pieces frequently incorporate organic
motifs—circles, spirals, and cellular structures
—which function as symbolic forms
reflecting cycles of healing, growth, and
renewal.
Through restrained
palettes and textured
surfaces, Howard
creates meditative
visual spaces that
invite viewers to
pause and reflect.
After a long period away from artistic
production, her return to art became both a
personal act of healing and a renewed
commitment to creative expression.
Alongside her studio practice, Howard also
dedicates time to teaching fine arts and
supporting emerging artists.
Through this contemplative visual language,
Irina Howard invites audiences to engage
with art as a space for reflection, connection,
and transformation.
Merging souls, 2024. Oil on canvas, 76.2 × 101 cm.
ARTLO Magazine 134

Representation of Life Sculpting wire, wire mesh, modelling compound, clay, paper, glue, wood panel, gesso, spray paint, varnish 40x40x38cm
ARTLO Magazine 135

I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
Robert Van De Graaf Robert van de Graaf (b. 1983, the
Netherlands) is a visual artist living and
working in The Hague, the Netherlands.
Van de Graaf received a Master of Science
(MSc) degree in Architecture (Technical
University Delft) in 2009. At an early age he
enjoyed an intense private painting and
drawing training (1996 - 2001) by the Dutch
artist Erica Meyster (1949 - 2006). This
period remains of great importance to his
development as an artist.
www.robertvandegraaf.com
Since 2012 he is devoting himself entirely to
his career as a visual artist. He has since
produced a large body of work, consisting of
theme-based series of artworks which are
exhibited in numerous online and physical
exhibitions, like his solo exhibition at the
‘Salon des Arts’ in Maastricht, the
Netherlands, in 2023. The exhibition was
curated by Ad Himmelreich, curator and
former conservator of the
Bonnefantenmuseum (Maastricht, NL) and
he wrote an essay about the artworks of
Robert.
His work is represented by gallery Al-Tiba9
Contemporary (Barcelona) on Artsy.
The artworks have been published in several
international art magazines and art books as
Art Maze Magazine, Aesthetica Magazine, art
magazine Al-Tiba9, Contemporary Art
Collector Magazine, Artsin Square Magazine
and New Art Project Magazine.
Robert is interested in the connections and
relations between the mystical in this world,
the sense and the dimension of the spiritual
world and our soul. The works, primarily oil
paintings, express a complex interplay of
visual impressions combined with emotional
and spiritual reflection. He draws his
inspiration from spiritual and religious stories,
mythology, mystical places and the
philosophy of life.
His art is held in private collections through
the Netherlands, the United States and
France.
Clouds Whispering Harmonies of Love to the Sea, 2025.
160 x 120 x 2,5 cm, Oil on linen
ARTLO Magazine 136

Top: Clouds Searching for
Peace in the Evening Light,
2025, 150 x 200 x 2,5 cm, Oil
on linen
Bottom:
The Battle of Joan of Arc and
Her Angels, 2024, 150 x 200 x
2,5 cm, Oil on linen
ARTLO Magazine 137

I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
Michael Kaphengst
@michaelkaphengstlinearist
Right:Orange, 2023. Oil on canvas 80 x 100 cm
Left: Togetherness, 2020 Oil on canvas 80 x 80 cm
Next Page: High-proof, 2022
Collage, Oil on canvas 115 x 75 cm
Michael Kaphengst – THE LINEARIST
Michael Kaphengst’s artistic practice is grounded in what he
defines as “linearism” — a conceptual and formal exploration of
process as an unavoidable condition of contemporary existence.
The concept of “linearism,” as well as what he later termed
“consumptive surrealism,” dates back to 1995, marking the
beginning of his long-standing investigation into these ideas.
For Kaphengst, the world of consumption is not “pop” in the
traditional sense, but a continuous linear sequence of actions,
repetitions and sensory stimuli that shape individual experience.
His work examines the progressive nature of daily routines and
their psychological impact. Through this lens, consumer goods
become both subject and metaphor: objects that accompany
and influence us throughout life, generating situations that
oscillate between the familiar and the surreal.
Kaphengst has developed several formal approaches within this
framework, including “Consumptive Surrealism,” “Fencing
Paintings – Absolute Linearism,” and “Extreme Linearism.” In
the latter two, line becomes both gesture and structure. Since
2009, he has experimented with attaching a brush to the tip of a
rapier, producing precise, tension-driven linear compositions.
Around 2012, he expanded this investigation into what he
terms “Extreme Linearism,” characterised by rapid, circular and
partially uncontrolled movements that condense into dynamic
visual fields.
The distinction between “absolute” and “extreme” linearism
reflects differing states of concentration and physical
engagement — a duality informed by the artist’s varied
professional background, which ranges from graphic design
and acting to manual trades and film production.
Kaphengst’s work situates line not merely as a visual element,
but as a structural principle — a record of movement, labour
and time within the contemporary condition.
ARTLO Magazine 138

ARTLO Magazine 139

I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
Raymond Quenneville
Born in 1956 in Trois-Rivières, Quebec (Canada),
Raymond Quenneville is a self-taught artist who has been
painting for over 50 years. In 1992, after having explored a
variety of media, he went back to oil painting, and decided
to pursue his own unique style in expressing landscape and
light.
By playing with complementary colours, Raymond
Quenneville accentuates contrasts and creates impressive
luminous effects. In his landscape paintings, subtle values
variations almost make visible the fine consistency of the
air itself and create an illusion of depth that is convincing
to the eye. He likes to paint peaceful environments,
expressing serenity and equanimity of places where it is
good to stop and just be for a moment.
www.raymondquenneville.qc.ca
Fin du jour à Rivière-Ouelle
2025. 46 x 91 cm Oil on canvas
Raymond Quenneville has held many solo exhibitions and
participated in numerous collective exhibitions and
symposia. Winner of several national and international
awards he has received special mentions from juries and
the public. He is a member of the Institut des arts figuratifs
(IAF), of the Society of Canadian Artists (SCA), of the
Mondial Art Academia (MAA) and has been nominated as
Master of Fine Arts by the Académie internationale des
beaux-arts du Québec (AIBAQ). There is a permanent
exhibition of his work in renowned art galleries
distributed across Canada and United States
ARTLO Magazine 140

Top: Western Mood
2023. 91 x 122cm. Oil on canvas
Bottom: Jours meilleurs
2023. 91 x 122cm. Oil on canvas
ARTLO Magazine 141

I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
www.marekboguszakphotography.com
Marek Boguszak
Over the last decades, Marek—a photographer
for more than 50 years—has shifted his
photographic technique from analogue B&W to
digital colour photography. These days, his focus
is on creating unique abstract photographs from
deserts in Death Valley and Abu Dhabi. Pure and
smooth lines, and colourful shapes with perfect
harmony are at the core of this series.
These artworks have been awarded in many
international contests and are in private
collections in Czechia, Switzerland, Spain, the
USA, and Abu Dhabi. Solo exhibitions took
place in Zurich (CH), Bern (CH), Campione
(IT), London (UK), Prague (CZ), Barcelona
(ESP), and New York (USA).
Advent, 2024 90x84cm
archival dye sublimation on aluminum
Revelation. 2025
100x60 archival dye sublimation on aluminum
Phoenix. 2025
90x56cm archival dye sublimation on aluminum
Rich. 2024
90x62cm archival dye sublimation on aluminum
ARTLO Magazine 142

Lake’s Tune, 2024
902x64cm Archival dye sublimation on aluminum
ARTLO Magazine 143

I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
Claudia Habringer
www.claudia-habringer.com
In Resonance with Ludovico Einaudi, 2021, 100 x 100 cm, marker on canvas.
Inspired by the music of contemporary composer Ludovico Einaudi, this
work reflects the artist’s intuitive creative process, in which music often
becomes a catalyst for visual imagery. While working, Habringer allows
forms to emerge spontaneously, discovering unexpected figures and
narratives within the composition.
Claudia Habringer is an Austrian artist
based in Innsbruck whose work
explores the idea of invisible energetic
fields that shape both the natural and
human world. Alongside her artistic
practice, Habringer works as an
energy coach, a perspective that
strongly informs her creative process
and the conceptual framework of her
work.
Rather than relying on sketches or preplanned
compositions, Habringer
approaches each piece intuitively.
Working directly with markers on
paper or canvas, she allows the work to
emerge spontaneously, responding to
what she perceives as subtle energetic
movements. In this way, her paintings
attempt to translate intangible forces
into visual form.
Her works often function as expressive
interpretations of energies associated
with people, plants, planets, music, or
even historical moments. For the artist,
the act of creation begins from an
open, undefined space, gradually
evolving into compositions that seek to
capture emotional and energetic
resonance.
Habringer has primarily presented her
work through digital platforms,
exhibiting in online galleries and
through digital screens at international
art fairs and exhibitions, including
presentations in Basel, Miami, New
York, Zurich, Tokyo and Venice.
While these formats allow her work to
reach a wide audience, the artist
emphasises the importance of
experiencing the original pieces in
person, where their visual and spatial
presence becomes more immediate.
At the core of Habringer’s practice lies
a sense of curiosity and openness to the
unknown. For the artist, the creative
process is not simply about producing
images but about exploring unseen
dimensions of experience, inviting
viewers to engage not only visually,
but also intuitively and emotionally.
ARTLO Magazine 144

In resonance with Balance - 2021 | 70cm x 100cm | marker on cardboard
Balance is a feeling, a being that triggers what you see here within me. Bright, light, playful…
ARTLO Magazine 145

I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
Juliette Kaiser
Juliette Kaiser is a painter and jewellery artist based in
Luxembourg. Trained at the Lycée des Arts et Métiers
in Luxembourg City, she exhibited in Luxembourg
and Germany during the 1990s before a significant
health crisis redirected her professional path. She later
founded and managed Luxembourg’s first female-led
fitness studio, while continuing to create privately.
In 2024, she returned fully to painting. Since then,
her acrylic works have been presented
internationally, including exhibitions in Venice,
Volterra, Rome and at the XV Biennale di Firenze.
Kaiser’s work is characterised by vibrant colour and a
strong emotional resonance rooted in personal
experience. For her, art is a way of transforming
vulnerability into strength — a visual language that
brings inner states into light.
www.juliettek-art.com
Right: The key to Pandora´s box .
Acrylic on Canvas, 120 x 100 cm, 2025
Left: The manager in your own circus.
Acrylic on Canvas, 120x100cm , 2025
ARTLO Magazine 146

New Beginnings - Light after Darkness - Day after Night .
Acrylic on Canvas , 120x80cm, 2024
ARTLO Magazine 147

I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
Symona Colina
www.symonacolina.info
Right: H 8 (motorized)
2025 - Pencil on Paper A3
Left: The Breathing
2019 - Oil on Canvas.
100x90 cm
Perspective as a Song of Colour
Born in Ridderkerk, The Netherlands, in 1954, Symona
Colina has developed an artistic language rooted in the
concept of perspective — not merely as spatial
construction, but as an inner vision. For Colina,
perspective is a living force: a meeting point between
length, height and width, between the world within and
the world outside.
Her work unfolds as a dialogue between colour and line,
where composition becomes movement and light
transforms into rhythm. She describes her creative process
as composing with “rainbow-light” — weaving lines and
tones into a visual melody. Painting, for her, is a song to
be seen.
Over the past decades, Colina has exhibited extensively
across Europe and the United States, with presentations in
Rome, Florence, New York, Paris, London and
Amsterdam, among many others. Highlights include
exhibitions at Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, the Carrousel
du Louvre in Paris, and participation in international art
fairs and biennials. Her career has been recognised with
numerous awards, including the Primo Premio Firenze
(Fiorino d’Oro) and recent international distinctions for
artistic excellence.
Colina’s oeuvre reflects a sustained commitment to
abstraction as a poetic and spatial exploration. Through
colour harmonies and dynamic structures, she invites the
viewer into a contemplative encounter — a space where
perception becomes resonance.
ARTLO Magazine 148

Top:Storm
2021. Oil on canvas . 100 × 90 cm
In Storm, Symona Colina builds a powerful spiral composition that conveys
movement and intensity. Saturated colour and layered forms create a sense of
contained energy, drawing the viewer into a dynamic, immersive space.
Bottom: Doors of Perception
2025. Oil on canvas 80 × 90 cm
In Doors of Perception, Symona Colina explores the threshold between inner and
outer perception. Swirling structures of deep blues and iridescent colour suggest
movement, expansion and immersion into consciousness. The composition unfolds
like an organic landscape, where form dissolves into rhythm and perspective becomes
a fluid experience.
The painting invites the viewer to enter a contemplative space — a moment
suspended in time, where colour and structure act as a gateway to awareness.
ARTLO Magazine 149

I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
Jessica Swafford
www.Akashahealingarts.xyz
@jessicadswafford
Born in 1985, Jessica is a North
Carolina-based American artist who
has been exploring the world of visual
art through a wide range of creative
mediums for the past three decades.
She works primarily with Acrylic, oil,
and watercolor, but expresses great
passion for art in all its forms.
Jessica draws on her background in psychology,
medicine, and spirituality, finding inspiration in
nature’s beauty. Her art practice centers on
expressing the unique energy and essence of every
subject she depicts. Her goal is to create pieces that
invite viewers into a moment, a mood, or a deeper
reflection. She enjoys painting for a cause or purpose.
Her piece ‘Rehema’ a to call action regarding the
decline in the African elephant population (due to
poaching and habitat loss) and raise funds for the
elephant sanctuary in Tennessee.
Her work has been exhibited in galleries, featured in
curated exhibitions, and highlighted in several art
publications. She confesses her love of art began as a
child, watching Bob Ross paint with her grandmother.
Influenced by Van Gogh, Andy Warhol and Salvador
Dali, Jessica creates works that combine elements of
Pop, Post-Impressionism, and Surrealism with her bold
use of color, and emotional depth, she
unapologetically broaches sociopolitical topics and
explores the esoteric, subconscious and dreams.
In addition to her personal body of work, she offers
commissioned paintings, custom pieces, and murals,
collaborating closely with clients to bring meaningful
artistic visions to life.
Mercury/Hermes, 2022, 41 x 51 x 2.5 cm, acrylic on paper mâché canvas
Rehema, 2021, 76 x 61 x 2.5 cm, acrylic and watercolour on canvas
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We The People, 2022, 46 x 61 x 2.5 cm, acrylic on canvas ARTLO Magazine 151

I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
Roland Zulehner (ZoooooZ)
&Mumzy Maria Uberstein
Mumzy Maria Uberstein
ZoooooZ Pirat, 2021
www.zoooooz.de
MumzMumzy Maria Uberstein
Mumzy Pirat, 2021
Mumzy Maria Uberstein It Feels Like Japan, 2021
Roland Zulehner (ZoooooZ)
Roland Zulehner, known artistically as ZoooooZ, develops a
vivid and energetic pictorial language that combines elements
of surrealism, pop aesthetics and expressive colour. His
paintings are characterised by intense palettes, bold brushwork
and imaginative transformations of everyday subjects. Figures,
objects and symbolic elements often appear in unexpected
contexts, creating images that oscillate between humour,
dreamlike narrative and visual provocation.
Working primarily with acrylic on canvas, Zulehner builds his
compositions through layered textures and striking contrasts.
His work explores themes of emotion, perception and the
playful distortion of reality, inviting viewers to enter a colourful
universe where the ordinary becomes theatrical and surreal.
Mumzy Maria Uberstein
Mumzy Maria Uberstein is an artist whose work embraces
spontaneity, colour and expressive gesture. Born in South
Africa and later based in Germany, she approaches painting
with an intuitive and energetic method, allowing the act of
painting itself to guide the development of the image.
Working mainly in acrylic, Uberstein creates compositions that
blend figurative elements with expressive abstraction. Her
paintings often explore themes of movement, character and
playful narrative, using vibrant colours and dynamic
brushstrokes to convey a sense of vitality and emotional
immediacy.
Roland
Zulehner
(ZoooooZ)
Tanze im Regen
– Lieblingsplatz,
2021
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Roland Zulehner (ZoooooZ)
Die Schwestern Milch, 2021
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I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
WIDMER TASSINARI
@widmer.tassinari.9
Widmer Tassinari is an Italian painter
whose work is guided by instinct,
emotional intensity and a deeply
expressive approach to painting. Having
drawn since a very young age, he later
developed a distinctive visual language
working primarily with oil and acrylic
on large canvases. His creative process is
spontaneous and physical, often
combining brushes, spatulas, pencils and
even direct gestures to build textured and
energetic compositions.
Moving between abstraction and
fragmented figuration, Tassinari’s
paintings are characterised by bold lines,
layered surfaces and vibrant colour
contrasts that generate a sense of
movement and tension across the canvas.
Faces, symbolic elements and distorted
forms frequently emerge within these
dynamic compositions, suggesting
emotional states rather than literal
narratives. The result is a visual language
that appears instinctive and immediate,
yet rich in expressive intensity.
Colour plays a central role in his work.
Strong contrasts, gestural marks and raw
textures create compositions that feel
both chaotic and balanced, where instinct
and structure coexist. In many of his
paintings, expressive gestures and graphic
elements interact with figurative
fragments, producing images that
oscillate between psychological portrait,
symbolic narrative and abstract
composition.
Through this intuitive approach,
Tassinari’s work explores the complexity
of human emotion and the inner tensions
that shape personal experience. His
paintings often evoke moments of
reflection, conflict or transformation,
translating these emotional impulses into
vivid and energetic visual forms. The
result is a body of work that balances
spontaneity and structure, where
instinctive mark-making and expressive
colour give form to a raw and deeply
personal vision of the human psyche.
Luna amoreggia con la stella
Mixed media, 150 × 100 cm
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lunil vento che vorrei
Mixed media, 150 × 100 cm
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I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
Tobias Indermühle
Tobias Indermühle has dedicated over three decades to the photographic
medium, developing a body of work that spans abstraction, surrealism and
realism.
In his current practice, he explores the threshold between reality and the
surreal — a tension shaped by years of deep-sea diving across the globe. These
immersive experiences beneath the surface inform a visual language where
perception shifts, and the boundaries between worlds begin to dissolve.
www.tobias-indermuehle.com
Diving philippines 3
Photography
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TOP: Diving thailand
3 Photography
BOTTOM: Diving
cuba 3
Photography
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I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
Versiliy — Algae as
Artefact
Your work centres on ocean-grown algae, a
material rarely associated with jewellery or
sculpture. What first drew you to algae as a primary
medium?
I remember a day about five years ago when I picked up
a piece of Macrocystis that had washed onto the beach in
Santa Monica. I genuinely didn’t know what I was
holding. It looked like a plant, but the surface felt
completely alien. I remember thinking: this is what
vegetation on another planet might feel like.
That moment stayed with me. When I began
experimenting seriously, kelp didn’t cooperate. It rotted.
It cracked. It shrank. It smelled. It resisted every
conventional technique I knew. But that resistance
became the reason to continue. What began as curiosity
turned into a multi-year technical dialogue, developing
stabilization methods that preserve its raw texture
without turning it into something synthetic.
www.versiliy.com
Versiliy — Algae as Artefact
Working at the intersection of nature and
objecthood, Versiliy explores algae not merely
as material but as collaborator. His practice
challenges conventional hierarchies within
sculpture and jewellery by elevating an
overlooked organic form into something both
intimate and sculptural. Rather than imposing
control, his process appears to negotiate with
transformation itself — embracing fragility,
irregularity and the quiet authority of natural
structures. In doing so, he invites us to
reconsider what we value as precious, and how
imperfection can become a site of meaning.
You are largely self-taught and developed your own
preservation methods. Could you describe your
process of experimentation and how you learned to
work with such an unpredictable material?
There isn’t really a manual for working with kelp. In
fashion schools, they teach you how to work with fabric.
In ceramics, you learn clay. But algae, especially kelp,
doesn’t have an established craft tradition in
contemporary jewelry or sculpture. I had to figure it out
myself.
I didn’t learn it from a textbook. I learned it through
structured experimentation. Early attempts failed
constantly: mold, cracking, collapse. Instead of
abandoning the material, I began documenting
variations: soaking times, mineral treatments, drying
speeds, structural
response.There were easier ways to “preserve” it:
encapsulate it in resin, coat it heavily, essentially
fossilize it in plastic. I chose not to. My goal was to
stabilize the structure without erasing then material’s
identity. That meant slow experimentation and
accepting that the material sets the rules. Over several
years, that iterative process evolved into preservation
methods that allow me to
control its properties, certain elements can remain
flexible, others can be made waterproof or more rigid,
depending on the needs of the piece. The material
remains tactile and honest, but no longer fragile.
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Imperfection seems to play an important role
in your practice. How do you view cracks,
folds, and transformations that occur
naturally in the material?
Imperfection isn’t something I add, it just happens
when you work with kelp. Sometimes cracks and
folds create something better than I planned.
Sometimes they completely ruin the piece and it
goes back to recycle. And that’s fine.
I think we’ve grown used to highly polished ideas
in objects and in people. Symmetry, flawlessness,
ideal images. Social media especially promotes a
kind of perfection that feels detached from how
things actually exist in nature.
In the natural world, irregularity is the rule, not
the exception.
Your artefacts feel both organic and
sculptural. Do you see your work primarily as
jewellery, as sculpture, or as something in
between?
Originally, the pieces were more like small
sculptures. Making them wearable came later, it
was simply a way to show them and let them exist
beyond a shelf. That’s how the first necklaces and
earrings were born.
As people began wanting to carry Versiliy objects
on different parts of the body, I had to step more
consciously into a jewelry designer role. Bracelets
and rings are definitely more “jewelry” in that
logic, as they require more precision, more
consideration of comfort and durability,
compared to pendants and earrings, which still
feel closer to freely hanging
sculpture.
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How does the Californian coastline influence
your creative direction? Do specific
landscapes or seasons affect the forms you
create?
The Californian coastline influences the work
more through the material than through imagery.
Kelp forests contain many different species. I do
not dive. I collect what the ocean brings to shore.
Some species, like Macrocystis, are common.
Others require very specific conditions such as
currents, wind, season, temperature, even the
direction of the beach to wash up at all.For
example, Nereocystis grows further north. Under
the right conditions, it can drift long distances
and arrive completely sun bleached, shifting from
deep brown to beige, sometimes almost ivory.
That’s how natural materials had variation,
through the environment, not ink or dye.
That slight confusion is important. It sparks
curiosity.
I’d like them to feel connected to something real.
And maybe also a bit grounded. Like you’re
wearing a fragment of something that existed long
before you and will continue after you.
Looking ahead, are there new materials,
techniques, or conceptual directions you wish to
explore?
I’m still deep in kelp. I feel like I’ve only explored a
small part of what it can do.
I’m interested in pushing the scale slightly larger.
Not just intimate pieces for the body, but objects
that sit between jewelry and interior sculpture. I’ve
already made several sculptural lights and
lampshades, and that direction feels very natural.
It feels like a continuation rather than a shift.
You describe your process as almost scientific
at times. How do you balance analytical
observation with intuition?
The analytical part is about making the material
stable and predictable. That requires testing,
observation, documentation. Once the structure is
reliable, intuition takes over. Form, proportion,
composition, those decisions are not measured.
They are felt.
Sustainability and natural cycles appear to be
central themes in your work. Is there an
environmental message behind your practice,
or is your focus more poetic than
political?
I don’t approach the work as eco activism.
I mean, everyone already knows the situation.
The planet will survive. We’re the ones who
depend on healthy oceans. If we damage them,
we damage ourselves.
What interests me more is showing kelp as an
opportunity and a curiosity. We already talk
about it as food, medicine or carbon absorption.
I’m just adding another layer. It can also become
something cultural, something personal,
something you wear.
I’d rather spark curiosity than repeat warnings.
When someone wears one of your pieces,
what experience or connection do you hope
they feel?
I hope they feel something unfamiliar at first.
When you touch it, it doesn’t feel like metal or
stone. It feels warm. Almost like wood or leather,
but not exactly.
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I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
Robert Irwin Wolf
phototherapy, countertransference and the role
of visual imagery in accessing unconscious
material. His sculptural work—often biomorphic
and gestural in form—reflects a parallel inquiry
into the psychological forces that shape human
experience, suggesting that the processes of
healing and artistic creation may share a
common ground.
www.robertirwinwolf.com
Robert Irwin Wolf is a New York based
psychoanalyst, creative art therapist, sculptor
and photographer whose career spans more
than four decades at the intersection of clinical
in-depth psychology and fine art practice.
Trained initially in art and design at Pratt
Institute before pursuing intensive
psychoanalytic training at NPAP in New York
City, Wolf has embraced what he terms
“expressive analysis”: an approach that
integrates nonverbal, sensory/motor and
aesthetic processes within the psychoanalytic
frame of treatment. Alongside his longstanding
private practice in Manhattan, he has
taught, supervised and published extensively on
the therapeutic uses of photography, or
You describe your work as integrating nonverbal,
sensory/motor communication within the
psychoanalytic frame. How do you practically
introduce artistic processes into an ongoing analytic
session?
During an initial interview I will tell clients that they
might like to try drawing their dreams and then bring the
drawings into their next session, or I might suggest they
consider bringing in photographs of their choice into
sessions, for us to discuss. I have also asked patients to draw
a picture at home after a session that represents how they
experienced that session and bring it in next session for
processing. I’ve found that introducing these parameters
early in the treatment doesn’t in any way interfere with the
development of the therapeutic process and the analytic
frame.
You frequently refer to implicit memory and
unconscious processes accessed through visual
imagery. In your clinical experience, how does
artwork help reveal material that spoken language
cannot reach?
I’ve seen this demonstrated most clearly when working
with dreams. Clients often reach an impasse while
describing their dreams in words. By shifting to a nonverbal
format such as drawing, deeper levels of
understanding are possible. The externalization of the
dream into an image bypasses secondary process defenses
and brings the dreamer closer to unconscious material. We
experience our dreams as visual images; only when
describing them do we add words. Developmentally we
experience our world after birth (and before) primarily on
a visceral, sensory-motor level.
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I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
Visual images become our first language. So
creating a visual image of a dream helps externalize
elements of the dream that had been unavailable
through words. This externalization allows our
secondary process to create words that move
information from the primitive brain (implicit
communication) into the later-developed cognitive
(explicit) area where we can expand our
understanding of previously unconscious material.
Cozolino describes the importance of creating a
‘narrative’ that provides a shift in our brain from
implicit to explicit processing.
Top: Continuity, first view
Bottom: Continuity, second view
Continuity, 38.1 cm H × 27.9 cm W × 12.7 cm
Bruno Carmello alabaster
Matte black micarta base with recessed ball-bearing swivel mechanism
In your graduate teaching, you incorporated
stone carving to explore countertransference.
How does working directly with physical
material deepen a clinician’s understanding of
their own unconscious responses?
As an introduction to this answer, let me begin with
a brief description of the neuropsychoanalytic
understanding of how our brain functions within
this area. Our most primitive form of experience is
on a sensory-motor level. A newborn comes into
the world experiencing through these functions—
visual, olfactory, tactile and auditory—without
understanding. Early experiences are stored on this
implicit level. Even after one’s later cognitive
capacity develops, this early mechanism continues to
collect data without our awareness throughout our
lives, like a computer program operating in the
background. So, on this primitive level of brain
function, like our earliest perceptions, our future
experiences continue to be stored on this visceral
level. So our implicit and explicit experience are
recorded in parallel, with only a small part
consciously available.
In an article I published in 1980 called “Visceral
Learning”, I described a course I had developed for
graduate art therapists to parallel their experience
with stone carving and their clinical work. They
would post photos of their sculpture each week as it
evolved and then describe similar phenomena with
their clinical practicum patients. For example, if you
approach the stone too aggressively, it may be
damaged and break in unintended ways; if you
approach it too gently, nothing will happen. The
challenge is to find the right amount of force and
proper use of the tool to have a positive impact on
both stone and patient. Inevitably, students would
find themselves in binds with their stone that also
paralleled work with their patients and, through
their online postings, along with their classmates’
support, they were able to understand how they had
been stuck. This ‘visceral’, kinesthetic experience
enabled them to enter a creative space where their
unconscious feelings were externalized within the
emerging form and became available for conscious
reflection.
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This has been referred to as the “unknown known”,
or the rich unconscious content of our brain that
often remains hidden from consciousness until we
begin searching for it. Our physical body often
stores reactions to our experience, so promoting
physical effort may provide access to this embodied
information.
In your supervision groups you incorporate
other expressive media to explore
countertransference. How is this done?
Freud stated that unconscious conflict always seeks
expression; this is especially true in all forms of
artwork, dreams, symptom formation and implicit
communication such as acting out. We use a variety
of creative modalities to externalize and explore
unconscious conflict that often leads to
countertransference challenges. For example, I
might ask a therapist to become their patient and reenter
the room as if they were them. In this way we
can feel the ‘body language’ of the patient, alerting
the therapist to information they didn’t know they
had. Or I might ask the therapist to ‘close your eyes
and, as you see this patient, allow yourself to hear a
song or discover a smell’. These auditory and
olfactory senses often provide surprising information
that had, on a conscious level, been previously
unavailable. This uncovering of subjective reactions
to a patient often promotes important connections
between the therapist’s and patient’s unconscious.
You suggest that the act of creating art provides
a safe space to explore unconscious material.
How do you ensure that this exploration
remains contained within the analytic process?
As psychoanalysts, we are trained to assess a patient’s
analyzability; are they able to regress within the
analytic session, come back ‘into the room’ as the
session ends and resume normal functioning, are
they capable of insight and introspection, etc. By
offering a creative, nonverbal modality, we provide
an intermediary space between the self and object.
Winnicott believed this type of space, which he
described as the precursor of creativity, provides
children with a safe way to develop their
imagination and ‘play’. So, in effect, we recreate this
safe ‘playful’ space where thoughts, feelings, ideas
and memories can be safely expressed and explored.
As a pioneer of Phototherapy, how do you
differentiate between Therapeutic Photography
and clinically grounded Phototherapy within
psychoanalytic treatment?
The therapeutic uses of photography refer to the use
of photographs for self-exploration without the
presence of a trained therapist. This often takes the
form of simple directives that anyone can do, such as
using a self-portrait to make a ‘Wanted Poster’ of
yourself and describe what you are “wanted” for.
Phototherapy implies that the processing of
photographs is done with a trained ‘Phototherapist’.
My major contribution to the field of
Phototherapy was to demonstrate how
photographs can be used within a
psychoanalytic or therapeutic frame of
treatment.
By encouraging exploration of photographs, we can
safely externalize unconscious material, enabling
therapeutic processing without triggering resistance
or acting out. This is especially true with patients
suffering from PTSD, where more direct exposure
to trauma might retraumatise the patient.
Top: Timeline – first view
Next Page: Timeline – second view
Timeline (1985–2019) Poplar wood, stainless steel rods, black
matte Micarta base with recessed ball-bearing swivel
mechanism 86.36 × 60.96 × 25.4 cm
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ARTLO Magazine 164

My latest paper describes how it was necessary to
provide a safe space for a patient to explore her early
trauma through photographs. Purely verbal attempts
to explore this were met with rigid resistance until
we switched to this nonverbal approach.
Your background combines over four decades
of psychoanalytic practice with fine art
production. Do you see your sculpture and
photography as extensions of your clinical
research, or as parallel explorations of the same
psychological territory?
In my own work as a sculptor, I often find myself
thinking about patients. Within this creative space I
am able to explore my own subjective reactions and
make unconscious connections conscious, enabling
me to avoid potential acting out in
countertransference. This is a unique space where
time seems to stop, enabling my thoughts to roam
freely. As an artist, my interest in human experience
has guided my work to often reflect gestural forms
that resonate internally on an unconscious level. I
often don’t know what has guided me until the
piece is completed and I place it in a position where
I can catch glimpses of it throughout the day,
allowing my unconscious motivation to become
conscious. This is most clearly demonstrated when I
experience some significant loss. I have often found,
as I look back at my work during these periods of
stress, a significant connection to my mourning
processes. This is also true in less stressful periods
where I simply externalize implicit thoughts and
feelings into my work.
With my photography I am most interested in
exploring creative portraits that capture something
unique about the subject. I allow myself to find a
creative resonance with my subject that guides me
in the unconscious selection of the right moment to
click the shutter. I don’t think about it, I just let
myself feel when it seems right.
In an era where art therapy has become
increasingly aligned with the medical model,
you advocate for a more humanistic and
creativity-centered approach. How does your
integrated method resist purely symptomfocused
treatment?
I’m glad you bring this up. It has been an important
issue for me and I have written and spoken
extensively about how I feel that art therapy has
been co-opted to fit within the medical model of
diagnosis and cure. My own goal in working with
patients is to help improve quality of life, or as Freud
put it, to improve the ability “to love and work”.
With this model in mind, it is not my intention to
label someone based upon their current symptoms,
but rather to see symptoms as expressions of
Top: Enigma, 58.4 cm H × 17.8 cm W × 15.2 cm
White translucent alabaster. Black matte micarta base with recessed ball-bearing swivel
mechanism
unconscious conflict that will inevitably change during the course of our
work as these implicit conflicts are externalized and explicitly explored. If
we do our work well, a patient’s symptoms will change over time as
deeper conflicts are exposed and explored. I don’t believe that anyone is
ever ‘cured’; we can only learn to understand ourselves, free ourselves
from earlier less functional patterns of behaviour and live healthier, more
productive and more fulfilled lives.
«After all, we are all
born with an incurable
illness called life!»
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I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
Natalie Egger
Your work moves fluently between photography,
digital art, painting and drawing. How do these
different media interact in your creative process, and
what does each one allow you to express that the
others do not?
www.unisonart.space
Natalie Egger is an independent Austrian artist
whose practice moves fluidly between
photography, digital art, painting and drawing —
disciplines she treats not as separate languages but
as interdependent layers of the same visual
consciousness. A graduate of the University of
Applied Arts in Vienna, her work has been
exhibited internationally and recognised with
numerous distinctions, including the Future of Art
Global Masterpiece Award, the El Greco Premio de
las Bellas Artes 2025 and the Global Art Virtuoso
Award 2024.
Her visual universe is a compelling synthesis of
human introspection and digital transformation — a
dialogue between emotion and structure, body and
abstraction, reality and reinterpretation.
Each medium I work with opens a different way of
seeing and feeling. Drawing and painting allow me to
focus on the human body—on gesture, posture, and the
quiet presence of a face or a movement. They are
intimate and slow processes, where the hand translates
emotion into line and tone. Photography, by contrast, is
about immediacy and perception: I am drawn to
structures and patterns in everyday objects, to the
unexpected beauty hidden in ordinary things. It sharpens
my gaze and teaches me to see what usually escapes
notice—the texture of a leaf, the fabric of a tablecloth, the
inside of a fruit.
When these worlds meet in my digital artworks,
something transformative happens. Through digital
tools, I can merge the tactile sensibility of drawing and
painting with the precision and spontaneity of
photography. The boundaries dissolve, and the media
begin to speak to one another. What unites them is
curiosity—the desire to explore how emotion, structure,
and rhythm can coexist within a single visual language.
Each technique offers a different entry point, but
together they form a living continuum of expression.
Looking back at your early collaborations and your
thesis on the influence of social networks on street
art, how has your view of the relationship between
art and digital culture evolved since then?
When I researched my thesis on the impact of social
networks on street art, I was fascinated by how platforms
like Instagram were beginning to shift power dynamics
in the art world. For young female street artists in
particular, these spaces offered something radically new—
a way to bypass the traditional gatekeepers of galleries
and institutions and to reach audiences directly. I saw it
then as a form of quiet democratisation, a digital street
where visibility and community could grow from the
ground up.
Since then, my perspective has deepened. The digital
realm has expanded enormously—it connects and
empowers, but also overwhelms.
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Blue girl in the sea
ARTLO Magazine 167

I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
What once felt purely liberating now also carries
the weight of algorithms, attention cycles, and
commercial noise. Still, I believe in its creative
potential. For me, digital culture is not an enemy
of authenticity but a landscape to be navigated
with awareness. It offers new spaces of exchange,
new ways for art to travel, evolve, and speak to
people across borders. My own practice continues
to move between the physical and the digital,
between the wall and the screen, because that inbetween
space is where so much of contemporary
life—and art—now unfolds.
Many of your portraits seem suspended
between figuration and abstraction, emotion
and geometry. What attracts you to this
tension between the human and the
structural?
What draws me to this tension is the beauty that
lives in contrast—between emotion and form,
softness and precision, presence and abstraction.
When I draw or paint the human body, it’s never
only about anatomy; it’s about the quiet radiance
of being human—the grace of a gesture, the
tenderness in a line, the fragility and strength that
coexist in every face and movement.
When I work with the camera, the focus shifts
from the emotional to the elemental. I move
closer and closer until the object almost loses its
name—until it becomes a rhythm of surfaces, a
play of light and shadow, a secret texture that
holds its own poetry. These fragments reveal
something essential, something that exists beneath
recognition.
In both cases—the human form and the abstracted
fragment—I am searching for the same thing: a
sense of essence. The point where form dissolves
into feeling, and what is visible begins to hint at
what cannot be seen.
The human body, with all its movement and
vulnerability, carries stories that words cannot hold.
The face is its echo—fragile yet strong, transient yet
timeless. To portray them is to meditate on what it
means to be alive, embodied, and to belong.
Your digital works often merge photography
and drawing into layered, hybrid compositions.
Could you describe how this fusion begins—and
when you know that a piece has reached its
final state?
When I work digitally, merging photography and
drawing, I never begin with a fixed image in mind.
The process unfolds intuitively—one layer leads to
another, a form suggests a colour, a line invites a
shift in balance. It feels more like a dialogue than a
construction, as if the work itself is guiding me
towards what it wants to become.
I don’t decide with my head when a piece is
finished; I sense it. There is a quiet moment when
everything falls into place—not because it’s perfect,
but because it feels complete, alive. It’s an inner
resonance, a kind of stillness that tells me the work
has found its voice. That’s when I stop.
In your paintings and drawings, the human
face and body are recurring subjects. What
does the act of portraying mean to you today
—is it about identity, emotion, or
observation?
Portraying the human face or body is, for me, less
about representation than about dialogue. I don’t
seek to reproduce likeness but to trace what lies
beneath the surface—emotion, presence, and the
silent gestures through which identity reveals
itself. Each portrait becomes a mirror, reflecting
both the subject and myself in that moment of
encounter. Observation turns into empathy,
intuition, and connection.
Leafy Medusar
ARTLO Magazine 168

Colour plays a striking role in your work,
shifting from delicate skin tones to intense
chromatic contrasts. What guides your choice of
colour, and how do you relate colour to
emotion?
Colour, for me, is not merely an aesthetic choice—it
is a language of emotion and atmosphere.
In my drawings, created with graphite, I work
entirely in shades of grey. These tonal variations—
from the palest silver to the deepest charcoal—are
enough to suggest skin, light, and breath. They
convey intimacy and fragility without the need for
colour, allowing the focus to rest on form, gesture,
and emotion. In my paintings, I work with acrylics
and a more vivid palette. Here, colour becomes
movement—brighter, more expressive, carrying
emotional energy and rhythm. The contrast
between the restrained greys of my drawings and
the chromatic intensity of my paintings mirrors the
dualities I often explore: stillness and vitality,
introspection and exuberance, the human and the
abstract. In my digital works, the palette often
becomes even more intense, sometimes almost
electric. There, colour functions as pure energy—a
pulse that disturbs the calm and pushes emotion into
another register. I see these contrasts as parallel to
the larger themes in my practice: the human and the
technological, the inner and the outer, vulnerability
and strength.
I don’t plan colours conceptually; I let them emerge
as emotional frequencies. Each hue carries a
psychological resonance—warmth, distance,
longing, tension. When the colours begin to
resonate with a feeling I sense but cannot name, I
know the work has found its emotional temperature.
Your practice suggests a strong meditative
component—a form of “turning off the head”,
as you once said. What place does intuition hold
in your artistic decisions?
Intuition lies at the very heart of my work. In my
daily profession, I spend a great deal of time
thinking—analysing, structuring, deciding. It’s a
world of words, logic, and precision. When I make
art, I step into the opposite space: I turn off my head.
I let myself be guided by instinct rather than
intention.
The creative process becomes a form of meditation
—a movement without calculation, where intuition
takes over and thought gives way to flow. I don’t
plan what will happen on the paper or screen; I
simply follow the impulse of a line, a tone, a form.
In that state, something deeper begins to speak—not
through reason, but through rhythm and feeling. It
is a way of reconnecting with the intuitive part of
myself that everyday life often silences.
Top: Blue Nuba Bottom: Hommage à TdL
ARTLO Magazine 169

I I N F O C U S
I B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N & S U S A N W I L S O N
Having been part of numerous international
exhibitions—from Vienna to Venice, Miami
and London—how have these global
experiences shaped your sense of artistic
belonging?
Exhibitions, whether in Vienna, Venice, Miami,
or London, are valuable encounters—
opportunities for dialogue and visibility. But they
do not define my sense of artistic belonging. That
belonging does not come from geography or
recognition; it comes from the act of creating
itself.
My work exists to resonate with others—to evoke
emotion, reflection, or a moment of recognition
that transcends place and context. When someone
feels touched or seen through my art, that is
where belonging begins. It’s less about where the
artwork is shown and more about the shared
space it opens between viewer and creator—a
space of quiet connection that can exist anywhere
in the world.
You have recently been recognised with the
El Greco Premio de las Bellas Artes 2025 and
previously with the Future of Art Global
Masterpiece Award. How do you experience
such acknowledgements—as motivation,
validation, or simply a stage in your
continuous evolution?
I appreciate these acknowledgements deeply—the
El Greco Premio de las Bellas Artes 2025 and the
Future of Art Global Masterpiece Award were
beautiful recognitions of my work. But they are
not what drives me to create. My motivation has
never been external; I create in the spirit of l’art
pour l’art—for the pure necessity of expression
itself.
Art, for me, is not a response to validation but an
inner dialogue, a way of understanding and
translating experience. Awards may accompany
that path, but they do not define it. What matters
most is staying truthful to the process—the quiet,
continuous evolution that unfolds in the act of
creating.
The idea of transformation seems central to
your visual language—transforming
photographs into new digital realities, or
translating drawings into paintings. What
does transformation mean to you in artistic
and personal terms?
Transformation is at the core of my practice—and
of how I understand life itself. Artistically, it is the
process through which something familiar
becomes something new: a photograph dissolves
into a digital landscape, a drawing evolves into a
painting, a gesture turns into an atmosphere.
I am fascinated by this fluidity—by how form can
shift without losing its essence.
On a personal level, transformation is a way of
staying alive, of remaining open to change. Each
work reflects a state of transition—between thought
and feeling, structure and emotion, control and
surrender. In that sense, art mirrors the human
condition: we are constantly becoming, constantly
reshaping ourselves through what we encounter.
Transformation is not about leaving something
behind, but about coming closer to oneself—about
uncovering what was already there, waiting to be
seen.
Your works oscillate between introspection and
abstraction. Do you see them as self-portraits in
disguise, or as mirrors of a broader human
condition?
Although my works often carry a sense of
introspection, I don’t think of them as self-portraits
in a literal sense. They emerge from personal
experience, of course, but my intention is not to
depict myself—it is to touch something universal.
What interests me is the shared emotional landscape
that connects us: vulnerability, longing, stillness,
resilience, the quiet dialogue between inner and
outer worlds.
In that way, each work becomes less a reflection of
me and more a mirror of the human condition. The
emotions I translate into form are not private
confessions but collective ones—fragments of what it
means to feel, to search, to exist. Art allows me to
transform the personal into the universal, so that the
viewer might find a trace of themselves within it.
What is your vision of art’s place in
contemporary society—especially in an era
where technology both empowers and
overshadows creativity?
I believe art has never been more necessary than it is
today. We live in a time when technology connects
us in unprecedented ways, yet often distances us
from our own perception, our own sense of
slowness and wonder. Algorithms can imitate
creativity, but they cannot replace the human
capacity to feel, to doubt, to transform experience
into meaning.
For me, art is a form of resistance against numbness
—a reminder of what no machine, system, or logic
can truly grasp. It reawakens our ability to sense the
world, to question, and to remember that beauty
and fragility belong together. In an era dominated
by speed and surface, art restores depth; it allows
space for silence, ambiguity, and reflection.
Technology may empower creation, but art anchors
it in consciousness.
ARTLO Magazine 170

Its place, now more than ever, is to reconnect us
—to ourselves, to others, and to the living fabric
of the world that no screen can truly contain.
You will soon present your work at the XV
Florence Biennale. What does exhibiting in
such a historically charged city represent for
you?
Exhibiting at the XV Florence Biennale has been
one of the most meaningful moments in my
artistic journey so far. To present my work in a
city so deeply rooted in art history—where
beauty, thought, and craftsmanship have shaped
centuries of cultural memory—carries a profound
resonance. Florence is not only a place; it is a
symbol of continuity, of how art endures beyond
time and trend.
For me, showing my work there feels like
entering into a long, living conversation—
between the past and the present, between the
masters who defined visual language and the
artists of today who reinterpret it. It’s humbling
and inspiring at once. Standing in that lineage
reminds me that every artwork, no matter how
contemporary or digital, carries within it a trace
of this shared heritage—the timeless human desire
to see, to feel, and to transform.
Finally, what are you currently working on,
and how do you imagine the next phase of
your artistic journey?
At the moment, I am focusing on deepening my
practice—especially in drawing and painting the
human face and body. I continue to study form,
movement, and expression, refining the balance
between precision and emotion. Alongside this, I
have begun experimenting with mixed media—
combining printing, painting, and collage.
These experiments open new possibilities for
dialogue between surface and depth, between
what is given and what is added.
I see this next phase not as a change of direction,
but as an expansion—a way of allowing my work
to grow organically while remaining true to its
essence. For me, artistic evolution is not about
arriving somewhere new, but about seeing more
clearly, feeling more deeply, and discovering
again and again how form can carry emotion into
the world.
Top: Contemplating in Leaves
Bottom: Chlorophyll Complementary Graffiti
ARTLO Magazine 171

I I N T E R V I E W
I D I A N E L I G U O R I
ARTLO Magazine 172

DIANE LIGUORI–
The Quiet Language of Nature
www.dianeliguoriart.com
Diane Liguori is a contemporary painter whose work transforms botanical
subjects into deeply expressive visual narratives. Moving beyond mere
representation, her paintings approach flowers, branches and natural forms
as living presences—each one carrying its own identity, tension and quiet
voice.
Drawing from a background that bridges analytical disciplines and creative
intuition, Liguori explores themes of transformation, imperfection and the
passage of time. Through layered colour, close observation and an intuitive
process, her work reveals nature not as static beauty, but as a mirror of
human experience—fragile, evolving and profoundly alive.
T E X T B Y J E S S I E S . M A R T I N
D i a n e L i g u o r i , S u n f l o w e r ( W o r k i n
P r o g r e s s )
ARTLO Magazine 173

I I N T E R V I E W I D I A N E L I G U O R I
I I N T E R V I E W I D I A N E L I G U O R I
Your botanical works seem to go beyond depiction —
they feel like portraits of living beings. What is it that
you search for when you paint a flower or a branch:
accuracy, emotion, or perhaps a kind of dialogue with
nature?
Botanical portraits are an uncannily accurate way to
describe the approach I take when capturing nature in
paint. My job is to create a painting that expresses the
reverence I feel for the breathtaking beauty and
individuality of the subject. If I am successful, I show at
least some of the inspirational insights that nature reveals.
As with people, I tend to look for what makes the subject
special or unique, and what lessons or messages they have
to convey.
Outdoor exploration is a siren’s call to wander and explore,
a lure to adventure in open curiosity, without expectation.
When my attention is caught I might be curious,
intrigued, riveted, fascinated or downright awestruck - and
the dialogue begins. It could be textural contrast: the velvet
softness of translucent petals against the gritty backdrop of
gravel or the rusted patina of old farm equipment. Perhaps
it might be the awe-inspiring evidence of renewal and
transformation; the vibrant resiliency of new blooms
springing from bare branches, or of new life bursting forth
from the decayed, overlooked and forgotten. Or the
surprising grit and tenacity of the fragile, and their ability
to overcome tremendous odds to thrive, not just survive.
Painting is a visual exercise - the more time I spend
observing the better I get at seeing small subtleties or
discovering new parallels between plants and human
beings. When I painted Hello Dahlia, a close-up of the
whorls and tendrils at the very heart of a garden variety
dahlia backlit by morning sun, I described it as follows: a
transformative journey into the ineffable exuberance of
pink; a larger-than-life look at the mystery of origins; and
an opportunity to marvel at the evolution of beauty from
within. Hello Dahlia is an unabashed introduction to the
exquisite vulnerability and idiosyncrasies of a dahlia at the
crux of her personal metamorphosis. She is compelled into
transition, with no choice but to go forward into the
change and uncertainty before her. Her breathtaking
response is to open wider, and stand as she is—with flaws,
differences and fragility magnificently showing as courage
lit from within—and beyond. She is simultaneously an
inspiration and a reassurance, a reminder that each of us has
a unique journey to pursue, a captivating story to tell, and
a rightful place in the world.
You’ve described being drawn to the “haunting
beauty of transitions.” How does that idea manifest
when you observe the natural world—for instance, in
the moment a bloom begins to fade or fruit starts to
ripen?
«In transition, we find
freedom.»
As I grew older, I became much more attuned to the
tension between adventure, risk and novel experiences…
and my own tendency to want to be the author of those
changes rather than have them happen to me. I wanted
control, or at least influence, and when changes happened
to me I wanted to do whatever I had to do to sprint
through them and efficiently land on a more certain
reality. Staying in the question, or the unknown of
transitions, can be uncomfortable; however, I realized that
transitions are actually rich lodes of freedom and growth
opportunity, if only I could manage to stay light on my
feet, be present, and be willing to let go of certainty and
control.
Nature was quick to supply me with evidence that I was
fooling myself in some of the assumptions I was making. I
was definitely guilty of thinking I had more authorship
over my own journey than I really did. We think of
seasons as quarterly: spring, summer, fall, winter. In reality,
change is happening all the time, just in more fluid microincrements.
I realized this when, in the midst of summer, I
discovered very subtle colour turnings in dried leaves in
the gutter. Letting go and being present is eminently
freeing, and beauty, peace and joy can be found this way.
Another assumption delivered by modern culture: aging
isn’t beautiful or admirable, and leads to being set aside and
forgotten. My paintings would beg to differ.
Saison d’Etre. Oil on panel, 25.4 × 25.4 cm
ARTLO Magazine 174

Highland Blues, oil on panel, 40.6 × 50.8 cm
ARTLO Magazine 175

ARTLO Magazine 176
Sunflower (WIP) oil on canvas, 76.2 x 76.2 cm
Petrichor, oil on panel, 30.5 x 22.9 cm

Saison D’Etre is an in-depth journey into veraison, and
the delicate interplay between nature and personal
identity. This specific stage of wine grape growth
captures the penultimate ripening of the berries—the
brief and magical tumble from firm green to softer, more
pliable, sugar-filled grapes in a bevy of colours that are
unique to each seasonal metamorphosis, each vine and
blossom of grapes, each specific type of grape and
location in the vineyard. Chlorophyll depletes,
anthocyanin pigments and individual flavour profiles
develop, and flaws and idiosyncrasies become evident.
This is a time when sweetness accumulates, as does
translucency—not quite transparent, but more visible and
vulnerable just the same.
It is a fascinating parallel to our own lives and the
growing call to have the courage to show up as our own
version of beautiful and real. No longer young and
unblemished, perfectly symmetrical and innocent of
experience… yet what a marvellous trade of symmetry
and uniformity for infusions of colour, character,
variation and idiosyncrasies that reflect our individual
journeys. We let go of the focus on how we appear and
trade it for the joy of being true to ourselves, our values
and priorities. We are asked to come to terms with
inevitable changes, aging, transitions and the unexpected
stretches of growth that meet us along the way. In
return, we learn from experience the exquisite peace to
be found in tumbling our unique selves into being.
Colour plays a crucial role in your paintings: rich
yet natural, luminous but never decorative. How do
you build your palette to balance realism with
emotional resonance?
«We are asked to come to
terms with inevitable
changes.»
Little Women, oil on panel, 25.4 x 25.4 cm
ARTLO Magazine 177

I I N T E R V I E W
I D I A N E L I G U O R I
Parade Princess, oil on canvas, 76.2 x 38.1 cm
One of the many reasons I might find a subject arresting
is the unexpected colour palette. I can’t seem to get a
lipstick colour right, and yet nature is totally incapable of
creating palettes that don’t work. In the initial stages of
painting, I focus on seeing what colours are actually in
the subject—not what I intellectually think I see. Yes, the
sunflower is yellow, but how many different types of
yellow can I find in the petals? How does varying light
impact those colours, and what other colours are in the
petals besides yellow? I try to stay relatively true to the
base colours and colour harmony initially, which keeps
the subject grounded in realism. This is essentially a
learning, shaping and discovery phase, one that is
available only through actually painting. Sometimes I get
it right pretty quickly, as in the colours of lichen and
moss of the broken-down fence in my Dappled Quince
painting. Other times it takes a lot of experimenting to
discover the hidden colours in the mix. It wasn’t until I
added the warm red of burnt Sienna to the otherwise
neutral taupe that I hit on the exact warm grey hue that
dominated the twigs in the same painting.
When I paint, I create multiple glazing layers, patiently
building up filters of varying hues that replicate the
colour intricacies nature delivers and allow me to invoke
softer textures and forms. I am not a painter who lines
out all the paints on an x and y axis in a routine method
before painting. I have a “wandering” palette, laying out
colours I think I see and then fixing what isn’t quite right
about my first attempts at mixing.
In the latter stages of the painting, I purposefully use
colours that might be unexpected, but that work to
highlight specific areas I want to be focal points. Colour
is fascinating this way. If I use the right value or intensity
of darkness, I have a lot of freedom to use surprising hues
to bring emotion into play, shifting the balance away
from realism and towards the emotional experience I am
trying to evoke. It requires a willingness to risk and to
get it wrong, but the rewards of getting it right in
surprisingly inventive ways are ultra satisfying.
If you look closely at my Dappled Quince painting,
you’ll see I used hits of violet and amethyst in
deliberately unblended strokes in the shadow areas of the
quince petals, and pops of bright aqua in the blue sky
peeping behind the fence. Highland Blues is a painting
of the colour wonder of dusk in the midst of a wild
Denver snowstorm just before Thanksgiving. I was on a
bitterly cold late afternoon walk in knee-deep snow and
literally backed up to take a second look at the gorgeous
overlay of blues and the multi-coloured glow of urban
twilight as the night fell. Take a slower look at the
buildings and you’ll see the warmth of the setting sun at
their tops, emphasized with purposeful and playful
strokes of warm vertical and horizontal colours. Meander
your way through different sections of the scene and you
will find contrasts of cheerfully warm indoor lights just
coming on in harmonized counterpart to the icy cools of
outdoor snow and the melody of deeper blues and greys
blanketing the streets. Colour and light weave a narrative
of home, hearth, warmth and safety in the unlikely
setting of an inorganic urban scene.
ARTLO Magazine 178

Your professional path—from advertising to
biotechnology to fine art—suggests both analytical
discipline and creative intuition. How do these
contrasting worlds inform your current artistic
process?
Emotional intuition and being in service to people are
common denominators. So is the need to communicate
and connect. I have a natural curiosity about what other
people’s experiences, hopes and motivations are, what
they have to teach me, and what makes them unique.
This orientation is a parallel to what I do when in nature.
There is nothing more powerful than gifting another
with being seen, heard and understood.
The robust work ethic, the thirst for learning and
growth, and the drive to exceed expectations and achieve
excellence are shared across corporate roles and art. Art is
often misperceived as “playing,” an easy, satisfying job to
do. On the contrary, creating art requires a level of grit,
tenacity and resilience, no matter the artist’s experience
level or time in the saddle.
Analytical discipline, experience working in highfunctioning
teams, respect for deadlines, and a rich
understanding of business, project management,
marketing and communication all help me with the
“business” of art: working with framers, gallerists, exhibit
organizers, studio visits, clients and other artists. I
definitely break the “typical artist” stereotype by being
responsive, communicative and on top of deliverables.
As for creating the art itself? I absolutely need to get out
of my head and get present and grounded in order to
connect with my creative instincts. I also need time alone
and to purposefully empty parts of my day to allow for
creative ideas and observations to flow. My corporate life
was all about standing in the shoes of those around me
and using this knowledge to lead and to create better
work environments. My creative life is the opposite.
Instead of asking what the parameters are for doing a
good job and then delivering, I have to look inside
myself for creative musings, then do the work to express
them. I am both introverted and extroverted, and I really
enjoy people a great deal. The most difficult challenge
for me isn’t coming up with new ideas; it’s setting aside
life responsibilities and holding to my own boundaries
enough to carve out that much-needed creative time. I
typically do this by getting desk work and family
responsibilities handled in the morning, then exercising
outdoors to help me tap into nature and settle so I can
better focus, then showing up at my studio.
Many of your works seem to celebrate the quiet
dignity of natural cycles—bloom, ripening, fading.
Do you see your art as a reflection on the beauty of
time passing, rather than on perfection itself?
It’s no accident that nature has given me a sense of peace
and acceptance regarding aging and life cycles. Modern
culture has a very warped view of youth as the goal.
Nature has much healthier ideas.
« Perfection is an
illusion, and creativity
is best delivered and
enjoyed without its
weight. »
My own learning to come to terms with aging and the
stages of evolving life has been hard-earned. One
surprising discovery has been that it is reassuring to see
that life cycles continue—birth to metamorphic bloom to
a graceful arc of aging… to new life in new blooms. As
for perfection, I am a recovering perfectionist. Perfection
is a misguided goal. Connection and engagement are
probably better ones. Perfection is an illusion, and
creativity is best delivered and enjoyed without the
attendant and unrealistic weight of “perfection.”
Going to art school after being so outer-focused in the
corporate world was a stroke of grace.
I started out in art school thinking there was a “right”
way to draw, to represent people. I had several artists I
admired and wanted to emulate: Norman Rockwell,
Robert McCloskey, Arthur Rackham among them. I
rapidly learned that there were common building blocks
to good composition—articulating shapes, value and
edges—but that styles of execution could be radically
different.
It was a whole new experience to be so vulnerable to
outside view. The instructor walked around behind the
students, who were encircled around the live model we
were attempting to draw. There are only so many times
one can flip the page of the newsprint pad exactly when
the instructor is approaching! And then there were the
public critiques, where each artist’s work was pinned to
the classroom board—yikes. Gradually, I learned that all
of us had good days and bad days, no matter our starting
point, and that my own aspirations for a piece and how
to get there were more important than any outside view.
I also learned that I didn’t have to struggle to find my
own personal style or brand. Students assigned to do
master copies find that each of us has an inevitable
fingerprint—we may try to copy a style, but the
signature of the work is uniquely ours.
What is the difference between fine art and
illustration?
There is a big overlap between fine artists and
illustrators, as evidenced by the fact that degree
programmes in art schools typically require fine art basics
prior to specialising in either fine art or illustration. The
key difference isn’t the technique or style used, or the
subject rendered; it is the type of work they do: selfgenerative
or work for a client.
ARTLO Magazine 179

Illustration work generally comes with defined
parameters and problem-solving outlined in the initial
assignment that is given to the artist by someone else.
The backstory to my Flying Eggs and Runaway Baby
paintings is that they both manifested from an
assignment to redesign a vintage 21-stanza poem by
Peter Newell called The Slant Book, a tale of a runaway
baby who wreaked havoc wherever he joyfully went.
The original version showed close-cropped, sepia-toned
illustrations of a baby in a white stocking cap, with the
drama unfolding one page at a time. My version was
designed to modernise the early 1900s original, to reflect
unbridled enthusiasm for adventure on the baby’s part
(while still making it safe), to infuse personality and
relatability into all characters, and to preserve the
infectious delight of both the bystanders and the baby.
Are there any commonalities between your
illustration and fine art pieces?
While the illustrations are entirely imagined, they are
still representational in that we recognise people and
animals placed in everyday iconic scenes. The
compositions rely on abstract design to bring all elements
together; the paintings tell a coherent story, yet the
individual compositional elements are more fantastical
than real. The sidewalk and road read as such, but their
hyperbolic curves immediately convey dynamism,
urgency and motion. The colours used are credible, yet
pushed to a more dramatic edge to underscore the
narrative and the excitement of the adventure.
The added characters that grab the coattails of the baby’s
whimsical adventure create a story within a story, where
the viewer looks for the growing cast to appear on each
successive page.
The layers of complexity in the number of characters,
and my willingness to let their flaws and personality play
centre stage, are intended to give the reader layers of
new things to experience each time they engage with the
story. It’s no accident that I chose this story to reillustrate.
The combined whole is meant to reflect how
people experience their own lives—messy, but real—
where acceptance of imperfection leads to invigorating
adventure and relatable humanity.
Similarly, my fine art pieces begin as representational,
with recognisable subjects, but end with the real and the
abstract intertwined. What begins as actual then morphs
through intentional boundary-breaking: larger-than-life
botanicals; the purposeful exaggeration of colours not
quite found in nature; imperfections that give me licence
for expressive departures, such as colour shifts at bruises,
texture where things crack or crease, and abstract
backgrounds juxtaposed against more realistic subjects;
complex edges where petals curl or figures twist; hideand-seek
shifts of light that highlight the overlooked;
and unique perspectives and unexpected contrasts that
play up the beauty of differences, asymmetry, transitions
and aging.
Flying Eggs,. oil on canvas, 30.5 x 121.9 cm
ARTLO Magazine 180

I I N T E R V I E W
I D I A N E L I G U O R I
These abstract elements are used to evoke feeling and
narrative, and the deliberate braiding of abstract and real
gives the eye somewhere to roam and something new to
discover each time you view the work.
My goal for both fine art and illustration is psychological
resonance and self-acceptance. I want to tap directly into
how people experience their own lives, seen through a
lens of warmth, compassion and honesty, where the
beauty and realism land deeper because they are not
airbrushed and perfect. Instead, they are breathtakingly
raw and real, and much more of a siren’s call to selfacceptance
and the poignancy and vibrancy of life.
« The deliberate
braiding of abstract
and real gives the eye
something new to
discover each time.»
www.dianeliguoriart.com
ARTLO Magazine 181

N E X T I S S U E : A r t P a r i s
From Madrid to
Paris
Following ARTLO’s recent coverage of
Art Madrid, attention now turns to Paris,
where the Grand Palais will host the 28th
edition of Art Paris from 9 to 12 April
2026.
As one of the key events of the spring
season, the fair brings together a wide
range of galleries and artistic positions,
offering a concise yet compelling
overview of current directions in
contemporary art.
Art Paris 2026: Language, Care and the
Expanding Contemporary Scene
Art Paris returns to the Grand Palais from 9
to 12 April 2026 for its 28th edition,
reaffirming its role as one of the key spring
events in the European modern and
contemporary art calendar. Bringing
together around 165 galleries from 25
countries and more than 900 artists, the fair
offers a broad yet carefully structured
overview of current artistic practices.
This year’s edition is shaped by two central
themes — Babel: Art and Language in France
and Repair — which together frame a
reflection on communication, memory and
resilience within contemporary art. Through
these curatorial directions, the fair moves
beyond presentation, positioning itself as a
space for dialogue and interpretation.
The balance between a strong French
presence and an increasingly international
outlook remains one of the defining features
of Art Paris. Alongside established galleries
such as Continua, Templon and Nathalie
Obadia, a significant number of new
participants reinforces the sense of renewal,
with nearly a third of exhibitors taking part
for the first time.
Several sections further articulate the
structure of the fair. Promesses, dedicated to
emerging galleries, expands this year with a
strong international presence, while Solo
Show presents a series of focused
monographic exhibitions. In parallel, the
French Design Art Edition highlights the
growing dialogue between contemporary art
and design practices, extending the scope of
the fair beyond traditional boundaries.
Among the key initiatives, the Her Art Prize
continues to gain visibility as a platform
recognising the work of women artists.
Developed in partnership with Marie Claire
and Maison Boucheron, the prize rewards a
distinctive artistic trajectory and a body of
work that engages with contemporary
concerns. The 2026 finalists reflect a wide
range of perspectives, addressing themes such
as identity, environmental issues and the
complexities of historical narratives.
With its combination of established galleries,
emerging voices and curated sections, Art
Paris 2026 consolidates its position as a fair
that navigates between market dynamics and
curatorial intent. Under the glass roof of the
Grand Palais, it offers not only a presentation
of artworks, but a broader reading of the
contemporary moment.
ARTLO Magazine 182

Art Paris, Grand Palais © Sofia Vieira
ARTLO Magazine 183

ARTLO in Paris.
A curated selection from Art Paris 2026 in the next issue.
www.artloving.net