Irene Bou (1982, Spain)

“Through my paintings, I strive to recreate a sense of tension, in which is reflected the insecurity of man in his environment, but also his fears, his angst, his misery in the face of life’s events: a being perpetually assaulted, but also an aggressor. This violence, implicit and at times invisible, leads him to a degenerative process that unveils the pathos of human relationships and existence itself. The characters in my paintings are deformed by frenzied passions. Faces are dehumanized, reduced to the most primitive instincts that drive humanity forward. These faces belong to no one in particular. Portraits hold no interest for me: my characters have no identity. The skin has been ripped from their faces. The eyes, the mouth, the nose, the features are distorted and almost disappear. The characters move between paintings, trying to demonstrate the problems of despair and the sadness of tragic solitude. We, human beings, are uncertain by nature. The feeling of our helplessness breeds a crazed anxiety.Hostile, worried, inert faces cast into the void remind us that man knows he is miserable and is acutely aware of his condition. The paintings act as self-portraits, reflecting our deepest fears. The trivial confusion of the city and the crowd rhythms our life. Distractedly, we walk, distancing ourselves more and more from discernment. Marginalized, we accumulate bitterness and imprint our faces into the fissures of the streets.”

Permanent artist in Artevistas Gallery