Ballet Practice

It is traditional to think that the beauty of nature and of a human body, especially the female physique, is in its curves. I decided to challenge that because I believe in a beauty of straight lines too. One of the Paul Klee's art lessons was to "take a line for a walk", so I do it with the straight line. That was what I always did during many boring meetings in my working life. A whole body of paintings, whether they are portraits, self-portraits, landscapes, flowers, animals or still lives are painted in straight lines. They are the opposite of curves, the antitheses of soft, natural lines. They are also painted mainly in triangles, the simplest possible shape. The sharp corners of triangles in portraits often represent the pain or anxiety. Both physical like with ballet dances portraits and the emotional, like the heart ache I have experienced after sudden death of my husband. I suppose the love for geometrical shapes is what I am as a person, loving like Pluto the beauty of mathematical geometry and challenging my mind and vision.

The idea of triangles is not just about the shape. It is also about connections in real life. We have so many everyday relationships which are "triangular". You, your partner and your children. You, your work and your family. You, your friend and your friend's husband or wife and many others. This is what the compositions of Triangular Life paintings and many others are all about.

I am fascinated about the world around me, love it in any shape or form and therefore do not work exclusively in one particular way. This body of work is what I am now and it is a big part of my creative process and progress.

This series of paintings is about behind the scene ballet. I wanted to paint the process of practicing, resting, and stretching. I wanted to paint their determination, tired bodies and minutes of quiet when they can just relax. My triangular style of painting allows to create tension in the body during practice and rest. It exaggerates the pain they experience when they work or when they relax, catching their breath. I chose the colours, which apart from being the colours of modern ballet, helped to create sculptural effects. Like in sculptures, where every part of the body is in just right place, in ballet the dancers create momentous sculptures which only last a few seconds, so I tried to capture those moments. The paintings are based on my memories, going to ballet performances and watching documentaries.

Acrylic on Canvas

65x85cm

Framed