STARS FROM HEAVEN
May 5 - June 14, 2017.
Amsterdam Whitney Gallery
New York, NY.
Press Release
Pablo Picasso stated, “What I want is that my picture should evoke nothing but emotion.” The contemporary master painter Yunia Lores' figurative silhouettes emerge from the depths of her entrancing canvases and demonstrate a side of portraiture interested in unearthing emotions of past experiences in order to symbolically express memories through the human body. Born in Cuba and currently living in Pennsylvania, Ms. Lores states: "The images I work with come from pictures I take of live models, fashion magazines, bullfighting portals, and anatomy atlas. I aim to combine power, lust, compassion, elegance and poetry as an act of freedom. My paintings represent an exaltation of life, of the transformations that generate feelings." Constructing a sense of the surreal and the uncanny, her oeuvre endeavors to uncover the intricacies between perception and embodiment.
In her most recent series, "Branches to Upper Lobe," memories and aspirations are re-contexualized to create a passion of mind and soul. Through Ms. Lores’ whirlwind figurative canvases, a dazzling color palette reverberates with striking human figures wearing fantastical hats where dualistic mysterious imagery is imbued with imagination. Her intriguing poetic and symbolic compositions of visual contronyms are juxtaposed literally and metaphorically as they channel the external world. Explaining her oeuvre, Ms. Lores states: "The study and artistic representation of the human body has been the unifying theme of my work. I have always felt the need to examine its essence in depth, regarding both the exterior and interior sides. My painting explores formal, aesthetic aspects, academic stereotypes and moral prejudices."
These imaginative, surreal figures contemplate the heart, mind and soul of contemporary society and transfigure unbridled depths of the unconscious. Her striking silhouettes and provocative portraits entrancingly define an amorous dance of life, sharing expressions of shared emotions. A vortex of dynamic brushwork melds imagination with reality, combining lived experiences with subconscious fantasies where the human body acts as the sole carrier symbolic of a spiritual connection between the mind and body. Ms. Lores muses: "My painting aims to reflect the intimate relationship between the physical and spiritual aspects of the human being." Ms. Lores' representations of the human body perhaps symbolize our consciousness, signifying the metaphysical unity of the physical and the spiritual.
The award-winning artist Yunia Lores works and resides in Pennsylvania. Ms. Lores exhibits her artwork nationally in group and solo exhibitions. Amsterdam Whitney Gallery is proud to showcase the artwork of this masterful artist.
Ruthie Tucker
Executive Director and Curator
Amsterdam Whitney Gallery
New York, NY.
May 2017