Pilar Mehlis

Artist Statement


My work uses visual metaphor, allegory and magical realism to explore psychological truths about the human condition. My work also blurs traditional distinctions such as serious vs. trivial or tragic vs. comic. My compositions are not bound by conventions of time, space or form. This indeterminacy is meant to draw the viewer into a dialogue with the work, deepening their experience and enjoyment of it.

I paint from models and my imagination. Sometimes the characters in my work go through a few transformations before their final forms emerge. I like to think this process is not unlike the building of my characters' psychological dimension.  Aided by classical compositions and colour palettes, I "collage" different scenes that come to mind in a constant process of addition and elimination as I build the composition of each work. I reference the great masters for painting methodologies, from Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticcelli, all the way to Odd Nerdrum and Lucian Freud. I use the tonal approach and build layers in oil to achieve a luminous effect to the skin tones and other elements in my paintings.