Elena Molinari: The Alchemy of the Everyday

"Couple" – Oil on canvas, 97 x 146cm

Plus One Gallery is delighted to announce the forthcoming solo show by gallery artist Elena Molinari. ‘The Alchemy of the Everyday’ will showcase her latest still life paintings which continue to explore new textures.

Elena Molinari was born in Montevideo, Uruguay where she started painting at a young age. She later gained a Bachelor in Fine Art from The University of Montevideo. In 1988 Molinari moved to Spain, where she started teaching at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Madrid. She worked as a Professor there until 2011, however was simultaneously working as an artist and has been exhibiting her work extensively since 1980 both in individual and collective shows all over Europe, the US and South America.

The reflective surface of glass is a key feature throughout Molinari's works, effectively helping to create a heightened illusion – the definition of hyperrealism. Her most recent works have a very stylistic bold quality to them. Featuring a variety of materials such as reflective surfaces, glass and pottery as well as silk cloths, fruits and cut flowers; her paintings exemplify what it is to be a hyperrealist artist. Molinari’s work holds the quintessential characteristics of the traditional hyper-realistic painting, details are emphasised and intricate pictorial elements are added that, in reality, would not be seen by the human eye.

"Friends" - Oil on canvas, 120 x 120cm

Molinari who has previously gained recognition for her “Crushed Tin Can” series, has stated that her transition to more classical still lives, was a natural evolvement in her work. She says: “After so many years of painting cans and looking for a balance between so many flat, metal objects I needed to focus on something new”.

Moving on from the crushed cans, Molinari began looking at new textures, the ones we see in her work today. Challenging herself to tackle the many and varied techniques required to create such visuals, all in one composition, is something quite astounding and unique in Molinari’s paintings.

The block background found in many of Molinari’s still life works is typical of her most recent style, when asked in a recent interview with Plus One Gallery what the idea was behind this. She said: “I paint the dark block colours in the background of these paintings to enhance the objects in focus and to help them to define themselves in the space created. For me this adds depth and a more hyper-realistic quality.”

"White Solitude" – Oil on canvas, 120 x 120cm

On her artistic process Elena explained: “My process begins with an idea of what I would like to paint. Once that idea is clear in my mind I gather all the elements I need to create the composition; I play around with the composition until I get the balance I am looking for. Then I start taking photographs, sometimes hundreds until I get the image I want. During this process I have to act fast as a lot of subject matter is perishable; flowers and fruits don’t last long. From the chosen photograph I do a lineal drawing onto canvas and from here, I start painting. I work with oils applied in many layers, based on transparencies.”

‘The Alchemy of the Everyday’ is on display until 12th November.

Please follow the link for directions to the gallery: http://www.plusonegallery.com/find-us/