I am absolutely enthralled with the work of Lita Cabellut. Her portraits are underpinned with a strong personal, emotional and historical backing, drawing on her own personal identity, that of life's struggles and those of other female artists who had the strength and courage to create despite the tough roads they encountered. Through art all these women learnt to elevate themselves from the physical and the psychological to an intellectual and spiritual level that enabled them to create with 'tremendous sincerity' as in the words of Cabellut.
Cabellut has developed her own technique and compositional decisions in the face of critics who denounce the value of her work as it does not belong to this century. I recall that many too denounced the work of Lucien Freud some years ago. Too many new renaissance / classical revivals I hear them say, but listen not - for the works are powerful statements of an era, perhaps reinterpreted in the aftermath and in the light of an individual's life; however, through technique, process and story-telling they feel organically evolving; they are contemporary pieces as they engage an audience in the 'now'. If I am able to feel both the strength and the vulnerability in these portraits, is it a surprise that it speaks to us? If it stops us in our tracks and makes us pause isn't this what matters? I feel an authentic force in these powerful images, but I believe we are only just seeing the tip of Cabellut's authenticity and prolific style. I very much look forward to seeing more of her work. I am very inspired.
Cabellut has developed her own technique and compositional decisions in the face of critics who denounce the value of her work as it does not belong to this century. I recall that many too denounced the work of Lucien Freud some years ago. Too many new renaissance / classical revivals I hear them say, but listen not - for the works are powerful statements of an era, perhaps reinterpreted in the aftermath and in the light of an individual's life; however, through technique, process and story-telling they feel organically evolving; they are contemporary pieces as they engage an audience in the 'now'. If I am able to feel both the strength and the vulnerability in these portraits, is it a surprise that it speaks to us? If it stops us in our tracks and makes us pause isn't this what matters? I feel an authentic force in these powerful images, but I believe we are only just seeing the tip of Cabellut's authenticity and prolific style. I very much look forward to seeing more of her work. I am very inspired.
'Art is a tremendously powerful medium. It is impossible to protect yourself from it. If we close our eyes, it will come in through our pores. Art is beauty, poetry and is something that humanity will always be influenced by. It is an electric shock for our intellects and our souls.' Lita Cabellut
Coco 11 - Mixed Media on Canvas 250 x 200 cm
Artist: Lita Cabellut
Currently on display at Opera Gallery - DiFC, Dubai
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