Daily Artsy Figurative Mixed Media

Undone Beauty: Cristina Troufa

Very often, negative space is just as important to our understanding of form as the form itself.  Think about clouds– their beauty is most apparent when surrounded by bright blue sky.  In Portuguese artist Cristina Troufa’s work, the painter uses simple lines and negative space to punctuate her compositions, choosing to highlight the flesh which makes her figures essentially human.

Pedestal, mixed media

Her concentration of color and light on the exposed flesh of her subjects speaks to our tendency to judge on appearance, often unable to look past the person we think we see and notice each other for who we really are.

Pelo Ralo, mixed media

Her compositions are simple, the backgrounds stark, only a detail left to us here or there.

Degraus, mixed media

What do we see when we fill in the blanks?  Who are these women, this boy?  What is this moment we’ve caught them in?  Have we been there before?

Etapas, mixed media

Sombras No Sotao, mixed media

To see more of Cristina Troufa’s work, please visit her website and her page on Meseon.

Featured image is Salto.  All images are via Cristina Troufa’s page on Meseon.

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  • artepad
    June 18, 2012 at 9:55 AM

    love thisssss, nice artwork

  • belopotosky
    June 18, 2012 at 11:03 AM

    Wow- thank you for sharing!!

    • Lesley
      June 18, 2012 at 12:12 PM

      Glad you enjoyed Cristina’s work!

      Cheers,
      Lesley

  • thesculptorswife
    June 18, 2012 at 12:36 PM

    Really like these, such clever use of colour.

  • Lauren I. Ruiz
    June 18, 2012 at 5:16 PM

    Your analysis of how the negative space in these serves to highlight the flesh which makes the subjects especially human was dead on!

    I enjoyed viewing these with that thought in mind. 🙂

    Glad you’re promoting these artists!

    • Lesley
      June 18, 2012 at 7:11 PM

      Thanks, Lauren! For me, her use of negative space is the stand-out element of her work– I love it!

      Cheers!
      Lesley

  • francifularts
    June 18, 2012 at 11:04 PM

    I love the juxtaposition between the unusually colored three dimensional feet, hands, and faces, and the flat, simply outlined bodies! Great to see someone pushing the boundaries with composition and style!