Varnish Nude Paintings

Rizaldy Celi Jr. (American, Filipino-Vietnamese, born 1983) "The Girl with the Scars" 2024 Oil Paint, Varnish, Canvas, Stretcher Bars The artist signed the bottom right of the painti...

The full frontal female figure is suspended in mid-air with both arms in motion, seemingly about to jump off the canvas. The blurred figure is set against a clear, graphic backdrop of reds, black and other dark tones with a turquoise rectangular box framing the torso of the figure. A simple black wooden frame frames the work. "I have been active in telling stories with images for over 45 years. My fascination with shapes and textures are my earliest memories and everything I have done in my adult life has revolved around these interests. I learned a lot about color, composition and story telling by stripping all sentimentality from these elements and using them for more than 25 years as a designer. Although I enjoy the challenge and variety of commissions, my own work is very personal. My work has always been about expressing the otherness and mystery just underneath everyday life. Reacting to the ephemeral nature of life and mortality. All of my personal paintings are just different ways of expressing one moment, one feeling. I’m describing a place I’ve never been with a language I’ve never spoken but I’ve spent my whole life trying to get there because its my home." -- Mark Gilmore...