Title: Eyes
Year Completed: 2024
Size: 20,6 cm x 28,1 cm
Technical: pastels and oil pastels on paper

Description
One of the recurring subjects in my art is eyes. Their presence or absence is fundamental and significant. Through the eyes, we can discover everything about the person in front of us, their history, their most intimate emotions, their intentions. As they say, "the eyes are the window to the soul." This artwork stems from the need to reveal the most intimate facets of the human soul in all their nuances: no matter how many masks we wear every day to ourselves and in relating to the world around us, our eyes are always transparent.

Critical text review by Senior Art Curator Mara Cipriano

This work is an intriguing synthesis of figurativism and abstraction, reflecting a profound inner search. The main subject, a female face, is portrayed with an almost ethereal delicacy, reminiscent of the sensitivity found in Modigliani's portraits, while the choice to obscure parts of the face with chromatic abstractions seems to nod to Picasso's experiments in the Cubist phase. The colorful tiles depicting other eyes evoke Kandinsky's theories on abstraction as a vehicle for pure emotions. The constellation of colored eyes introduces a sense of dynamic movement, as if we are observing a constant flow of truths. Indeed, the artist states, "One of the recurring subjects in my art is the eyes. Their presence or absence is fundamental and significant. Through the eyes, we can discover everything about the person in front of us, their history, their most intimate emotions, their intentions. As they say: the eyes are the mirror of the soul. This work arises precisely from the need to reveal the most intimate facets of the human soul in all their nuances: no matter how many and what kind of masks we present to ourselves every day and in relating to the world around us, our eyes are always transparent." Two remarkable elements stand out: the use of vibrant and contrasting colors contrasting with De Pascalis's usual black and white palette; the repetition of the eye motif to underscore the concept of constant search for truth in her art. The use of color and the repeated concept are indicative of a strong desire to communicate a message. The mixed technique. Overall, the work seems to inquire about the relationship between individuals, and between being and appearing, offering a visual meditation on the complexity of human existence and its multiple facets.