Irene Häfliger

“Portraiture is a very demanding but fascinating discipline, whose aim is to go beyond the likeness and find something intimate that speaks to the soul of the model. It’s a profound quest for humanity. “

To quote Fantin-Latour on this subject: ” The soul is a little music that plays behind the curtain of flesh. We can’t see it, but we can make it heard. “

In her more personal canvases, featuring luminous children in disquieting settings, Irene creates a chaotic material using plastic elements collected from nature, country lanes, seaweed…They are then glued to the canvas, and the addition of gesso accentuates the rough effect of the material. Before each painting, a sketch is made in very small format to create harmony and balance in color and contrast. Children play an important role in these compositions, the final layer of which is painted in oil. Recycling plastic waste in her canvases is a way of telling the story of the environment we leave to our children, and serves the purpose. Irene tells herself stories… But let everyone tell their own in front of these paintings.