Jess de Zilva
United Kingdom
London based painter Jess de Zilva takes our confusion and doubts, then mirrors them back at us as painted stories. She combines figures’ poses and expressions, backdrops and symbolic objects, creating psychological allegories that have the viewer wondering what is going on.
“I’m interested in what underpins our actions and thoughts, how context influence us. My paintings thus can be visually dreamlike, but the feelings they express are real. I paint in a realist manner to bring a sense of seriousness to a subject that is intangible.”
The painted figures are portraits of real people, yet the stories are not about specific people; the artist hopes that everyone recognises a little of themself in the work.
Jess studied Fine Art at Camberwell College of Arts, then honed her skills learning faux painting as well as traditional portrait techniques.
She exhibits internationally and her works are held in public collections in Liechtenstein and in private collections at home and abroad.
* This statement has been provided directly by the artist in association to their 16th International ARC Salon entries. This content has not been edited for typos or grammatical errors and has not been vetted for accuracy.
