Monique van Steen, visual artist,
known for her “beauties” in pop-art style.
On this artist webpage you are invited to follow and find out more about the artwork of this female, upcomming contemporary painter living and working in Barcelona, known for her colourfull popart faces.
ARTIST STATEMENT:
Monique van Steen, (Holland, 1976)
uses the term “Beauties”
(even when expressing herself in Spanish)
for the faces she paints,
in the same way the fashion industry uses it
when referring to close-up photography.
Her portraits are another way of depicting classical beauty.
Taken from the fashion-industry pedestals,
such as fashion magazines and advertisements,
the faces are reduced to the maximum flatness of colour-fields.
Yet contradicting the above, these contemporary goddesses are not deprived
of their complexity;
their optimism, faith or vanity combined with their personal grace are
emphasised by the seemingly casual and bold traces of
the dripped synthetic varnish on top of the flat acrylic surface,
thus creating a literally layered image, not only adding life and character,
but also questioning the mere existence of chance and thereby beauty.
