Mika

Color is matter subjected to the artist's consciousness. Each painting is a mass shaped by the author down to the deepest structure of atoms, and beyond quarks. When a painter can truly express his subtlest reality, he can transfer it into the color mass by entanglement between the particles. By manipulating matter, he transmits to it an "imprinting" that can stimulate in the observer an expansion of consciousness. If an artist is able to lead a being to the soul, it will produce a very precise "alignment" of the spin of the quarks in the core of the color-mass; for this reason it is important that the underlying matter (whether sand, earth or otherwise) is something the painter has touched and experienced. Mika takes the concept of color matter in stride and elaborates it extensively within her artistic production, giving the latter multiple faces, multiple expressive outcomes At times, the matter becomes delicate and hides its thick presence through its spreading in large strokes characterized by muted colorations At other times, the material is not ashamed to show itself in its most intimate essence. It uncovers itself of all its embellishments and superfluous features to offer the viewer its true essence. This is what happens in "My Shell." A blanket of thick, congealed pigment stands out before our gaze. Our mind wanders in search of visual associations and what comes to mind are snake skin, barren earth and an impenetrable shell. All three elements have in common the concept of a shell: the snake uses scales to protect its soft body and occasionally moults to renew its skin. Arid land is often characterized by clods of clay soil that are not very prone to water penetration. A true hydrophobic shield. For this very reason, cuts and divisions form on its surface: the earth needs water, and if it does not get it, it crumbles. And then, the impenetrable shell, which, as the word suggests, is a real envelope designed to protect something precious. The visual associations made by our mind are all correct. In "My shell" it is possible to be traced back to the concept of impenetrable armor, to a shell that has been formed over years and still continues to change, becoming thicker as time passes It is Mika's shell, it is the shell that protects her soul, molded over the vicissitudes of her life, the weather and storms that have characterized her existence The shell, cracked and not perfect, is the testimony that has parried so many blows, protecting the artist from what life, of course, poses to us as challenges. Greenish hues are juxtaposed, blending, with lighter and browner shades as if the colors gradually represent different layers that then go on to oxidize with time. Mika uses the material and molds it to her liking, producing works with unprecedented outcomes that can be perceived with both the eyes and the sense of touch, to best savor the artist's individuality.

Art Curator Lisa Galletti