The Garden in Her Mind

The work depicts an expressive and playful portrait of a woman in which the face and flowers almost completely merge. Large areas of pink, orange, purple and olive green build up the face like a colourful collage. The simplified forms and visible brushstrokes lend the whole a spontaneous, contemporary character, somewhere between figurative art and abstraction.

The eyes provide the most striking contrast. On the left, the eye is closed and surrounded by short black eyelashes, whilst on the right, a huge white eye with a jet-black pupil looks directly at the viewer. A dark green vertical line runs downwards from this eye. It can be seen as a stylised tear, but also as a flower stem. It is precisely this ambiguity that gives the portrait its surprising character: emotion literally transforms into nature.

Large petal-like shapes unfold around the face. The red, geometric lips and round orange cheeks reinforce the almost naïve visual language. Small irregularities in the paint, the visible texture of the canvas and loose black outlines prevent the image from becoming too polished.

The result is a cheerful yet somewhat enigmatic portrait. Behind the exuberant colours lies something introspective: one eye is at rest, the other observes. As a result, the work strikes a fine balance between optimism, feminine strength, imagination and vulnerability.