Exhibition:

Matilda (Laia Pampalona) Illustration & more...

from 1 to 30 september 2005

Matilda. Such a name was chosen as we found it both funny and weird for it is not a really common name. That’s why it caught our attention. In fact, the name was given to a joint project by two artists from Barcelona, namely Cristina Brossa and Laia Pampalona. We mainly work on design projects, video creation and illustration.

Laia’s work and painting exhibition involve an illusory world which presents a variety of close-ups of different characters which are certainly astonishing. They are meticulously painted with plenty of details and multiple expressions.

The characters’ faces emerge from the decorative background thus creating a fusion between the figure itself and the background where it is represented. The figures are flat and treated graphically. The wide background strokes of acrylic painting perfectly combine with a patterned pointillism and the subtlety of the outlines, fill up the whole painting and let the characters emerge from them.

Wandering around the exhibition one comes across a wide variety of expressions which arouse all sort of feelings among the visitors: naivety, innocence, surprise, rebelliousness…The characters are neither indifferent nor impassive and seem to come from a fantastical reality which is created by Matilda’s power of imagination. Matilda is an innocent-looking girl who really has a naughty and cunning personality. It is this duality that is sought by Matilda’s members, who were inspired by a rag doll, whose apparent sweetness and tenderness actually hides a wicked mind.