"L'Elixir" Painting

Artistic approach: An artist at the frontier between lyrical abstraction and conceptual art, Elisabeth von Wrede has a clear artistic identity. Her dazzling white, created with square brush strokes, is recognisable anywhere. More than a signature, this white square is her brand, it is her ‘cosa mentale’, her mindset. Have you ever noticed that what is hidden creates desire? That sums up the quintessence of my artistic approach: raising the mask on secrets, peering through the keyhole, savouring the delicious forbidden fruit. The hardest thing is to hide that which normally should be seen, because all artistic creation has the ultimate goal of showing, expressing, even exposing. I just have to awaken interest, to show a bit of what I want to hide, so that the visible suggests the hidden. Which is how a double reading is naturally imposed on my work, a reading where the viewer is confronted by two worlds: a more aesthetic world where I work on the search for harmony in colours, rhythm, the balance of forces and the emotions radiating out; and a second, more conceptual world, where the veil settles across emotions, protecting the intimate and sublimating the modesty symbolised by the white square. The white square punctuates the anarchic curves, soothing anger by softening the intense vibrato notes. All my work is built upon these dualities. revealing – hiding – strength – softness – curve – straight – circle – square – colour – white – chaos – balance – fusion – precision Drawing inspiration from human relationships and the permanent contradictions in our relations with others, my art consists entirely of paradoxes. The human being is the keystone in my creations and even more so in my sculptures where it holds an essential place since it forms part of creating my works. By whispering to me words, phrases, following an imposed theme, it becomes a crucial player for the sculpture that takes shape little by little and materialises under its quill. For me, this interaction between the viewer and my works is primordial. It is a game of reflections where one cannot exist without the other, an essential echo.