Getting bored with the monotony of everyday life? Spanish artist Eva Armisén invites you to embrace the ordinary and rediscover the beauty and wonder in everyday moments. Whether it is flowers and butterflies by the roadside, a home-cooked dinner, or just a random serene afternoon, she captures them all in her self-portraits, creating a visual diary that celebrates the warmth, love, and joy in daily lives. Curated by CMay Gallery, Eva Armisén’s solo art exhibition “A Flying Head” will be held at Gallery by the Harbour from 25 April to 19 May, showcasing over 30 of her latest and selected artworks, including oil paintings and serigraphs, as well as a collection of limited merchandise, such as earrings, pins, and magnets. Amidst the hustle and bustle, let’s take a break, slow down, and discover the ordinary yet extraordinarily beautiful moments just around you.
The Painter of Happiness – Rediscover the Wonderful Ordinary Moments
Talented in narrative illustration, Eva draws self-portraits to tell stories that she experienced or observed. In her artworks, she often depicts herself with curly brown hair, rosy cheeks, small eyes, and a button nose. Despite the same facial features, she takes on different roles in different scenes: a child, a friend, a lover, a mother. She can be a girl embarking on an adventurous roller coaster ride hand-in-hand with her beloved, a mother enjoying a lively carnival with her lovely family, or a young lady sleeping with her cat on a comfy couch. These “important little things” are ordinary yet extraordinarily wonderful, even the artwork names are as simple as “A Nap”, “A Walk”, and “Family Portrait” – all can be found in everyone’s everyday life. Nothing really remarkable, but so day-to-day that audiences can easily relate and find resonance in them. As so, they would rediscover the bliss and joyfulness in the seemingly mundane daily moments.
Monarch Butterflies as “Hair” to Symbolize Perseverance
The little girl in Eva’s self-portraits always wears a gentle smile. With soft, warm colour tone and delicate brushwork, the paintings evoke a sense of comfort and tranquility. It is iconic of Eva’s artworks that the girl’s hair takes on a whimsical ever-changing form. It has been transformed into skyscrapers, words, marine creatures, and most often, blooming flowers. Eva uses the hair to represent the beauty and complexity of the human mind, as well as the free flow of ideas and boundless imagination, while blooming flowers symbolize life and showcase the process from sprout to reaching its maximum splendour in nature.
This exhibition is named after one of her latest artworks, “A Flying Head”, in which the girl’s hair is adorned not only with blossoms, but also Monarch Butterflies. This incredible butterfly species migrates all the way from Canada to Mexico before winters, covering a distance of up to 3,000 km in a one-way journey, with several generations passing on the baton along the way. Inspired by their resilience and perseverance, Eva hopes to encourage the audience to overcome challenges with the story of Monarch Butterfly. Through “A Flying Head” art exhibition, Eva aspires to create a refuge for the souls, where people can find strength and the power of love in her artworks to conquer the obstacles and adversities in life.
Besides enjoying the beautiful everyday moments at the exhibition, you can bring the “blissfulness” home! Eva has specially created a collection of limited merchandise out of her arts, such as pins, pillow and cushion covers, magnets, folders, and postcards. There are also unique earrings handmade by Korean jewellers. Limited quantity while stock lasts.
Eva Armisén “A Flying Head” Art Exhibition
Date: 25 April – 19 May 2024
Time: 11am – 10pm
Venue: Gallery by the Harbour (Shop 207, Level 2, Ocean Centre, Harbour City)
