Marleen Pauwels

Marleen Pauwels is a Belgian born artist, living and working in Spain. Her work is centered around silence and solitude. Initially, she created abstract compositions, using various media including etching, drawing and collage. Over the years, she integrated elongated figures who became key elements in her work. Weathered walls often feature as the background of these figures, always leaving open gaps, inviting the viewer to look beyond their initial impression. She creates these walls through different layers of paper, acrylics and oil paint, hiding carefully chosen text messages in between. Her palette is intentionally restrained; “I want to create an atmosphere in my work, and too many bright colors would generate a language that is not useful to me.” she says. Her current paintings feature either extremely elongated, or minuscule naked figures, depicting her reflection on the human condition in its pure essence. The juxtaposition of these opposite, seemingly fragile figures within empty spaces - away from any unnecessary adornments - confirms her statement.