Favéla 1, Circa 2021

Karine Wald  

Astonishing, penetrating, even captivating, each look of the portraits painted by Karine Wald adds an additional force to these already unique faces of pop culture.

Losing its means, the ineffable power that emanates from these faces is achieved through a meticulous and skillful technique that vacillates between the influence of classical portraiture and visual renewal. We can think of the famous Harcourt portraits, both the poses and the light seem to be treated in the same way as the large photographic studios that have marked the history of French cinema. Celebrity poses, celebrity flaunts, here it is inscribed in a unique representation.

But the artist-painter strives to tap into the history of art to uncover the secrets of chiaroscuro and its eternal power to reveal a second nature to each subject portrayed. From the great engraver Dürer to the pointillism of Signac, Karine Wald escapes simple mimicry, to reincarnate this post-impressionist effect of modulating light on a shadow background, thus suggesting relief and depth.

The painting is precise, the material is voluptuous. Karine Wald's pictorial touch gives thanks to Romy Schneider, Karl Lagerfeld, Amy Winehouse, Kate Moss, Olivier Rousteing and also unknown faces, as never an artificial device could have done.