October Issue 1999
International Artist Lena Gal Featured At USC-Spartanburg
International visiting artist Lena
Gal of Sao Miguel, Portugal, will present an exhibition of paintings
at the USC-Spartanburg Art Gallery located in the Performing Arts
Center, Spartanburg, SC. The exhibition will continue through
Oct. 29.
Gal will exhibit a collection of acrylic paintings reflecting life in her native Sao Miguel, Azores. The acrylic on panel works use vibrant color to depict figures and landscapes which show a distinct influence of the post-impressionist artist Paul Gauguin. Using images of rural landscapes, Gal combines scenes of men and women in the act of daily life. Her paintings are emotional, rather than literal, evocations of Portuguese life. The use of vivid color conveys a festive mood, while the often faceless figures evoke a sense of mystery. Her work could be considered a narrative of Portuguese culture.
Gal's painting career began at the age of 25, while studying the work of Portuguese artists. Recently, she has presented workshops in elementary schools in Portugal to teach basic painting techniques to young children, with an emphasis on expressing themselves through the use of color.
Gal has also created a very successful body of work in which she paints on tooled leather to create a unique entry in the art world. Using leather by stretching it over wood and gluing it, she tools the outline onto the surface and paints over the leather with acrylic paint. She handles this medium, she said, with no greater difficulty than oil on canvas, or other "mixed medium". She also paints in oil on canvas and works in pastels and India Ink.
Since 1987 Gal has exhibited in Portugal, Cape Verde, Spain, Finland, Canada, France and the United States. In addition, she is represented in several collections in Portugal, Spain, Holland and Austria. Gal won the Academie Europeenne des Arts Silver Medal at the International Painting Exhibition in Paris in 1996, received an honorable mention at the Faro Art Fair and was awarded the Diploma of Excellence by the Art Addiction International Gallery, Stockholm, for her contribution to the project "A Better World for Our Children".
Gal attended the Cooperativa de Gravadores Portugueses (Portuguese Engraves Cooperative), Sociedade Nacional de Belas Artes (National Society of Fine Arts), but considers herself to be a self-taught artist.
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