Vera Girivi: Life

Lower Gallery
December 4, 2023 - January 26, 2024

Exhibition Catalogue

"It rarely happens that I imagine a theme and then paint it later. I don't like planning too much. Life surprises you every day, and if you want to make it go one way, the opposite occurs."
Vera Girivi

“I was inspired by Marina Abramović’s work The Artist is Present. These two women don’t talk because they are underwater, in an aquarium. They communicate with their eyes.”
Vera Girivi

"I went to the beach the day before I painted this. The sea was a bit rough, and a wave flipped me over and dragged me down. For a moment, I thought my life was coming to an end. I felt a weight on me, and I didn’t understand anything anymore. My legs were in the air. I saw my whole life flashing in front of me.

When I managed to get out of the water, my bathing suit had been pulled all over. My friend was saying, 'Cover yourself!' but I thought, Who cares? My concern was not the bathing suit, but getting out of the water alive."
Vera Girivi