Natasha Lelenco, Love Wild, 2023, Painting on Canvas

"In 'Love Wild,' Natasha Lelenco engages in a playful and stylistic exploration with clear references to the recurring portraits of the early Renaissance, such as those by Giorgione, from a contemporary perspective and with the technical precision that characterizes her work. In this piece, she presents a character with a certain sexual ambiguity, lost in thought, snuggled up with a small creature, and sporting tattoos on the fingers that read 'Love' and 'Wild,' a nod to Charles Laughton's famous film 'The Night of the Hunter.' The psychological depth of the portrait, cinematic references, and incorporation of surreal or absurd elements give this artwork an inherently humorous character, as the artist delves into the play of indefiniteness. While the words tattooed on Laughton's character, 'Love' and 'Hate,' are opposites, in this case, Natasha's 'Love' and 'Wild' complement each other, much like the implied masculinity and femininity in the portrayed character and the duality of the human and monstrous aspects of the two figures. Natasha Lelenco (Chisinau, Moldova, 1982) holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Cluj Napoca University. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in Spain, where she resides, as well as in Germany, Portugal, Denmark, Mexico, and other countries.