Winner of the Catherine K. Gyllerstrom People’s Choice Award

Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize 2024

Valeria Andreis

Title:

“L’enfer c’est les autres”

Medium & Dimensions:

Oil on canvas, 80 x 60 cm.

About the Artist

born in 1995 – Monza (IT) Valeria Andreis is an Italian artist based in Busto Arsizio, 40km from Milan. She began painting in early childhood and learned to paint with acrylics and oils at the age of 15. During her educational journey she has been guided by several prestigious mentors, such as: Marco Cingolani, Omar Galliani, Maria Cristina Galli, Vincent Desiderio, Miles Johnston, Guillermo Lorca and Kirsten Anderson. She exhibited in shows and participated in competitions both in Italy and abroad. From 2019 to 2023, she was represented by Essence Fine Art Gallery in Cortona. In 2019, she began to combine teaching fine arts with her artistic practice, and since 2020, her online fine art courses have attracted thousands of students. Andreis’s painting is characterized by a strong figurative imprint, with the constant presence of the human figure. Her work seeks to give shape to sensations and changes of the psyche, with a particular sensitivity to the theme of self-discovery, detachment and isolation. Through her paintings, she aims to create delicate and powerful images that express the indescribable sensations which characterize her long moments of contemplative solitude.

“L’enfer c’est les autres”: This painting is titled after the famous phrase by Jean-Paul Sartre, serving as its interpretive key. It also gathers a wide range of references to Italian and classical historical-artistic culture. Our relationship with others is a tension between encounter and clash, projections of preconceived ideas, and attempts at self-assertion. We cannot control others’ thoughts; we can only transform words and impressions into scars that do not prevent us from approaching our true selves. Through deep inner exploration, following the Oracle of Delphi’s motto “Know Thyself,” we can stand firm like the Saint Sebastian iconography against others’ words.