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InspirationArt & Culture

Wrinkled and crumpled oil paintings of photorealistic fashion magazine portraits

Italian artist Stefania Fersini's paintings offer meditations on representations of women in fashion magazines and the linchpin consumerist node of appearance.

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All images courtesy of the artist and the 101/Exhibit gallery

All images courtesy of the artist and the 101/Exhibit gallery

Beginning with pages seemingly ripped from Love, The Wild, Wonderland, and other such publications, these oil paintings prompt us to consider the relationship between these glossy images and the degree of veneer in our own lives.

Painted so the models appear life-sized instead of magazine scale, Fersini’s work comes to subtly reflect its viewer. As in front of a mirror, viewers recognise the reflection they aim to achieve and identify with. This continuous sway has a hypnotic effect that allows the observer to switch from conscious to the subconscious and induces a personal reflection about the complexity of individuality in relation to these same models and values.

Discover more at www.stefaniafersini.com. Or go check out her first solo exhibition at 101/Exhibit gallery in Los Angeles, until 17 October 2015.

A young woman in a crumpled red plastic dress sits with a Singer sewing machine surrounded by white fabric and flowers, painted as a life-sized oil portrait by Stefania Fersini
Monochrome oil painting of a woman with long hair holding a cigarette, overlaid with translucent white crumpled paper texture
Stefania Fersini's oil painting of a woman with red-streaked hair wearing translucent fabric and holding a crumpled magazine page against a turquoise background
Stefania Fersini oil painting of a pale-skinned model with purple eyeshadow and white headwrap against a vibrant orange crumpled plastic background
Portrait of a woman with red hair wearing a purple and turquoise geometric top, covered with creased translucent plastic film, by Stefania Fersini
A portrait painting of a figure with pink hair wearing a grey cardigan and tartan skirt, seated against a dark, crumpled background by Stefania Fersini
Black and white oil painting by Stefania Fersini of a woman with short fringe hairstyle wearing dark clothing with eyes closed, painted at life size scale on crumpled paper texture
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