For this series of paintings, predominately works on paper, Alegre used the make-up and brushes her mother left behind. What started initially as an attempt to keep her close and a way to process the unassimilable void, gradually evolved into a symbolic exploration of what "makes up" who we are, our beliefs, and the links to the world around us.
Alegre approaches the subject with authenticity and grace, making no demands for resolution or redemption. Following a path through grief, loss, love, acceptance and hope, this poignant body of work is a celebration of life, affirming an all-encompassing sense of connection, gratitude, presence and belonging; a tribute to those who walked before us, those who walk beside us and, ultimately, ourselves.
Bárbara Alegre's (b. 1976, Barcelona, Spain) practice investigates universal questions about being human and the entangled relationship between the physical and the psychological across the individual and the collective. Oscillating between image, subject and object, Alegre’s paintings seek to capture the intangible and inseparable interaction between bodily senses and thoughts, observing it with empathy and tenderness. Quiet, intimate and contemplative, the work supports the idea of art as a “shelter”, a safe space, somewhere to return and reflect. She is a graduate of Chelsea College of Art and Design (2003) and currently working towards a Masters in Painting at the Royal College of Art. She lives and works between Barcelona and London.
