GRAPHIC DESIGNS
DUMA ARANTES,ONEOFTHEARTISTSFROMONLINEARTPORTALRUNWAYGALLERY,
REVEALS HOW SHE CREATES HER MYSTERIOUS FEMALE FIGURESNEXT MONTH
Buy artwork from Duma
Arantes and other artists
at runway-gallery.com.
Look out for our June issue,
where artist and founder
of Runway Gallery SYRETT
discusses his thinking
behind the new online
platform and tells us about
his favourite artists and
their work.Owninga piece of art is as easy as clicking a button with new online venture Runway Gallery. Showcasing contemporary
fashion-focused works from 14 celebrated artists, runway-gallery.com enables you to snap up original prints for your home.IWASborn in Lisbon, Portugal, and
grew up in a small village near the city.
As I was an only daughter, I spent hours
in my bedroom playing alone, drawing
and painting – especially my dolls.
Then one day, someone gave me a box
of oil paints and it was love at first sight.
I’ve always wanted to be a painter
but never thought I could make a living
at it, so I studied advertising. But my
love for painting was stronger and I
went to the National Society of Fine Arts
in Lisbon as soon as I graduated to study
painting and drawing.I have a passion
for Renaissance painting and sculpture,
but I also like contemporary artists –
from Salvador Dali to Tamara de
Lempicka and Georgia O’Keeffe.
My style is clean and precise, like a
digital illustration. I use traditional oils,
but I love photography and graphicdesign, so I incorporate that feeling in
my work. My paintings aren’t of anyone
specific. They represent a female universe,
with beauty, tenderness, fragility and
strength. But there’s a mysterious side, too- my characters are not revealed entirely
so to leave room for interpretation. I think
my art has more life when the viewer can
create a story behind the figure. I also like
to put black bars on as though a scene
from a movie has been paused.
I use neutrals with one or two strong
colours for contrast. I like black and red
as they give the sensation of power and, at
the same time, protection, like the ancient
samurai in Japan who wore black clothes
as protection against negative forces.
I’m currently preparing my next solo
show for summer 2019 in Portugal as well
as new works for Runway Gallery, which
is my first gallery in London – a city I love.
ARTWORK
MUSHI MUSHI
LIMITED EDITION GICLEE PRINT, £170,
DUMA ARANTES AT RUNWAY GALLERYH&G PARTNERSHIP