Paula Leiva Granger

PAULA LEIVA GRANGER (Santiago, Chile, 1961).
“Seed of Jupiter’s Tree,” 2026.
Oil and Chinese ink on unbleached linen, mounted on a wooden stretcher frame.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Certificate of authenticity included.
Measurements: 80 x 80 cm.

The observation of nature and its seasonal transformations is one of the central themes in Paula Leiva Granger’s painting, whose artistic language reveals a marked influence of Japanese aesthetics. In this work, the artist depicts, on an enlarged scale, a seed from the crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica), surrounded by autumnal branches and leaves. The warm orange, reddish, and yellow hues are hallmarks of the design, contrasting with the violet tones of the central motif and the natural surface of the linen, which remains partially exposed. The synthesis of forms, the delicacy of the chromatic transitions, and the balance between the plant elements and the empty space lend the composition a contemplative sensibility, linked to the ephemeral beauty of nature.

Paula Leiva Granger studied painting at the Escola Massana and La Llotja in Barcelona, receiving the Escola Massana’s Extraordinary Graduation Prize in 1984. A painter, illustrator, and teacher, she has participated in exhibitions in Spain, Chile, Germany, and the United States, and her work has been sold through Christie’s. In 2001, she was named Artist of the Year at the 14th Premi Solidaritat 2000 Drets Humans awarded by the Parliament of Catalonia. Between 2021 and 2023, she contributed as a watercolorist to *The Plant Review*, a publication of the Royal Horticultural Society in London. She is the author of the book *Practical Manual of Drawing and Watercolor* (Editorial Océano, 2007), which was also published in China.