Valeria Pesce

VALERIA PESCE (Sardinia, Italy, 1963).
“Monstera Canaria on Pink.” 2023.
Oil on linen.
Signed on the reverse.
Unframed, with a thick stretcher frame.
Certificate of authenticity included.
Measurements: 50 x 116 x 3.5 cm.

"Monstera Canaria on Pink" is part of Valeria Pesce’s body of work focused on the plant world, one of the areas through which the artist explores the energy and ever-changing nature of living forms. The distinctly horizontal format allows the large monstera leaves to unfold, making them the undisputed focal point of the composition.

Pesce constructs the image by layering cut-out and enlarged leaves, rendered with meticulous figurative detail that nevertheless retains a clear chromatic freedom. The range of greens, modulated with yellowish highlights and deeper shades, stands out against an intense pink background that eliminates any conventional spatial reference and accentuates the painting’s ornamental quality. The characteristic voids in the leaves allow the background color to show through and create a rhythm of positive and negative forms that runs across the entire surface.

Valeria Pesce studied graphic design in Cagliari and New York and, after living in Milan, settled in Barcelona in 1991, where she lives and works. Her painting, executed primarily in oil and acrylic, revolves around a figurative style in which bodies, flowers, vegetation, and scenes drawn from the cinematic imagination serve to explore the perception and vitality of the image. She has exhibited in Spain, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Slovenia, and her work is part of private collections in Europe, the United States, Mexico, Japan, Hong Kong, and New Zealand.