In this new suite of paintings Timaru-based artist Ynes Guevara looks to feminine archetypes to explore the magical and imaginary. Her reconstructed silhouettes produce new imagery, considering the duality of the divine and erotic using a palette of six magenta tones, a colour that holds much significance for her.

Her work has a strong engagement with art history and literature, with a love of poetry that is evident in the paintings’ titles. She takes influences from seventeenth century Mexican philosopher and poet Juana Ines de la Cruz to Mexican poet, essayist and Nobel Prize laureate for Literature, Octavio Paz. These are paintings which are rich in symbolism, and explore the beauty of pure colour and form.

Main image |

Left image | Ynes Guevara, Love, that divine feeling, 2024, acrylic and cotton thread on canvas. Image courtesy of the artist.