Response to Marilena Pelosi's Artworks

Marilena Pelosi

Who Is She?

Marilena Pelosi is an elder artist who, in this writer’s view, escaped a traumatizing life in Brazil.

What Did She Say?

“It’s normal people who become insane. But because I’ve never been normal, I’m not at any risk.”

Why Does the Writer Call Her a Superhero?

Pelosi’s dedication to her art and her original imagination earn her that title. Her work evokes an inside-out sensation of thought, stirred by the intimate settings and figures she draws. Her body of work is striking and deeply affecting.

Describe Her Work

Those seeking a conventional experience of art would do well to look away from Pelosi’s creations. Her characters are naked and exposed in strange arrangements—to put it mildly.

Her work is flat and essential, rendered in high contrast. She demonstrates remarkable skill and control in her linework. When she uses color, she does so with great care and restraint. To this writer, the images resemble controlled hysteria. Do the drawings express intimacy or congregation? The answer is both—intertwined.

Is She Content?

In images of Pelosi at galleries or in videos where she is seen drawing, she appears calm and focused. That, in itself, feels like a triumph, considering her traumatic past and experiences of abuse. This writer would like to believe she is content. Yet, from such a distant vantage point, it’s difficult to say for certain.

M. Pelosi is represented by Henry Boxer Gallery