Art Verité Gallery

Happy Paintings

The pandemic, which still rages on in different parts of the world, has taken a toll not just on our physical well-being but on our mental and emotional health as well. Because of the quarantine and stay-at-home orders, some of us have not seen relatives and friends for a while, too afraid to go out for fear of contracting COVID-19. More than a year into the pandemic and with a vaccination program already in place (albeit slow and prone to shortages), people are now more comfortable venturing out and resuming where they have left off.

Let’s Party, a solo exhibition of Arnica Acantilado, offers a picture of merriment in a suite of photo-realistic works that depict animals and children. “I have chosen this subject to give visual joy and happy thoughts of feelings, because for sure we all miss family events, gatherings, celebrations, and parties with our loved ones.” states the artist. The paintings provide scenes of our former lives as well as possibilities of the future, once the pandemic has been brought under control.

Situated in an Edenic garden, animals and humans comfortably mingle, wearing party hats, with colorful balloons littered about. For the artist, the animals are stand- ins for the qualities she holds important: strength, grace, innocence. Certainly, the animals may also be considered as representations of nature. Interacting with them are mostly children, who have received the brunt of the pandemic, since they were not allowed to go out and still continue to hold classes online. In the works, they are out in the open, with flowers on their heads and wearing loose, comfortable dresses, enjoying air, light, and open space.

With so many exhibitions that have portrayed the grim side of the pandemic, the artist offers contrary, happy, and uplifting images in which people enjoy each other’s company and the grandeur of nature, relish the views, and celebrate things that the pandemic has reminded us to treasure. “I want the viewers to feel the love, comfort, and happiness that everyone needs,” says the artist. “At the end of the day, all we need is hope and strength.”