Chianciano Art Museum – Critical Analysis
Lis Engel is wonderful self-taught abstract painter. Her works are characterised by the purely impressionistic nature that derives from her inner responses to everyday life and to the objective world she sees around her, besides by her more intimate meditations and dreams and her favourite myths and fairy tales.
Lis’s technique is made of purely gestural brushstrokes that create dynamism and tumult in her canvases, capturing the viewer from the very first moment and transporting him directly into her sublime reality, reminding us of the British abstract painter Howard Hodgkin and the Australian expressionist Arthur Boyd. The lines are basic and essential and offer an almost childlike quality to the subjects, although her ability to depict her figures is outstandingly expressive. The reduction of form and simplicity of outlines highlight her explicit allegorical and poetic nature.
The use of colours is stunning. Lis uses soft, harmonic hues, prevailingly pastel tones, to offer the viewer a most refreshing and joyful experience. The chromatic primacy and combination of colours only accentuate the meaning and symbolism in her paintings. There is a story behind each artwork that is told through Lis’s artistry and creative talent and imagination. The viewer is overwhelmed by the evocative intensity of her visual narrative and finds himself unconsciously living each story with passionate participation.
Her compositions are fascinating and superbly charming. Her delicate, subtle, generous, manner of conveying her most precious feelings is absolutely unique. We are bystanders in the face of a highly talented artist and her compelling and extraordinary sensitivity. Her pure spirit and art form are a true and joyful gift to the world of modern abstract painting.
Karen Lappon
International Confederation of Art Critics
www.international-confederation-art-critics.org