Expressive and poetic, Sphiza's (1987, Portugal) figurative portraits speak of the beauty of the human condition, of its inscrutable individuality and the unique force which the very act of existence is. Inspired by the coexistence and confluence of individual lives and stories in the collective space of the cities, the artist gained prominence within the graffiti scene through the originality with which she developed a manifestly figurative language.
Faces, portraits, people, personalities, characters, shapes that come to life through a methodical volumetric composition, created through coatings of colour, contrasting layers that bring brilliance and eloquence to the walls where they take up residence.
She grew up in the rural environment of a village, which set her pace of life until the age of 13, when she moved to the city of Porto. She still sees herself today in that duality, "rural and urban", as she claims. In her world of colours and contrasts, in the poetic solidity with which she portrays human nature, with which she narrates stories and lives, in the melancholy or vivacity with which she plays individual diferences and similarities, Sphiza seems to reflect on the emotional distance that separates those who live isolated, yet in proximity, in the big cities. A contemporary dimension which she seems to be trying to comfort. Humanely. In a simple and poetic way.
Miguel Moore - Underdogs Gallery 2010
