Childhood House 2020

Valeria Duca’s painting, "Childhood House," presents an intimate portrait rendered with visible, textured brushstrokes. You can really see how the paint has been laid down, capturing a fleeting moment of reflection and artmaking as a process. The artist uses a muted color palette, drawing attention to the materiality of the paint itself. The impasto creates a tactile surface, particularly in the face and the house, drawing your eye to the ridges of the brushstrokes. Look at the way the orange roof contrasts with the greys and browns elsewhere; it feels almost like the artist is accentuating a memory or longing. There’s a vulnerability in the sitter’s gaze, emphasized by the rawness of the paint application. Duca's work reminds me a bit of Lucian Freud's portraits in its directness and unflinching honesty, revealing something deeply personal and perhaps unsettling. Ultimately, this painting is a conversation about memory, identity, and the way we construct our own narratives.