KISS

Title: KISS
Year: 2017
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 100 x 100 cm, 40 x 40 in
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Provenance: Artist’s Studio, Switzerland
Exhibited: Artraction, 2019
Authentication: This artwork is accompanied by a certificate from the artist, signature on the back

We exist in a world fashioned by technology – a so-called utopia – where social media, television, and virtual reality manufacture modern icons who radiate flawless happiness, beauty, and accomplishment. Every day, we share fabricated, enhanced selfies and find ourselves ever more captivated by the fleeting gratification offered by social media algorithms, each one designed to feed our desire for attention and validation. Our profiles are filled with carefully curated, multi-layered images, but beneath the surface lies little more than fantasy – a fictional persona crafted for the digital stage. This painting focuses on the lips of a woman, rendered in a sensual and refined manner, yet only partially revealed amidst an abstract arrangement of blurred forms. Her presence is intentionally fragmented, suggesting both allure and concealment, echoing the blurred boundaries between authenticity and fabrication. The entire surface is crossed by the pattern of broken glass, a deliberate intervention reminding us just how artificial and fragile our digitally mediated images can be. The cracks symbolise the illusion shattering, exposing the reality behind the façade and challenging viewers to reconsider how much of ourselves we truly reveal – and how much remains hidden behind the glossy veneer of online life.