Half Face
A profound conceptual canvas, this work is dedicated to the themes of concealed identity, the dualism of human nature, and the phenomenon of the social mask. Unlike the artist's entirely abstract paintings, this piece offers a subtle hint of a silhouette.
Moro succinctly encapsulates the meaning of the painting in her own quote: "People have two faces: one that smiles, one that cries, and in between are those who wear the mask of politeness." The canvas explores this liminal gap between what we project to the world and what we experience when entirely alone with ourselves.
The title directly indicates that only "half" of the truth about a person is accessible to the viewer. The other half remains hidden in the shadows — the Jungian Shadow, a realm of repressed emotions, fears, and authentic, unvarnished feelings.
There is no distinct anatomical portrait on the canvas. Instead, utilizing her signature technique of layering oils (chiaroscuro), Moro crafts a blurred, almost ghostly silhouette where one side of the face is swallowed by thick, dense darkness, while the other is bathed in a soft, subdued light.
Ileana Moro is a multidisciplinary artist of Cuban and Nicaraguan heritage, was born in Costa-Rica and currently based in Antwerp, Belgium. Her practice explores emotional and psychological landscapes through painting, approaching the canvas as a form of visual diary and reflection on inner life.
The absence of human figures in her work does not signify absence of humanity; rather, she paints the emotional weather of being human — the storms, the silences, the twilight moods that pass through all of us. Her canvases can be read as portals to the soul’s inner climate.
A spiritual undercurrent runs through her work. Through the interplay of shadow and light, she evokes the liminal spaces where the sacred might enter, creating thresholds.
Guided by intuition, her process allows spontaneity, fluidity, and the rise of subconscious material, producing works that hover between control and surrender. By honoring mystery rather than explanation, her paintings remain open-ended, emotionally charged, and resonant with the hidden dimensions of life.
Ileana Moro’s solo exhibitions include presentations at KAR Studio (China, 2023), Lera Treyger (Belgium, 2024), and Himera (Romania, 2025). Her work has been featured in group exhibitions across Belgian galleries such as Grege and Ballroom (2023), Ave, Francis Maere, and 22Muse (2024), and Verduyn (2025) as well as at Antwerp Art Weekend 2025.
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