Wounded birds

Wounded birds shows two young women standing side by side in white T-shirts and dark trousers, one with long braids falling over her shoulder. Small dark birds burst from their heads and across their faces, hiding their eyes. The pair stands against a pale, open ground.

The title names what the artist describes as the meaning of the birds throughout his work: allegorical signs of emotional wounds. At 190 cm the two figures are life size, and the closeness between them, set against the scattering birds, is central to the image.

Unique work, charcoal and acrylic on canvas, 190 × 150 cm (74.8 × 59.1 in). Born in Brazil in 1993 and trained in Visual Arts at the Federal University of Goiás, Ritchelly Oliveira has worked with the human figure since 2012. In 2015 he began the series Lacunas (Gaps) by asking people to talk about past relationships and what they understood love to be, and that practice of listening remains underneath the work. His work has been exhibited in Goiânia, Berlin, Miami, New York and Los Angeles, including the solo exhibition Fragility at La Brea Studio in 2023, and has appeared in international art publications such as Beautiful Bizarre.

Available for private viewing at Tilsitt Gallery in Porto, or worldwide delivery upon inquiry.