A Persian wise man, his head wrapped in a turban, is gazing from the wall back at the visitors of the “Nomad” art show by Elisabeth Louy. The same wise man, but painted over 100 years earlier is looking over the artist’s living room at Sa Revista village in Ses Salines. This relic used to belong to her father. Elisabeth has carefully brought the character out of the layers of her family history and into the bright lights of the Balli Interiors studio where she exhibits her pieces curated by Davide Campi.
They say you can only connect dots by looking backwards. When she picks up an acrylic paint and a canvas, Elisabeth Louy effortlessly connects epochs and cultures with her signature single stroke technique.
New York born, raised in Italy by Persian, she invites you to peek at the different dots on the map of her own life: from years as an art scholar to a flourishing artist in the heart of New York in the 80s and 90s; from becoming a mother that was photographed by the legendary Bill Cunningham of the New York Times.
The 80s in New York were, of course, the iconic decade known for the explosion of Art, Dancing, Music, Culinary Arts and Fashion. From inspired conversations with new emerging artists at Soho, to strolling downtown Manhattan with her edgy double-seat stroller, to dancing the night away at studio 54. Elisabeth cherises the memories of the decade of freedom and creative inspiration: “You could just be yourself, no matter where you came from, a true urban inspiration.” Elisabeth took a leap of faith when in early 2000s she decided to leave New York behind and set on a new adventure to Europe. Ibiza wasn’t meant to be a final destination, yet, a visit here set a new course for her life, as the artist fell in love with the island and found a new home here.
Look close enough and you shall find all the fragments of this inspired life in different pieces at the “Nomad” exhibition. Here is a scene from ancient Greece telling the tale of Ariadne who leads Theseus out of the minotaur’s cave with her thread: just like Elisabeth is leading the viewers through the dark into the light with her single line in motion. Here is a portrait of an oriental woman, gazing at the visitors from under her veil – a beautiful symbol essential to Elisabeth’s artistic language, as a specialist of the gaze. Here is a “Lost City” – an image familiar to every nomad approaching a new destination that’s yet to reveal itself. You’d be curious to know that silhouettes of the mystical lost cities are inspired by shining salt mountains at the Salines. Each piece is nothing but a single stroke threading through layers of meanings straight into the essence of things.
With each stroke, Elisabeth casts aside the unnecessary details, leading us to the pure core of things. Her technique has transformed from more elaborate portraits to leaving some parts intentionally unfinished, to settling on capturing her subject with a single line. A line that starts at her gaze, runs straight through her heart and pours into a canvas.
“It took 20 years to be able to capture the essence in 10 minutes”.
Elisabeth starts her creation by taking a deep look at her subject, gazing into the soul and transiting the layers of the facade to peek straight into the spirit. The gaze of her deep Persian eyes is a form of art of its own. “If you don’t look someone in the eyes it’s like you don’t consider them”. She then picks up a bottle of acrylics to convey the story in the language of strokes and colours.
“Nomading is not only a voyage overseas, it’s an inner journey” – shares Elisabeth. A daughter of many cultures she made Ibiza her home over 20 years ago. But this island isn’t just a home of the last two decades, it’s also a port where ancient Phoenicians used to first lay their feet on solid ground after months and years of journeying across the seas.
Just like her nomadic ancestors, Elisabeth Louy tirelessly continues the journey after merely touching the ground. There is no need to pick up a passport, board a plane or a ship to journey to a new destination. She does it whenever entering her studio, extending an invitation to her viewers to follow the path she outlined with a mere stroke to find the treasures within.
