SASHA HARTSLIEF, Interior light with shadows II
Oil on canvas, 60 x 40 cm
Sasha Hartslief's paintings often depict atmospheric interiors, where light and her female muses are joint protagonists. Her subjects – often family members, friends, and neighbours – are painted from a deeply personal and intimate perspective, resulting in compelling and intriguing works whose emotional charge keeps us looking.
Writing in the Financial Times, Enuma Okoro notes how ‘Hartslief employs deft brushstrokes in muted tones to create atmospheres where light and shadow play off one another, tenderly capturing moments plucked from daily life. Moments that remind us of the inherent complexity of living with ourselves. Her characters are rarely aware of a viewer, immersed in their own worlds, but worlds any of us might easily slip into – because they feel like fragments from the simple but layered business of being human.’*
*Enuma Okoro, Decisions and the bigger picture,
Financial Times, 20 May, 2022