The Four Women Painting

Salua Saleh was born in Barrinha, in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1958. She graduated in Economics at UNAERP Ribeirao Preto SP with a postgraduate specialization in Hospital Administration in Sao Camilo University - SP. She lived for several years in São Paulo, in London, in Arraial d'Ajuda, for many years in northern Italy and today she lives between Brazil and Italy. Salua started painting in 1999, she has always had a natural inclination for figurative art, mainly linked to female figures. Great masters such as Matisse, Klimt, Frida Kahlo, Modigliani and Munch have always inspired her expressive technique. The artist's themes mirror her inner emotions which come from everyday incidents and situations, thus her production spans from representations of everyday scenes to social issues and the disturbing world we live in: war scenes and racial prejudices are depicted in strong colours. Salua also explores abstract paintings. She is also a mosaicist and an artisan. Her works are in Berlin, New York, Cleveland, London, Lebanon, Saudi Arábia,Greece, Italy and Brazil. "Why did I start painting? Because of my relentless, unrestrained soul. I started painting to express my emotional needs. I felt animpulse inside me and imagined myself paintingfigures ‘born’ in my head. This impulse, which has been unspoilt ever since that moment is accompanied by a state of anxiety: when I take the brushes and lay out the colours on the palette, I feel a storm anguishing inside me. I pick the colours quickly and the hand paints automatically, as if with no aim, but each movement is defined, sure. Emotions flow to my hands as if I were in a trance. Hands turn my emotions into paintings and set me free.