Michela Fabeni Art Gallery | Sculptural Portraits on Canvas: when Love takes Shape in the Contemporary Bas-reliefs | Palette Knife | Smussato Technique
- michelafabeni
- Feb 3
- 2 min read
Some presences are more than faces. They are bonds. Shared breaths. Silent loves that walk beside us every day.
In this portrait, I chose to give form to a faithful friend, a dog, not as a decorative image, but as a living presence. A body emerging from matter, a soul revealed through gesture.
I create sculptural portraits in bas-relief on canvas, shaped with a spatula and organic material, following my personal smussato technique. I do not paint likenesses: I sculpt identities. Every mark is born from direct contact, listening, and deep respect for what that bond represents.
This language is not limited to people. I also create portraits of your faithful companions: dogs, cats, parrots, and any creature that has left a true mark on your life.
Each artwork is unique and unrepeatable, built through a dialogue between matter and memory.
I do not seek formal perfection, but emotional truth. The kind that is felt beneath the fingertips before it is seen. A sculptural portrait is not a frozen memory. It is a presence that continues to live in space.
I transform love into matter, so that what was a bond can remain a presence. www.michelafabeniart.com
If you share your life with someone, human or animal, I can shape that bond into a unique artwork. Write me for information and collaborations. michelafabeni@libero.it
Not a portrait. A bond taking shape. Follow my creative journey, artistic diary and the metamorphoses of the artworks on alla social. @michelafabeniart
Michela Fabeni
Artist of the Third Millennium
When matter listens, love finds a form that lasts. Read the related posts.
