Title: Custody of the Heart
Category: Bas-relief on canvas
Dimensions: 65 × 90 cm
Technique: Smussato technique, palette knife and bare hands, organic materials
Materials: Acrylic blue on canvas, gold leaf, silver leaf
Description:
A silver female figure, shown in profile and kneeling, is captured in a state of absolute concentration. The essential, gathered body emerges from a deep midnight blue background, crossed by golden light trails that expand the space and activate its vibration.
Her hands are directed toward a forming golden heart, the visual and symbolic core of the work. Custody here is not containment but threshold: a vigilant act in which the heart is both generated and held as it comes into being.
The silver surface reflects and retains light, while the gold releases it, creating a dynamic tension between absorption and radiance.
The golden trails extend this movement beyond the figure, suggesting a light of the gesture into the surrounding space.
The surface is alive, marked by stratifications and incisions that make the gesture visible and physical. The composition is reduced to essential elements: figure, gesture, light.
The act is not depicted but embodied. The heart is not an object, but origin. The light is not an effect, but an act.
Artist: Michela Fabeni
Signature: Original, signed
Year: 2026
Unique piece