Stefania Ormas - Balloon

When I created 'Balloon', my intention was to explore the contrast between interior emotional life and outward appearance in the contemporary world.

The central figure, portrayed with such a direct and expressionless, almost cold look, represents our tendency to mask emotions. She is still, composed, wrapped in dark tones that suggest seriousness or detachment, a shell that protects us but also isolates us.

But above her, there is the Balloon. It is not a simple balloon; it is a symbol of the soul, a floating thought, or perhaps a vibrant memory. I wanted to paint it with that electric blue, almost surreal, full of pinpoint lights, which represents inner life, the spark of magic, the dreams and aspirations that are not visible on the surface. It is the element that breaks the rigidity of the portrait.

The strong contrast between the cold and almost alien light of the balloon and the sober composition suggests that, even when we maintain an impassive facade—as if we were waiting, motionless—our inner world can be intensely luminous, vibrant and, in some way, elsewhere. It is my reflection on contemporary solitude and on that small, fragile, yet radiant secret that each of us carries with us.

Stefania Ormas, Italian painter, graduated in painting from the International Art School in Terni, has in recent years exhibited in several solo and group shows both in Italy and abroad, such as: Casa de la Cultura in Navacerrada – Madrid, Palacio del Infantado in Guadalajara, Museo Reina Sofía – Madrid, RED03 Gallery in Barcelona, Galería Bernet in Barcelona, Roccartgallery in Florence. Her works are present in private collections in Italy, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Germany, America, and public ones such as in the town of Gata de Gorgos in Spain.

The world she represents is primarily feminine and she does it with a careful and realistic eye, always capturing a poetic vein. Her style is a compendium of the most recent pictorial forms, keeping tight to her figurative approach with an attention to the anthropology of the subject.