Man in a Bowler Hat and a Dove Painting

IVÂNIA (b.1986, Ivânia dos Santos) is a self-taught visual artist whose creative practice emerges at the crossroads of intuition, emotion, and aesthetic exploration. Although painting and drawing were always present throughout her childhood, it was only after the age of 30 that she reconnected with her true purpose and embraced art as a vital and transformative force in her life. Born in Portugal and having taken her first artistic steps in Luxembourg, IVÂNIA developed a visual language oscillating between symbolic figuration and emotional abstraction. Her work explores themes of identity, femininity, and memory, conveyed through stylized forms, vibrant colors, and instinctive compositions. She primarily works with acrylic and oil pastel. Her recurring figurative themes include still lifes and everyday scenes, often incorporating elements from the worlds of fashion and consumer culture, as well as representations of tables, food, and other philosophical symbols. Her work is a hybrid of various movements and artistic influences, resulting in a unique and deeply personal expression. IVÂNIA positions herself as a free creator, unbound by technical or conceptual constraints. Now based in Portugal, her paintings evoke introspection and emotional depth, inviting viewers into intimate visual narratives that reflect the beauty of imperfection and the richness of the inner world. Curatorial Note IVÂNIA’s body of work unfolds across different visual languages — from figuration to abstraction, from maximalist detail to minimalist restraint. This deliberate openness to experimentation reflects a multi-year journey of artistic growth and emotional and conceptual freedom. Rather than following a fixed aesthetic or thematic line, her practice embraces change as part of its very identity. Each work captures a distinct moment in this evolving exploration, and together they offer a compelling portrait of an artist unafraid to shift, question, and transform, making her body of work both multifaceted and deeply resonant. After years of exploration and experimentation, the artist has come to understand that her true identity lies in figurative art. It is through this form of expression that she now seeks to delve deeper, embracing the richness of narrative, symbolism, and emotional depth in her future work.