Irina Kekelidze (born in Saint Petersburg, Russia lives and works in Florence, Italy and Luxembourg) Having left her home country early in her life, Irina has since been preoccupied with the ideas of displacement and abandonment that largely influenced the body of her work. Both personal struggle in the face of unknown and the challenges that the foreign land brings had a profound effect on how Irina developed as an artist. The juxtaposition of the outside world vis-à-vis the complexity of the human nature becomes a continuous theme in Irina's work. In most of her paintings she is investigating the deepest levels of human emotions while depicting the complexity of our inner psyche. As an unfolding tale, the endless swirls of morphing images bring the viewer's attention to every single detail of the composition. Inadvertently the viewer becomes aware of a perfectly organized chaos that only a human mind can replicate, and most significantly make sense of.  The viewer becomes a silent outside factor that is not only representing the raw force of the outside world, but is also an intimate part of the entire composition. The meditation on the fragile balance between life and death, light and darkness appears as a maior force in Irina's paintings. She brilliantly uses a wide array of black and white shades while emphasizing expressive splashes of strong colors that further enhance the emotional quality of her paintings. Instead of leading the viewer directly towards the focal point of the composition Irina allows the painting to unfold itself and assert a deeply personal impression. As a masterful storyteller Irina uses her paintings to express her own experience deeply influenced by her fascination with other people and cultures as well as her reflections as an individual. She continues searching for new sources of inspiration in her every day life observing and learning along the way.