Elena Gua: Silent Game
10th March, 2025 – 27th April, 2025
sketch
9 Conduit Street
London, W1S 2XG
In the heart of Mayfair, where art and gastronomy converge, the celebrated restaurant and cultural hub sketch unveils its latest exhibition, featuring the work of Mallorcan painter Elena Gual. Known for its whimsical, art-filled interiors and cutting-edge cuisine, Sketch has long been a destination for those seeking both visual and culinary indulgence.
This season, Gual’s striking portraits—built with thick layers of impasto oil paint, sculpted by palette knife—take center stage in the grand entrance and reception of the Grade II*-listed building. The exhibition, titled Silent Game, draws inspiration from the structured elegance of a chessboard. A series of monochromatic canvases evoke the game’s rules and discipline, while an opposing set, alive with color, reflects the unique character of each chess piece. The result is a meditation on balance—between order and expression, constraint and creativity—inviting viewers to engage not just as spectators, but as players in an unfolding visual dialogue.
Courtesy of sketch
Complementing Gual’s paintings, furniture by Buchanan Studio introduces another layer of artistry. Crafted by British artisans, the studio’s signature cloud-like chairs offer an invitation to linger, sit, and absorb the quiet intensity of the works on display. In this immersive setting, Sketch once again blurs the line between dining and artistic experience, transforming a meal into something closer to a conversation—between artist and audience, color and form, silence and possibility.
Courtesy of sketch
About Elena Gua
Elena Gual, born in 1994 on the Spanish island of Mallorca, has swiftly established herself as a force in contemporary portraiture. Her work, defined by textured, sculptural layers of paint applied with a palette knife, brings a distinctive depth to the female figures she portrays. Themes of identity, empowerment, and cultural heritage run through her canvases, creating compositions that are as bold in concept as they are in form.
Courtesy of sketch
A graduate of the Florence Academy of Art, Central Saint Martins, and the Royal Academy in London, Gual combines classical technique with a strikingly modern sensibility. Her portraits, built from thick impasto strokes, emphasise both the strength and grace of her subjects. Beyond painting, she also engages with photography—often working from her own images—melding the two mediums to further her exploration of selfhood and representation.
With exhibitions in New York and London already to her name, Gual’s rising profile signals a deepening appreciation for her singular approach to portraiture—one that challenges tradition while honouring it, capturing women not as static subjects but as dynamic, multifaceted beings.
Elena Gua: Silent Game opens on the 10th of March, 2025 until the 27th of April, 2025 at sketch
©2025 sketch
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