paintings

Working in a colourful palette of acrylics on canvas, Mexican artist Carmen Fuentes creates this expressive painting for NOVICA's World Peace Project. "The work is entitled 'Meditation on Peace' and is inspired by a work I did in 2019 on this same topic. I want to transmit with this work a message about the importance of meditating on peace; therefore, the female figure embodied in the work is a representation of Mother Earth, the nature that we must take care of in order to be in peace and harmony. The transformation and movement are expressed in the leaves that at the same time suggest the idea of ??birds. The range of cold and warm colours express balance and the white/silver background colour represents peace as a purpose of fraternal union," explains Fuentes.

"When making this artwork, I draw inspiration from human beings' hope and longing to live in a world of peace and harmony; that one day, instead of bullets from rifles that today kill thousands of people, only flowers will come out."

Working with acrylic on canvas, Costa Rican artist Lidia Veronica Echenagusia paints an expressionist composition depicting the world's wishes for a better future. As Lidia's words express, this fascinating work summarizes human resilience and faith, with colourful elements symbolizing that, after all, our hope is stronger than our suffering.

Titled Contemplación in Spanish, this painting comes stretched and signed by the artist.

Abstract forms, vibrant colours and mystic elements are present in Costa Rican Jorge Leiton's expressionist composition. Working with oil on canvas, this painting expresses the artist's thoughts on current society whit different hidden symbolisms carrying a message of peace and love.

"The work has an important meaning across different cultures. The symbols are based on international icons and other signs, such as Hebrew and Arabic words for peace. The hands painted in white are a gesture of peace and rejection of violence. In this painting, all these elements are a consolation to the marginalized, saddened by war, hunger and sex," reflects Jorge.

Titled Símbolo de Paz in Spanish, the painting comes stretched and with a cedar wood frame.

Juan Henry Mendez shares his concern about the conflicts and suffering in today's world. He depicts a Mayan woman gazing skyward where warplanes fly in formation. A rose arises from a grenade in an image of hope, and an iridescent hummingbird clings to the thorny stem.

"Today we live in a world where wars have become common, wars in which thousands of people lose their lives while most of us hope for a better world," the Guatemalan artist says. "This painting, 'Crying Out for Peace,' takes us to a context where, one day, these bombings will be the beginning of a new era of peace. Every missile will become a rose that leads to those colourful dreams in which our children can go out to conquer the world without fear.

The woman's petition can be clearly seen. It's the cry of many countries today for an end to war. The rebozo shawl represents the harmonious union that we, as humans, should have. The child's hands are raised toward the war planes in her fervent petition for an end to war, as though she is saying, 'Enough!'

"The grenade that gives birth to the rose is the change that should happen. Bombs should be relegated to the past so that dreams of spring's splendid beauty can arise and, with the flight and song of the hummingbird, we can all live in a world filled with the hope of peace and harmony among nations."

Titled Clamando por la paz in Spanish.

Filiberto Chali draws inspiration from his beloved Guatemala to express his fervent desire for peace. "This is my own unique representation of world peace," the artist explains. "The corn symbolizes an abundance of food for everyone on Earth so there will be happiness. The four colours of the corn means there will be no more discrimination for the colour of our skin, as nature has taught us. The lighted candles illuminate the four cardinal points in the Maya's Mother Earth. They represent the flame of peace we all yearn for. And the most important image is the white dove, a symbol of peace in the whole world."

Titled La Paz in Spanish.