The Dutch painter based in Ibiza, Jeannette Van Breda, has just presented her exhibition Animals with Human Character at the La Favorita Ibiza multipurpose center, to great public acclaim and amid great anticipation. About one hundred art lovers, friends, international personalities, artists, and prominent local figures attended the exhibition’s opening reception.
Among the attendees were Allegra Gucci and her husband, Enrico Barbieri; fashion designer Charo Ruíz; painters Mario Arlati, Antonio Villanueva, and Belén Herbosch; photographer specializing in grand mansions, Conrad White; actor Toni Riera; Lorena Sagliocco, philanthropist Frances Llopis, former congresswoman Helena Benlloch, journalists Rita Vallés and Katja Müller; businesspeople Daniel Busturia, Yolanda Torres, Ron and Hetty Bakker from Amsterdam, and Rita Konijn; music promoter Danny Whitle; publisher Sally Riera; and several fellow artists from the Tristan Belenquer Painting Academy.
The exhibition features seven recent oil paintings, each 65×80 cm, depicting humanoid aspects of familiar or exotic animals such as dogs, roosters, antelopes, and elephants, among others, with curious titles like The Pope Dog, The Gentleman Dog, The Brave Rooster, or The Owl Elephant. These figures are reminiscent of real human characters dressed as a British knight or a pope, or set against an exotic landscape, with the aesthetic impact of the bright, contemporary colors Van Breda uses. “I like to work with bright colors like red, which is my favorite, making the animals stand out against dark backgrounds to create more depth and highlight their wild beauty,” the artist emphasizes.
Van Breda is a self-taught artist who began painting after closing her original interior design and clothing retail business, and developed a passion for painting: “At first, I took classes at an art school to learn the basics, but over time I discovered an unexpected passion for painting, and it went from being a hobby to a way of expressing my relationship with the world around me.”
Regarding the creative process behind his work, Van Breda explains that “I draw inspiration from everything I see around me, whether it’s animals—as is the case with this exhibition—the local customs of traditional Ebusitan dances, or the island’s architecture.” In this regard, she states that “art is communication, expression, enthusiasm, and empathy, and that’s why I also enjoy painting the faces of great rock musicians in a contemporary style and format, details of the Buddhist world, or Native Americans, all represented with bright and vibrant colors.”
The exhibition will be on display throughout August at 36 Canary Street, in the center of Ibiza.
