Pink Smoke

Painting Description: "Three Blue Girls" by Valeria Notarnicola

Date: February 2025
Medium: Acrylic, charcoal, and lacquer on canvas
Dimensions: 60 cm x 50 cm

Artist Statement

"Pink Smoke" explores the cultivated performance of elegance, detachment, and control in the visual language of contemporary femininity. Rendered in monochrome tones against a vibrant pink backdrop, the subject is composed and commanding—her face partially obscured by oversized sunglasses, her body draped in flowing textures, her hand gracefully holding a cigarette in a moment of timeless poise.

The pop-fuchsia background, streaked with black marbling, evokes the haze of smoke, perfume, or even digital distortion—blurring the boundary between reality and curation. This environment is both glamorous and uneasy, suggesting a tension between the subject’s apparent serenity and the intensity of the world pressing in behind her.

Her accessories—designer earrings, a sleek hat, and a subtly branded card—act as modern-day symbols of identity and power. They’re not just fashion; they are statements of social performance and personal mythology. Yet behind all the composure is a flicker of ambiguity: is she in control, or is she trapped inside the expectations of her image?

The use of acrylic, charcoal, and lacquer creates a contrast between soft gesture and hard shine, echoing the duality of the modern woman—elegant but armored, expressive yet withheld.

Cigarette Lady is part of an ongoing exploration into constructed personas, feminine icons, and the rituals of identity in a hyper-aestheticized world.