Bijouterie — Veiled Portrait in Turquoise

A turquoise face emerges against a bright blue background, framed by dark hair and elongated black earrings with intricate white floral patterns. Layers of green, grey and muted pink obscure the facial features, while the ornaments remain sharply recognisable. Fine vertical lines reinforce the portrait’s frontal composition.

In this original painting from Gela Mikava’s The Bijouterie series, adornment becomes more legible than the person wearing it. The contrast between the veiled face and the patterned earrings opens a question about identity: what do we recognise in a portrait when its most familiar features are withheld?

Painted in acrylic on cardboard, the work combines visible brushwork, layered colour and decorative detail within an intimate format.