Artist, poet & creative alchemist
Making love to the Universe with my art
Uslada’s art is visual poetry. It’s a blend of vibrant colors, textures, and intricate shapes which reflect the magnificence of the universe and its profound beauty. Inspired by nature's sacredness and its diverse palette, Uslada's work is deeply spiritual and it invites us on a journey towards discovering the source of our inner bliss. Uslada’s creative expression is strongly tied to the exploration of symbols. It’s a journey into the invisible realms of the artist’s imagination, which she makes visible to all of us through the dancing intricacy of her unique style, abundant with gold and iridescent reflections of color. Uslada’s art was appreciated by Marcel Paquet, a Belgian philosopher and author of many books about such well-known artists as Magritte, Miró, Botero and Calder. It has evolved into a medium for exploring the mystical aspects of life and the human soul. Uslada was born in Riga, Latvia and lives in Belgium. Learn more about Uslada and her art philosophy here.
ECLIPSE, acrylic on canvas. Original art, video and music by Uslada
The world needs more Uslada
The word Uslada contains a complex patchwork of meanings and can be roughly translated into English as pleasure, joy, delight, and delectation. Uslada embodies both the comforting energy of sweetness as well as a fierce, fiery love. It is the feeling of being deeply nurtured, when all our needs are met, because we have full trust and support in the Universe. Uslada is both an active giver and receiver of pleasure, as well as the archetype of pleasure itself.
From Uslada’s art manifesto “The world needs more Uslada”
Just as the Olympian myth tells us that Athena was born fully-formed from the forehead of Zeus, Uslada’s art slumbered inside her for decades before bursting forth into the material world, unsuspected, certainly by the outsider, almost by an other-wordly fiat. This happened in the spring of 2011 after Uslada had experienced a mystical awakening in Tuscany, Italy.
Surrounded by the astonishing beauty of the Tuscan landscape, Uslada’s soul was awakened to the infinite depths of beauty and endless creativity that had been inside all along, and the art began to spring forth in a style that was very authentic and complete from the very start.
One year and a half after starting to paint, Uslada met Marcel Paquet, Belgian philosopher and art writer. Marcel Paquet wrote books about artists such as Bram Bogart, Fernando Botero, Jean Dubuffet, Paul Delvaux, René Magritte and many others. These books were inspired by his friendships with the artists and his support of their artistic journeys. Marcel Paquet became a supporter of Uslada’s art, and dedicated a philosophical essay to her oeuvre. Read more about Uslada’s inspiring story about her friendship with Marcel Paquet here.
Omnia Mutantur Nihil Interit, acrylic and Murano glass on canvas
A Mystical Awakening
“Every form dissimulates the endless movement of the forces which compose it; Uslada brings these forces to light, and gives visual expression to their vibrations, their dancing, whirling intricacy.”
—
Marcel Paquet, Belgian philosopher and art writer
Marcel Paquet’s essay dedicated to Uslada’s art focused on her painting Desire, and discussed the artist’s ability to bring invisible forces to light. In his book Botero: philosophy of the creative act, (1992) Marcel Paquet talked about the role of any artist in making their inner vision visible to others, "The painter is not simply someone who looks and who sees. Above all, the artist is someone who exposes a personal vision by rendering it visible. The painter shows or allows the seeing of "something" that without him, without his intervention, would not be seen. He manifests through his work a possibility of seeing that would otherwise remain latent. In other words, painting is an art that reveals or unveils the world from an angle that the world itself does not present to us.
Painting creates. It does not limit itself to imitation or reproduction. Any desire to confine painting within the limits of déjà vu would be a gross misunderstanding of the essence of what painting is. Painting allows us to see that which without it would never be seen.”
Embracing Color As A Metaphor of Life
Bringing Invisible Forces to Light
Color is an omnipresent force in our lives - but could it be a symbol of life itself? For me, color is a metaphor for life and its flow. If we embrace color in all its splendor, we begin to paint the canvas of our lives more creatively, more fully, more passionately.
— Uslada
Video: travel through the details of Uslada’s paintings
Celebrating Beauty and Sacredness of Nature
This diptych was born during the spring of 2020. The first brushstrokes appeared at the beginning of May, around the time of the full moon, sometimes called flower moon. More than two months and thousands of dots later, here it is, full of very personal symbolism. The four-petaled flowers represent the ancient notion of four directions, used in many cultures across the globe to honor the sacred spiritual forces, symbolically located in the North, South, West and East.
I dedicate it to the blossoming Earth and to the rare majestic blue banded bees.
-Uslada
Diptych FLOWER MOON, acrylic on canvas, 170X100 cm (67X39 inch)
Adding Brushtrokes of Gold
The following selection of Uslada’s art is available as limited edition prints on high quality paper with satin finish, embellished by hand with golden ink, signed and numbered by the artist. More prints for sale can be found here.
Listening to the Poems of my Art
“My art has a very important spiritual dimension to it, and I love to explore the mystical aspects of life and the human soul both in my paintings and poems. In terms of creative process, writing poems is very different from painting. It’s like I have to “catch” the words when I hear them.”
-Interview with Uslada on art.art
Hidden Jewel
You’ve seen the truth so many times
So why do you still choose those lies?
The darkness comes and then it goes,
The truth is always there,
Below.
All you must do is close your eyes
and dream again
the Dream of Light.
The hidden jewel is in you.
It’s you who needs to see the truth.
Poem by Uslada
Paintings:
