Natasha Lelenco, Currency #263, 2025, Acrylic on Wood

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Contemporary mauve-toned circular portrait in acrylic on wood exploring queer migration, self-reclamation, and identity through figurative painting and handwritten text. … Read more Contemporary mauve-toned circular portrait in acrylic on wood exploring queer migration, self-reclamation, and identity through figurative painting and handwritten text. Currency #263 belongs to Natasha Lelenco’s ongoing Currencies series and portrays the profile of a young queer individual with tight, natural curls, gazing outward with poised intensity. Set against a muted mauve background, the figure is painted with careful attention to detail, highlighting softness and strength in equal measure. The hand-painted inscription surrounding the portrait reads: “Vine lejos para estar más cerca de mí misma”, which translates from Spanish as: “I came far to be closer to myself.” The phrase articulates a deeply personal and political truth: for many LGBTQ+ individuals, migration becomes a form of liberation—a means to live authentically. This piece stands as a quiet but powerful reflection on the emotional geography of queerness, displacement, and belonging. Painted in acrylic on a 26 cm circular panel of treated pine wood, the work is finished and varnished by the artist with fully painted edges. As in all Currencies, the physical object bridges painting and sculpture, and is conceived to function both as a singular statement and as part of modular, wall-mounted installations. Beyond its conceptual strength, the Currencies series has been designed for installation adaptability. Each circular piece operates autonomously but is also conceived to work in combination with others from the series. Collectors and designers can create multi-panel arrangements that grow in scale and intensity, functioning as sculptural friezes or modular visual poems. These scalable constellations form a powerful visual chorus around the theme of identity, allowing flexibility for both private collections and institutional displays. All works in the series also participate in a conceptual value system: prices are individually determined, symbolizing the arbitrary nature of social and market-based value, while each piece retains the capacity to be exchanged in the future for another work by Lelenco—turning each coin into a living currency within her artistic economy. At Casa das Peritas Gallery, This piece is attributed to the mentioned designer/maker. It has no attribution mark and no
official proof of authenticity,
however it is well documented in design history. I take full responsibility for any authenticity



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