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A self-taught artist who has been taking part in one of the island's biggest annual celebrations of local creativity over the past four years is urging others to get involved.
There are only a few weeks to go before applications close for CCA Galleries' Jersey Summer Exhibition, which will be taking place between 18 June and 26 July.
Once again, local talent is being sought for the show with all visual art forms welcome, from original prints to paintings, drawings, architecture, sculpture, film and photography and artists have until 26 March to apply online.
Pictured: This year, the Jersey Summer Exhibition will be taking place between 18 June and 26 July.
Launched in 2017, the Summer Exhibition is based on the Royal Academy model, where every summer exhibits are selected by a panel of professional artists and shown in a group selling exhibition.
Even the pandemic couldn’t stop the 'Unstoppable Jersey Summer Exhibition' and thanks to the efforts of Gallery Director Sasha Gibb it opened on 19 June 2020 after artists Paul Huxley RA and Dan Baldwin as well as Gillian Duke, Managing Director of Worton Hall Studios and CCA Galleries –whittled down the 230 exhibits submitted by 90 artists.
Celina Borfiga was one of the lucky artists to be featured on the walls of the Hill Street-based gallery.
Pictured: Celina's work is a mix of abstract subjects and ‘familiar scenes’.
A self-taught artist, she works on abstract subjects as well as ‘familiar scenes’ such as landscapes.
“I tend to choose my subject matter randomly, usually because it evokes a feeling, or has an energy about it that I want to reproduce on canvas,” she explained.
“My abstract works are intuitive, having started with one idea in my mind, as I’m painting another image can start to appear on the canvas and then I just follow my instincts. I think the accuracy of an image becomes less important than the feeling it evokes when viewed.”
Celina has been taking part in the Summer Exhibition every year since 2017 and is hoping to feature again this year. “I have been lucky enough to get work accepted in all of them up to now,” she says.
Pictured: Celina has been taking part in the Summer Exhibition every year since 2017.
As a self taught artist, Celina says the show is an excellent way of getting “feedback from a panel of professionals, it validates your work.”
“I think the benefits of participating in the Summer Exhibition is having something to work for, a goal, it’s an exciting event and I think we are very lucky to have something like his happening in Jersey,” she added.
One of Celina’s landscapes won the Rural Landscape Award, much to her shock.
Pictured: Celina's 'Rocco Tower' won the Rural Landscape Award last year.
“It was absolutely wonderful to win and gave me a much-needed boost to my confidence,” Celina said. “It really never occurred to me that my painting, which I thought of as a seascape, would even be considered for a landscape award.
“The added bonus was that someone bought it!”
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