Helena Pallarés’ colorful illustrations are based on techniques of collage making. Using paper cuttings from vintage magazines mixed with pencil drawings and digital finishing touches, her work is a mix of traditional and contemporary, with an added personal touch.
Born in Spain and currently based in Paris, Pallarés admits to being inspired by the Dada movement as well as Surrealist art. “I found Dadaism and Surrealism when I was studying graphic design at the university and somehow that changed my life,” she relayed in an interview with Talenthouse. “I was blown away by how Dada artists used the composition, the typography, and the color. It just matched perfectly my way to understand the aesthetic of design and I suddenly found the answer for many questions about the meaning of contemporary art.”
It was then that she took to collage making, employing it as a creative tool, but she admits the beginning was something of a mess. “in the beginning I didn’t know what I really wanted to do,” she says. “So, most of the works that I did at that time were clumsy compositions mixing photo and oil painting.”
Nowadays, most of her work is personal, centered around portraits of people she admires. With her more conceptual collages, she takes a different approach, touching upon subjects that she finds important or compelling such as the passing of time, childhood, womanhood, and the unconscious.
Her collages are featured in international magazines and showcased in exhibitions, art fairs, and other creative events. But you can also follow her work online, via Instagram.
