£5,300.00 GBP
The Light Shines in the Darkness marks a significant milestone in Leona Lengyel's practice as her first oil painting, representing a transition from acrylic to oil. Working with oil paint allowed her to achieve greater luminosity, softer transitions between colour and light, and a heightened sense of atmosphere, opening new possibilities within her painting practice.
Dominated by rich tones of red, the painting explores the symbolic and emotional complexity of a single colour. Throughout history, red has been associated with life, blood, love, sacrifice, power, and the divine. Rather than representing one fixed meaning, Leona is interested in how these associations coexist, allowing colour to function as both a visual and symbolic presence.
The tulip forms the central motif of the work, carrying multiple layers of meaning. In European folk traditions it symbolises life and renewal, while its connection to Tulip Mania evokes ideas of desire, value, and instability. Spiritually, the flower suggests hidden growth before emergence. These overlapping references reflect Leona's interest in images that hold personal, historical, and symbolic meanings simultaneously.
At the heart of Leona's practice is an exploration of light and darkness as psychological, material, and spatial conditions. Rather than treating them as opposites, she considers how they interact to shape atmosphere, emotion, and perception. Through layered oil paint and tonal depth, she investigates how light can be experienced through the material qualities of painting itself.
The Light Shines in the Darkness also marks the beginning of Leona's exploration of painting beyond the canvas. Alongside the painting, she developed an augmented reality layer, a virtual reality environment, and a moving image work, extending the painting into an immersive experience.If you’re interested in a commission or would like to discuss a work, please get in touch.
info@leonalengyel.com