The Face Between Numbers (2024) Original Mixed-media Painting by Gela MIKAVA

In The Face Between Numbers, Gela Mikava brings the intimacy of a miniature portrait into tension with the impersonal language of counting.

Rows of handwritten numerals cross a muted grey-green surface. Within this repeated notation, dark violet forms suggest eyes, a deep blue mark becomes a nose, and a vivid pink passage establishes the mouth. An irregular sweep of white interrupts the face without entirely obscuring the numbers beneath it.

The image moves between a recognisable presence and a surface of scattered signs. Numbers suggest order and classification, yet their uneven rhythm resists a coherent system. The face remains equally unsettled: assembled from a few marks, it appears to emerge from the very notation that threatens to absorb it.

Painted in acrylic on canvas, the work retains the visible weave of its support. Its intimate scale invites close looking, allowing small shifts in colour and texture to carry the weight of the portrait.

Presented in a white frame with a cream mount. Overall framed dimensions: 14 × 14 cm.

Materials used:

acrylic on linen canvas

Details:

• Mixed-media painting on Fabric
• One of a kind artwork
• Size: 14 x 14 x 3cm (framed)
• Framed and ready to hang
• Signed on the front
• Style: Abstract
• Subject: People and portraits