"Rebirth" painting exhibition at the António Lobo Antunes Municipal Library in Nelas

    An exhibition of extraordinary beauty by Celeste Martins is currently on display at the António Lobo Antunes Municipal Library in Nelas. Born in 1964, in a town in the Mangualde municipality, she lived in Lisbon for 36 years. Nine years ago she returned to her hometown to care for "one of the most important people in her life, her mother". During a period marked by physical and emotional fragility, and by the complexities and demands of caring for the woman who gave her life, Celeste found in painting a form of expression that gave her a profound inner rebuilding. In art, she discovered a space for refuge, expression and overcoming, which is reflected today in her work. Each piece reflects the author's deep experiences and feelings, carried onto the canvas as intense emotions, in a journey she herself describes as a process of "inner rebuilding and personal fresh start". What struck me most personally about Celeste Martins's work was her extreme sensitivity, combined with a range of inspiring styles and techniques that show the artist's intense search to find herself and express what's in her soul.