All Together, painting by Elena Barilli — oil on canvas 120x150cm. Four faceless stylised figures on a pink background, contemporary artwork.
All Together, 120x150cm, oil on canvas. Elena Barilli.

The Quiet Figures

The Quiet Figures is a collection of oil paintings on canvas created between 2025 and 2026. Through faceless figures and layered surfaces, the series explores silent strength, resistance, autonomy and the tension between external pressure and inner sovereignty. The figures are not portraits, but symbols of presence, identity and self-determination. Scratched and abraded surfaces translate the tension between external pressure and personal autonomy, transforming conflict into posture, elegance and visual force.

Original artwork by Elena Barilli, Italian contemporary artist. Over, oil on canvas 90x100cm, 2026. From The Quiet Figures collection.
Over – Elena Barilli
Holding Altitude, painting by Elena Barilli — oil on canvas 80x80cm, 2026. Three faceless stylised figures on a pale blue background, contemporary artwork.
Holding Altitude (2026), 80x80cm, oil on canvas. Elena Barilli.
Borrowed Selves, painting by Elena Barilli — oil on canvas 120x120cm, 2025. Two faceless stylised figures on a light blue background, contemporary artwork.
Borrowed Selves (2025), 120x120cm, oil on canvas. Elena Barilli.
Original artwork by Elena Barilli, Italian contemporary artist. Standing Still, oil on canvas 90x100cm, 2026. From The Quiet Figures collection.
Standing Still – Elena Barilli
Original artwork by Elena Barilli, Italian contemporary artist. Cliff, oil on canvas 80x80cm, 2025. From The Quiet Figures collection.
Cliff – Elena Barilli
Unspoken, painting by Elena Barilli — oil on canvas 100x100cm, 2025. Single faceless stylised figure with white hair on a dark magenta background, contemporary artwork.
Unspoken (2025), 100x100cm, oil on canvas. Elena Barilli.
Ahead, painting by Elena Barilli — oil on canvas 120x120cm, 2025. Single faceless stylised figure with white hair on a red background, contemporary artwork.
Ahead (2025), 120x120cm, oil on canvas. Elena Barilli.
Original artwork by Elena Barilli, Italian contemporary artist. Holding On, oil on canvas 100x70cm, 2025. From The Quiet Figures collection.
Holding On – Elena Barilli

About me

I am an Italian self-taught contemporary artist whose practice explores themes of autonomy, resistance and inner sovereignty. Developed outside traditional academic paths, my visual language centers on the tension between the individual and the forces that attempt to shape, control or contain them.

My work primarily depicts faceless, stylised figures reduced to their essential presence. Rather than portraying specific individuals, these figures become symbols of identity, self-determination and psychological strength. Their stillness and verticality contrast with scratched, layered and abraded surfaces, where marks and incisions translate external pressure into visual tension.

    Portrait of Elena Barilli, Italian self-taught contemporary artist, in her studio with works from The Quiet Figures collection.
    Elena Barilli in her studio.

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