About the work

In ‘Den (2026)’, Celeste Rapone creates an intriguing and multi-layered scene on a large scale. The composition is characterised by an alienating, angular perspective that, as it were, compresses the space into a fictional, elusive environment.

Beneath an industrial ventilation duct, a scene unfolds in which four female figures, clad in sensual nightgowns, become entangled with one another. Their bodies visually merge into one another: a carefully manicured hand reaches for another’s throat, whilst two figures hold each other’s hands, fingers intimately intertwined. Individuality seems to dissolve here into a collective physicality. Yet the apparent sensuality is undermined by their facial expressions: blank, bored, almost disinterested, creating a sense of alienation.

The tension in the work takes an unexpected turn when the viewer’s gaze is drawn to the top edge of the canvas. There, an iPad screen reveals a paused self-defence tutorial. What initially appears to be a charged, physical interaction turns out, in fact, to be a staged exercise. The threat of violence is thus transformed into something banal, even amusing.

Her characteristic figures, often contorted bodies balancing between figuration and abstraction, depict a feeling familiar to many millennials: a mix of existential unease, boredom and hyper-awareness.

Through her work, Celeste Rapone creates a visual language that perfectly captures the mental state of a generation: overstimulated, ironic, vulnerable and perceptive all at once.

Celeste Rapone

Portfolio