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Swan Bride, Wolf Maiden, and Mother House: The Art Dolls of Pantovola
Netherlands-based Pantovola creates the most exquisite dolls and fabric sculptures, of which I’ve never quite seen the like. These marvels of textile art are highly creative, expressive, and melancholy, filled with such a wistful whimsicality. Her teapot ghosts are precious and endearing, and I discovered her through them – but her whole body of work is extremely impressive and extensive. While remaining cohesive and adhering to a singular vision and bearing the unmistakable stamp of the artist, Pantovola dolls display a rich range, exhaling qualities of fairytale daintiness, childlike fantasy, a perturbing, haunting surrealism, mournful tragedy, and emotional intensity. The extravagant imagination and eerie pensiveness behind these dolls speak to both nostalgia for the beautiful and trusting things of childhood, and adult loss with its intricate sufferings and woes. They seem to enshrine awestruck innocence as well as the baleful shedding of innocence, and to envision womanhood as a haunting.
Drawing heavily from childhood and the holy things therein, Pantovola dolls have a certain stylistic aspect of naivete, with the curious proportions of a child’s sensibility. They are, however, detailed to the nth degree, with their faces often possessing a subtly disturbing quality. They are visual metaphors and often frame things within their own torsos, such as bugs, stones, and letters. Pantovola uses antique fabrics and incorporates old objects, adding to the storied look of the dolls – the textures of time on them. With enchanting names like the Lady Amanita, Moth Sisters, Fantôme Misérable, and Sea Pearl Keeper, the dolls fascinate and draw you in with their air of sad whimsy and eccentric imaginativeness. In addition to being an immensely talented dollmaker and textile artist, Pantovola is also a painter whose style translates clearly across mediums.
Pantovola states: In my work I love to use time-worn materials such as antique textiles, handmade lace, and curious objects from my collection….My work touches on topics like beauty and decay, culture versus nature, the cycles of life and death, occultism and witchcraft, dreams, femininity, creativity and the re-enchantment of the world, with a strong reference to childhood memories and a certain nostalgia to it.
