Carla Fuentes is one of those artists who started out as an illustrator, collaborating with international magazines and brands, and then found in figurative painting the most direct language to describe the world around her. And she manages to do it excellently—we were struck from the moment we discovered her Instagram profile. Let’s see how.

Her canvases are populated by faces and highly recognizable details that, nevertheless, seem to hold something back in the viewer’s eyes. All of them are surrounded by flowers, insects, and symbols that open up broader reflections. There’s always a subtle play between delicacy and unease, between the fragile beauty of things and their ability to speak to human relationships, solitude, and the contradictions of digital life.

Her style—made of light brushstrokes and calibrated color palettes—has attracted the attention of companies such as Mango, Bimba & Lola, and Paloma Wool, as well as magazines like The New York Times, Vogue Paris, and Esquire. In parallel, Carla has pursued a personal path that has seen her exhibit in Spain, across Europe, and as far as Asia, with shows and fairs such as Art Busan and Enter Art Fair.

Series such as En boca cerrada también entran moscas and Flores Rotas clearly show her ability to work with simple yet powerful visual metaphors. Flies become symbols of isolation and introspection, while flowers—the protagonists of her latest self-published book—speak of fragility and our ongoing search for beauty, even when it is ephemeral.