ANNE BENGARD is a Berlin based painter specialised in figurative realism and portraiture. Her works explore fetish, fetishisation, intimacy and connection, and challenge common stereotypes and clichés. By using a visual language which aims to find balance in polarities she seeks strength in vulnerability, beauty in the grotesque and comfort in the uncomfortable. Having previously been known for her large scale watercolour works, Anne's focus has now shifted to oil painting and murals.

‘Make it stop’ is a recent painting in oils, where she explores tension, boundaries and power dynamics within some portraits. The butterfly and other insects are part of this analysis and symbolise what is fragile. With this piece Anne asks: “When you feel butterflies in your stomach do you ever feel like the excitement is too much? That it's a feeling of nervousness? Do you miss the calm? Don't you just want it to stop?”