Curated by Art Directors Carlo Greco and Alessandra Magni Critical texts by Art Curators Alessia Di Martino Alessia Perone Alice Tresoldi Anna Panizza Camilla Gilardi Cecilia Brambilla Cecilia Terenzoni Elisa Acquafresca Elisa Garosi Elisabetta Eliotropio Elita Borgogelli Erika Gravante Federica D’Avanzo Francesca Brunello Giorgia Massari Giulia Zanesi Ilaria Falchetti Lisa Galletti Marta Graziano Martina Stagi Martina Viesti Silvia Grassi Vanessa Viti Ylenia De Giosa
“Each person has his own color, a shade whose light just leaks along the contours of the body. A kind of halo. As in the figures seen against the light.” (Haruki Murakami) Our life is like the palette of a painter in which each color identifies things, emotions, thoughts and moods. Its deep beauty intoxicates us and strikes us, inspires us. Its capacity for expression can produce multisensory perceptions. Speaking about colors means to shine a light on our path, to give back to the man the right to wonder, to have peace, to have that serenity that only they know how to transmit. It is well known how contemporary art or cinema have rediscovered with new awareness and curiosity, the effects that colors and lights have on the human mind, investigating the perception of reality, emotionality and unconsciousness. Alfred Hitchcock, in one of his many masterpieces, Vertigo, uses a chromatic choice that will contribute to give a ghostly and surreal aura to the entire sequence; David Lynch makes use of marked tones, or the contrast of the same. In art in particular, through the colourations, we not only access painting in its integrity but we collect an inexhaustible series of emotional states that, in part or in whole, can justify the existence of the paintings as a symphony of tones. One can argue that art history is a history of palettes, and each artist had his own, and with it he opened his deepest self. The works appear as a gallery of melodies and harmonies, whose nuances lead us beyond the real concrete to access the feelings in an immediate way, as happens with music. Looking at a work, the eye is touched by a broad emotional spectrum, in which the artist leads us into an unusual territory where its thousand colors paint the universe filling our senses with joy. Colour is, in fact, an element of fundamental importance for human life, and it is precisely through it that the senses learn reality. It has an aesthetic role, but above all an imposing symbolic value, linked for example to day and night, to light and darkness, which has always accompanied men. Each tone possesses a great psychological power capable of acting on the emotional state of each individual, communicating a message firmly rooted in the culture of those who observe it. In many tribes, for example, the color painted on the body indicates social status, while throughout the world, the gradation of the skin is considered attractive according to the beauty canons dictated by the culture itself. However, we should reflect more carefully on the human condition and check if the world really knows how to recognize its level of chromatic maturity. Eskimos, for example, use 100 different definitions to describe the white gradations of snow, in France brown is a nuance, a word in itself, while in Italy it is an adjective. It is evident that a color alone is solemn and imposing in all its majesty: but what happens when two colors meet? In the chromatic combination most of the time emerges a play of forces, an “arm wrestling” that makes the character and expressiveness. The first dominates the second, they push each other: one asks the other to approach its complementary. As in any relationship, one color asks the other to “change”. This encounter of energies creates a powerful vibration, not real but strong in the visual perception of the eye. This is what makes a chromatic combination more or less pleasant, dynamic, static, expressive, lively that can fatigue us to the point of looking away. The Fauves did it on purpose: they chose to match pairs of complementary colors so that the two colors would light each other. Violent and explosive encounters of this kind are visible in the canvases of Emil Nolde, a German expressionist capable of visionary and unthinkable chromatic choices. For him “the colours are vibrations of silver bells and bronze sounds: they announce happiness, passion and love, soul, blood and death”. The color in both grandeur is so strongly expressive that it becomes a symbol of a nation, characterizes its history, culture, philosophy, expresses its identity and vocation, drama and conquest, pride, and beauty. The world entrusts peace to this important means of expression, through which we can read the life of a state, a city, a province, a region, or a small commune. A distinctive sign of who we are, of what language we speak, of what we have done and of what we want to tell. Therefore, the aim of the exhibition “Kromatic@rt” promoted by M.A.D.S. MILANO is to enter into a journey of images able to go beyond the figuration itself, reaching almost abstraction. The intent is to involve the viewer into the dense colors and be moved by the soul of the artists, who choose to use the visual element of color in its completeness as the creative force of their work. Light, tone, shape, symbol, harmony, contrast, mood. A powerful chromatic perception, but with a sensory language, mute and silent, able to communicate more than words themselves. An explosive and disruptive rainbow, out of the box.
“Let me, O let me bathe my soul in colours; let me swallow the sunset and drink the rainbow.” (Khalil Gibran) Concept edited by Art Curators Erika Gravante - graduated in Product Design, master in Visual Merchandising - Federica D’Avanzo - graduated in Art Management
ÂANDRA
 A N D R A, born Alejandra Fernández, is a Colombian artist based in Medellín.The intention in the aesthetic and artistic production of  A N D R A can be traced back to that of the abstract expressionists of New York in the forties and fifties, despite the aggressively modern vein, as regards the intensity of colors and the use of a mixed technique of oil and acrylic that makes the impact perception like a digital work. “SOLSTIZIO” is the moment when the Sun reaches its maximum declination. The solstice also leads to a passage, to a transformation, to a change and in the work of  A N D R A the transformation is evident, perceptible, almost tangible. The use of colors allows you to enter another dimension, the sharp spatulates capture the gaze reminiscent of a northern lights in a starry sky, the colors are incisive, the chromatic transition deeply affects the soul of the beholder. The upper part of the work appears to be divided into three sections, as if it were a cycle, passing from night to dawn and from dawn to dusk and back to night. The blue and the red are the dominant colors framed by shades of purple, pink, yellow and white, it is therefore evident the use of warm and cold colors, masterfully combined, on the one hand the proximity expressed by colors such as the red, the yellow and the orange, on the other the distance given by the dark blue. The perception of proximity and distance given by the colors makes it easy for the viewer to feel complete immersion within the work. The use of bold colors combined with more muted colors conveys extremely different emotions, and the sensitivity of the subject comes into play as the protagonist. The work is a perfect example of how every interpretation, sensation or emotion cannot be disconnected from the experience of those who admire it.
“When you finally see with the eyes of the soul, you reveal the deepest shades of colors, those hidden lies as soft veils…” (ÂANDRA)
Art Curator Martina Viesti
ÂANDRA
SOLSTIZIO
Abha Rani Singh
First Turner, then Mondrian, then Man Ray, then Freud paint delicate bouquets of flowers, these subjects a bit ‘cute, shapes and colors that cannot leave indifferent artists. Of course everyone interprets them in their own way and the flowers brings out the appearance that is most congenial. In the Middle Ages was born the tradition that sees them decorate the pages of the illuminated codes; in the Renaissance the flowers appear in the Spring of Botticelli; in the seventeenth century the Flemish masters paint colossal floral compositions. The wonderful landscape creation of the Vietnamese artist Abha Rani Singh, frames a floral composition as a precious carpet of flowers that invests, with its kaleidoscopic and sparkling explosion of colors, the retina of the observer. The canvas excludes human presence and recalls the choice adopted by Claude Monet for the execution of his famous Nifee. “Flowers in Wild” seems to be painted “en plein air” for the realism of some details that are well compensated with some slightly rendered in an abstract key: looks almost like a work made in perspective where the floral elements are placed in the foreground compared to the background that appears blurred. A composition that emanates joy and positivity to the viewer that can investigate the depths of the artist’s soul.
Art Curator Federica D’Avanzo
Abha Rani Singh
Flowers in the wild
Ajteni Ramadani
Ajteni Ramadani is a German artist and her artistic production is mostly based on abstract canvases, through which the artist expresses immediate and pure emotions. The choice of color is fundamental: she focuses on certain shades, combined with each other, without creating a chromatic disorder. In the execution, Ramadani approaches the Informal artists of post-World War II, sometimes using dripping, just like Jackson Pollock; the artist also leaves drops of color on the canvas positioned vertically in a natural way, creating the effect of rain on the glass. On the occasion of the exhibition “Kromatic@rt” organized by M.A.D.S. art gallery, Ajteni Ramadani presents her work entitled “Tolerance” made of acrylic and tush on canvas. The painting is presented vertically and is made entirely with the palette of purple and fuchsia. The background is more delicate, as if it were a beige marble, made from soft spatulates. Also here, Ramadani makes sketches with the brush, giving immediacy to the canvas. Drops of color flow from the right side of the canvas, symbolizing pain. Visually, the canvas takes the viewer on a visual journey: starting from the upper right corner, then moving to the left, in which are concentrated splashes of white and spatulate of fuchsia, and then ending in the lower right, where most of the color is concentrated. What is perceptible is a desire for peace, tolerance, just as expressed in the title. The work also lends itself to a function of furniture, to give peace and tranquility to the environment.
Art Curator Giorgia Massari
Ajteni Ramadani
Tolerance
AKI SAN
The consequences of a fracture. A surface, a link, a space that breaks, shatters and irretrievably loses its reason for being, the sense of its existence. Rupture is an ambivalent concept that presupposes the existence of something that in a given temporal parenthesis has been whole and entire. In its completeness, in its finite and definitive form, this something has constructed its own meaning, its own motivation to justify its existence in the world. Everything flows smoothly, no modifications and no changes taking place for any given period of time. The repetition of days that are always the same is in itself comforting; the hours flow placidly, the days have a relaxed and peaceful rhythm, spring-like noon after the dark winter. Yet something breaks, something ceases to be what it was. A sudden flash of lightning upsets the placid river of habit, the seraphic period of imperturbable certainty built on days, acquaintances and invariable, stationary things. With the rupture of this “something� the world around us no longer seems the same: it is a place that has lost its qualities, its interesting characteristics that we once appreciated, it is a space deprived of the beauty and serenity that we once - that of our habitual life - appreciated. Yet, the world has not changed, the physiognomies of reality are always the same and the colors have remained unchanged in their complex and autonomous shades. The pain caused by a fracture is as strong as its comprehension is difficult. A wound on the skin is self-limiting, a collapsed building must be put back on its feet, for the dignity of those who live and have lived in it, the break with a loved one is basically attributable to a rope that has already been untied for some time, to a consummated relationship that, in the end, would have had an end.
AKI SAN
The concept of rupture is ambivalent: on the one hand it is despair, terror for the unknown, for the loss of a quiet and serene perspective of life, on the other hand it is change, it is the desire to get back into the game and discover new solutions to close this fracture. Like a dandelion that timidly emerges from a fracture in the asphalt, then the human being will also find the strength to contain the void and exploit the inconvenience to transform it into something positive, something wonderful. Akisan with his painting wants to exhort to new possibilities, to a new future to be built. A perfect and harmonious juxtaposition of colors, thick and wide brushstrokes make up the composition of the work. A creation that sees in the superimposition of layers of dense acrylic pigment its reason for being, its expressive power. The color is smeared and, mixed in its infinite gradations stands out on the canvas with an incredible expressive power. It is the strength of pure color, dense, direct and exhaustive in its reason for being. Fractures peep out from this large amount of paint: small holes caused by a color peeled by the mechanical stresses of the creative process. And yet, behind these fractures there is no void, no black and not even an undefined color. We find color once again, full, intense and proud in its authoritative expressiveness. The fracture has infinite possibilities for healing and Akisan who is aware of this teaches us through the vision of S Series, a hymn to change, to hope in the dark, to a new life.
Art Curator Lisa Galletti
AKI SAN
Sap. 2020
AKI SAN
Spi. 2020
Alessandra Deodati “I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way... things I had no words for” (Georgia O’Keeffe) Alessandra Deodati is a self-taught contemporary artist, soon to be medical doctor, who lives and studies in Rome. In late 2019, Alessandra realized a strong urge to overcome the cruel sense of pragmatism -developed by science studies- into creativity. It was then that she discovered and began to experiment with the technique of “pouring” art. This was a crucial point in her life: as a pleasant breath of fresh air, fluid art allowed her to explore the depths of her imagination. In fact, many years of monotonous concreteness gave voice to an explosion of colors and to an overwhelming rediscovery of her creativity. Whatever was being held back became an unstoppable flow. In an outburst of energy, she began to paint every day, and this gave rise to a new collection of artworks she calls “Rebirth”. Her paintings are characterized by vivid colors and flowery scenery, with a sense of wellbeing and blossoming transpiring through a “sculpture of color”. As it is visible in Iris, the technique used by the artist recalls Pollock’s use of colors. It’s a kind of abstract expressionism that develops like a bloom on the canvas with warm chromatisme (such as orange, red, purple etc.) and a line that divides the picture into two, black and white, as if to underline the omnipresent dualism that inhabits the ideas of the world. But what does Iris represent? In Greek mythology, Iris is the personification and goddess of the rainbow and messenger of the gods. According to legend, she had beautiful wings and a coat of many colors, which would create rainbows as she travelled, carrying messages from the gods of Mount Olympus to Earth. Thus, the fluctuating and fluid image of a goddess takes hold of Alessandra’s canvas, taking us into a delicate, airy and abstract dimension. This fluid representation of images and emotions allows Alessandra to explore her creativity and imagination, as she said: “Fluid art represents the embodiment of endless possibilities”.
Art Curator Cecilia Brambilla
Alessandra Deodati
Iris
Alexander Gassilewski “Blue awakens simple and untruthful hearts” (Boys Be) The meeting with the work of the artist Alexander is a sort of immersion: a dip in deep water, a bath in the bright and material blue, and above all a launch towards intense emotions. The blue color, in fact, invites you to embark on a deep journey, observing it means getting lost indefinitely, as this shade creates a perpetual motion in the soul. The Swedish artist Alexander through his work evokes to the mind a piece of history, that is the largest naval battle of the Second World War, the one that took place off the island of Samar between the Japanese and American fleets. Alexander’s work leads us to discover those abysses, where treasures are hidden. The softness of the work perfectly outlines the idea of rediscovered wealth, to be cleaned, where the passage of time and water has created deposits and debris. At the same time the blue gives to the observer the idea of depth, abyss and stillness below the mainland. In fact, the use of this color makes the viewer a true traveler, in the imaginary space of an infinite ocean and in time since it recalls the great masters of the past. Starting with the mosaics of the starry vaults in Ravenna, up to Picasso and the famous “blue period”, the color protagonist of important works such as “The Life”. Of course, Yves Klein immediately springs to mind who created his own blue and made it a lifestyle and art. But undoubtedly, the Swedish artist’s work refers to informal art, in particular to material painting. Alexander’s work is not only full of color, mellowness and real matter, it is certainly imbued with an emotional charge and a strong evocative power. His work, from what is the aesthetics of the form becomes the aesthetics of the sensibility, the senses of the user are lost where memories and emotions emerge. The materiality of the work becomes an explosion, the color is alive, it occupies space, not only on a flat surface, itself becomes three-dimensional, it moves, runs through the work and comes out of it to touch the strings of the soul of the person, watching them. Definitely, Alexander through his work makes us travelers as Ulysses sailed towards the unknown, driven by the speed of knowing, so we are driven by the tide of emotions that the work arouses and we set out to discover ourselves.
Art Curator Vanessa Viti
Alexander Gassilewski
Samar Treasure
Alexandra Papadopoulou
Alexandra Papadopoulou is a self-taught artist based in Greece. Her artistic production is mainly based on the realization of female bodies, despite the artist is constantly looking for new stimuli and experimentation. Alexandra presents at M.A.D.S. art gallery her latest work, entitled “Healing. Never forget”. The work represents a naked woman, positioned in the center of the canvas. The background is visually divided in two part: the upper part is of a purposeful red, recalling “Rosso plastica “ by the Italian artist Alberto Burri; while the lower part is blue, almost to calm the tension that the red has unleashed in the observer. Let’s consider the woman’s body: nude is certainly a fundamental component in the history of art, here proposed by Papadopoulou in a gentle and soft pose, free from sexual provocations. The softness of the forms is taken from the Renaissance, especially from the female bodies painted by Titian (as in “Venus and the lute player”). The lights and shadows are recreated by the artist using blue, red and yellow, a technique used by one of the major representatives of erotic nude: Egon Schiele. However, the particularity of this painting is expressed by the element that never, until last year, had been used in the art: the mask. A new accessory that has become an integral part of our lives due to the worldwide pandemic dictated by the spread of Covid-19. The woman, therefore, has half a face covered and her eyes are closed, thus hiding her identity. In this sense the work assumes a contemporary connotation: it is naked, does not wear anything except the mask. It represents human powerlessness in the face of disease, the desolation to which we have been subjected, the confinement within a room. However, the title “Healing” alludes to a positivity, to a silver lining, just like the blue flow present in the lower part of the painting: a river that will take away evil and purify our lives.
Art Curator Giorgia Massari
Alexandra Papadopoulou
Healing, Never Forget
Alicia Zemanek
Alicia Zemanek is a self-taught artist, who lives between Luxembourg and Florida. Her artistic production is characterized by bright colors and by her remarkable graphic imprint. She makes most of her works in oil but she is always looking for new methods of experimentation. In 2019 she began her first series called “Les precieuses” in which she was inspired by the fashion houses Dolce&Gabbana and Versace. On the occasion of the exhibition “Kromatic@rt” organized by M.A.D.S. art gallery, Alicia Zemanek presents her work entitled “Dia de los muertos” in which a Mexican skull is the undisputed protagonist. This is a composition in which dark colors prevail: purple and black are in sharp contrast with gold, creating an elegant effect. The preciousness perceived by the painting is accentuated even more by the diamonds and colored flowers that compose the skull. The inspiration comes from the collection inspired by Frida Kahlo presented by Dolce&Gabbana in 2018 in Mexico City. The fashion house honored the artist and her homeland, Mexico, making a t-shirt with the Mexican flag, dresses with floral fabrics and parading the models adorned with flowers. Zemanek is inspired by this collection, creating the Mexican skull made of flowers, diamonds and especially eagles, thus also recalling the Mexican flag. The work is made in detail, giving equal importance to both meaning and aesthetics, thus gathering the teaching of Art Nouveau artists, who made Decorative Art their mission.
Art Curator Giorgia Massari
Alicia Zemanek
Dia de los muertos
Alin Sookezian
The Armenian abstract thinker Alin Sookezian loves to express her thoughts and emotions through painting colors, and sometimes using mixed media too. The strong colors and the reflection of the real feelings of human beings are the elements that attract the viewer and represent, without doubts, the artist’s signature. The work here exhibited titled “Hidden Colors” represents - by way of instinctive brush strokes on canvas - the reflection of her feelings, memories and experiences that come out exactly in the moment she draws. Concerning the conception of the artist herself about the power of the artistic act, colors are seen as important elements that are able to create something felt and full of personality. Recalling the artistic technique of the action painting, Alin in a dynamic way expresses herself and her thoughts that she can’t normally spread. Looking at the painting what stands out immediately is the black ink that holds together the whole scene full of spots of brilliant colors that create an animated background made up of abstract figures that, as the name of the paint suggests, are hidden behind the colors’ strength. The piece can be read as a spur for those who are in the habit of shutting themselves away and refuse to act in frankness.
Art Curator Martina Stagi
Alin Sookezian
Hiden Colors
André Romijn
“I love creating aesthetic art. Beautiful art, which is a joy to look at, to create a feeling of happiness. That is what female portraiture does for me and by sharing my works, I do hope it will give the same pleasure to the viewer.” The three portraits the artist André exhibits in M.A.D.S. art gallery during “KROMATIC@RT “ exibition have a woman as the main character but, each one, is depicted with different colors that have the power to lend different emotions and feelings to the viewers. “Europa” that is part of a diptych called “There is a sea between us” is a black woman whose face occupies the main role of the piece, put into the foreground as to focus the attention on the details. What is first visible looking at this woman are the big and black eyes that seem watching at the observer deeply. This gaze allows to be half-seen smile that is hidden from the chubby mouth thanks to the light given by the brilliant colors of the faint makeup. The artist’s choice to use shiny and cold colors for the background let imagine that his aim was to exalt the feminine figure and her feelings that can be easily perceived. The same intense look is the characteristic of “Elvira” that with her green and small eyes spreads a brilliant atmosphere given also by the almost gold foreground that calls to mind the “Giuditta” of the Austrian artist Klimt. In this case, the play of colors gives great importance to the thick head of hair of the woman that is worn in a ponytail that underlines the facial features and the fair skin that blends with the white t-shirt. Colder results in the atmosphere given by the colors used for the “Rose Hips” portrait. The main character of this last work seems to be the head of blond hair of the woman in which there are some red rosa canina twigs as a sort of modern ornament. Rose here seems to be very confident with herself and the hand leans on the thin neck is an example of her skill in posing. The lights used by the artist to depict the background are used to emphasize the girl’s nude and pure body. Inspired by many classic painters, André blends traditional painting techniques with a contemporary twist: he paints with oils with cold wax as medium as the italian painter Antonio Mancini did.
Art Curator Martina Stagi
AndrĂŠ Romijn
Elvira
AndrĂŠ Romijn
Europa
André Romijn
Rose Hips
Andrés López Blasco
Andrés Lopez Blasco’s paintings stand out for their expressivity in color. With a marked influence of surrealist psychology, each painting realized with the technique of the acrylic color on canvas is the representation of something felt by the artist himself, the transparency of the artist’s emotions and his spontaneity. More than real and defined subject Andrés in his artworks makes of the colors the main characters of the paintings, usually on a colorful background - made up by hues of brilliant colors – he paints the canvas with rapid, thick and solid brush strokes. “Colision” the first work exposed at M.A.D.S. art gallery during the exhibition “KROMATIC@ RT” shows the characteristics defined above. Here, giving preference to colors and simplicity as well, the two opposed forces represented by the different hues are in collision leaving a trace of suffered damage. The same concept that is linked to real life and nowadays society - influenced by any kind of thoughts and beliefs of any subject -, is visible also in “Atraccion II” where a centrifugal and colorful attraction fluctuates towards the center of the image blurring its original alignment. Facing up to a swayed society the artist realizes “Insercion”. This artwork represents mental strength facing adversity. These two characteristics that call to mind human sensibility, assume here the features of colors: orange and black representing different and discordant circumstances that are going to join reaching the grey, on the right corner of the piece.
Andrés López Blasco
With a contemporary style of painting, the action painting, Andrés draws his biggest works that have the same social themes of the first ones but that hid a clear and felt message. In the work titled “Singularidad” – term that recalls the astronomical theory for which the singularity is everything that can be hardly explained – all the subjects here represented, among them a woman, are blurred and pushed to the left corner of the piece by the strength of the colors that are the same nuances of hot colors that can be found in “Guardian” where the main subject, precisely the guardian, is a bear depicted in yellow that fights against the tempest of colors that trickles from above the painting. These works, created after five months of quarantine appeals to the solidarity that, in times of difficulties gathers everyone and that here is represented by the thin and curvilinear line as if it was a strand that puts in contact all the elements in the work. Solidarity, is an attitude that should become something spontaneous and simple to which everyone should be grateful for. In “Jardin de las ideas” a single color, the yellow, represents “the world”, mobilized by a constant revolution of ideas and images that come and go without any meaning evolving without apparent control. This last interpretation refers again to society and her superficiality and the painting itself is a way with which the artist wants to bring his viewers to think about how the current situation can change and be simplest if everyone will concentrate on the small thing.
Art Curator Martina Stagi
Andrés López Blasco
Colisión
Andrés López Blasco
Atracción II
Andrés López Blasco
Inserción
Andrés López Blasco
Singularidad
Andrés López Blasco
Guardián
Andrés López Blasco
Jardín de las Ideas
Anna Romero
Spanish artist Anna Romero dedicated her life to fashion and dance studies, her two greatest passions. They have always coexisted with her artistic vocation, remained buried for years but then re-emerged in 2019, when she takes up palette and brushes and begins to devote herself to painting. Her fashion studies, consolidate in some way her propensity to design female bodies. In the meantime, her passion for dance influences Anna in making works strongly connected with this reality. The result of this union is evident in two of the three works that the artist presents at M.A.D.S. art gallery: “SI PODRÍA DECIRTE LO QUE SE SIENTE, NO VALDRÍA LA PENA BAILARLO” (literally: “IF I COULD TELL YOU HOW IT FEELS, IT WOULDN’T BE WORTH DANCING TO”) and “Danzad, malditos danzad” (literally: “Dance, curse dance”). The first painting shows the silhouette of a ballet dancer in flight on an ochre yellow background, rendered by brushstrokes full of gestures. The peculiarity of the work lies in the lower part of the painting: some lines barely hint at an urban setting, almost as if it were a draft of an architect. It is interesting therefore the contrast between a well-made figure like that of the dancer and the city only hinted at: almost to indicate the supremacy of art in every where. The second above-mentioned work, once again shows components of ballet, this time focusing on the dancer’s feet and legs. It is a more intimate work, which reveals difficulties. The choice to use blue as the prevailing color gives the work a melancholy connotation, almost nostalgic. What is interesting in Romero’s art is the perfect combination of figurativism and abstractionism, with which the artist creates the background and the dancer’s dress, approaching her greatest teacher: Miquel Barcelo. The last painting in the exhibition is entitled “MIS PILAR3S” and is completely different from the first two analyzed here. The latter is a painting that pays homage to the artist’s paradise and her adopted land: Formentera. It is a painting that evokes peace and tranquility and conveys what the artist felt in painting it: a gentle sea breeze that caresses the skin and the sun that warms it. However, despite the difference from an iconographic point of view, Romero reproposes the style of previous backgrounds also in this work, following the teachings of Barcelo and Alberto Burri regarding the roughness of painting, left to dry in large quantities directly on the canvas.
Art Curator Giorgia Massari
Anna Romero
Danzad, malditos danzad
Anna Romero
MIS PILAR3S
Anna Romero
SI PODRÍA DECIRTE LO QUE SE SIENTE, NO VALDRÍA LA PENA BAILARLO
Anne-Sophie Brilland “Run to brilliance.Sprint to excellence.Soar to transcendence” ( Matshona Dhliwayo )
Anne Sophie Brilland is a plastic arts teacher and graduated from the Ecole Superieure des Beaux-Arts in Angers in France, where she now lives and works in Bruz. Her two paintings arise from a series of researches around the notion of transcendence.This “soul” expresses itself and manifests itself in two different ways and points of view: that of the creator and that of the perceiver. This soul that starts from the artist, it’s impressed in the work and reaches the perceiver, is expressed above all in an energetic form. This energy that testifies to the presence of Anne’s spirit, or rather is the trace of her intentionality, is transcendental, meaning, it crosses the times and spaces of the mortal physical body, we can define it as pure awareness or universal transcendental. This pure awareness, finally, manifests itself in every human act and in every discipline that aspires and aims to transcendence, recognising that between one individual and another there are no barriers, but we are all part of a single energetic universe and in continuous transformation.
Anne-Sophie Brilland
She paints the bodies of women seeking freedom, they move towards mutation through connection with themselves and the surrounding space by connecting to something greater than themselves. Through the use of watercolor, the technique chosen specifically to play on transparencies and through the study of different postures and the movement of the female body, Anne intends to bring out the essence of being .The motion, the line, the shape and the color reveal the spiritual energy of these women. “Transcendence 1” expresses the elevation of the woman to a transcendence state. The choice of the soft color of her complexion flanked by orange symbolises the purity of the soul accompanied by the flow of her vital energy. In the second work “Transcendence 2” the green aspires to obtain a certain vibration. With the gaze directed towards the heart it shows and reveals its intimacy, its interiority. Works that appear to us as the triumph of immanence of the will to remain, of possession, of attachment, are an expression of the victory of the nonsense of death over the meaning of life.
Art Curator Erika Gravante
Anne-Sophie Brilland
Transcendance 1
Anne-Sophie Brilland
Transcendance 2
Antonio Bagia
Starry starry night, uh... Don Mclean sang in the seventies referring to the starry skies of Van Gogh, whose violence of lights and stars, vibrant and violent, represent the celestial landscape in its complete harmony. But when does the sky begin to be represented? The link between the art and the observation of the sky, the celestial bodies that fill it and their influence on the life of man was established in remote times. In the book of the Iliad the shield of Achilles which had five areas and many ornaments with his wise thoughts. He made there the earth, the sky and the sea, the tireless sun and the full moon, and all the signs that crown the sky. We can therefore say that the oldest work of art with a representation of the sky and its constellations is attributable to the time of the Gods. And so myth and science give life to images that seem to have remained unchanged until the Renaissance with Giotto, who for the bell tower of Florence, realizes the correspondences between planets and man. But the astrological iconography, the zodiac, the planets and the various constellations are represented in an increasingly current form. This is the case of the artist Antonio Bagia, passionate about celestial stars. “Kepler 186 F”, “INANNA, Queen of Heaven and Earth”, are in fact the two titles of his works that narrate the heavenly world. A narration that means to evoke, browse through the books of memory trying to distinguish, precisely, what identifies and how the sky is built, whose history is also the history of the landscape that starts from the Venetian painting of Canaletto up to the impressionists. Different is “Free Will Is Not Free” that unlike the first two seems to stop on the ground, in the skyscrapers of a metropolitan city. In these works of a purely hyperrealistic mold, Bagia through the use of colors from form to the laws of Kepler, to Queen Inanna, to freedom. Its chromatic shades alternate with a firm palette and decided by the warm shades of red and orange or blue and blue.
Art Curator Federica D’Avanzo
Antonio Bagia
Free Will is not Free
Antonio Bagia
INANNA, Queen of Heaven and Earth
Antonio Bagia
KEPLER 186 F
Aránzazu Ulrich
Passion for hands is not a very long story that begins with the history of man. One of the oldest representations that exists, in fact, is that of handprints. And, after thousands of years, the hands continue to be the object of attention by the artists. Bruno Munari, brilliant artist and father of a real methodology for the teaching of art, in 1994 he had published a supplement to add to the Italian dictionary with gestures associated with different expressions. The hands of the artist, in the classification of the postures listed in the portraiture, are not however an element always present. They appear when the painter chooses to represent himself half-bust, three-quarters, or better yet full-figure in front of his work, within his studio. The hands then enter the scene, interpreting with changing postures a range of expressions, eloquent gestures, mainly connoting the role and dignity of the artist, as creator of the work of art. They become “speakers”, expressing gestures that penetrate with the viewer with whom they seek an ideal dialogue that goes beyond the times. In the works of Aránzanzu Ulrich the hand becomes the subject and for the artist means elevating it to a symbolic instrument of a new self-consciousness. It is the focal point on which the viewer is induced to focus attention before her amazing creations. Bright and majestic colors make the atmosphere magical and dreamy, where the subjects of the artist depicted speak to us, listen, express emotions. They tell stories hidden by the folds and furrows of time. They make us move around the world, giving us the opportunity to «support it». The hands, fluttering like migratory birds as in “The migration” or in “The trip” help to strengthen the message that the artist wants to communicate, underlining and highlighting with the different position, the meaning of the scene.
Art Curator Federica D’Avanzo
Aránzazu Ulrich
ORIGINAL SIN
Aránzazu Ulrich
THE EMIGRATION
Aránzazu Ulrich
THE PROTECTED
Aránzazu Ulrich
THE SEAGULLS
Aránzazu Ulrich
THE TRIP
Arnaud Verhulst “Pop Art is a way of loving things” (Andy Warhol) The works of the young French artist Arnaud celebrate characters and colors, they are a true tribute to Pop Art and represent a riot of colors that give life to unique and lively works. The artist creates a texture of captivating colors, which seem to come to life inside the figures, create volume, are well structured, they never appear flat and uniform. Shades that blend, mix, sometimes overlap and bring out the great evocative power they possess. Yves Klein stated that “... colors are living beings, highly evolved individuals and they integrate with us and with the whole world. Colors are the true inhabitants of space”. In Arnaud’s works the colors totally inhabit the space and shape it, for example in the work “Afro Pop” the hair is real and thick, made perfectly by colors that do not correspond to the truth but which convey the idea of volume. Although the colors used by the artist are not representative of reality, they are however characteristic of the characters themselves, the face of Chaplin is true, perfectly in line with the emotions of melancholy that the great actor transmitted. Arnaud skillfully uses the right shades with equally perfect brushstrokes. The artist’s artistic work is the perfect combination of Pop art, figurative and abstract art, since the colors are never spread uniformly, but Arnaud modulates them by creating abstract signs, lines and signs that find life in the inside the well-defined figures. The art of the young artist is undoubtedly a concentrate of vivacity and vitality, where vivid colors are the real protagonists, at the same time his works are full of emotions and feelings that find the right expression in the colors that Arnaud chooses. Colors that follow one another and somehow chase, one after the other, like the alternation of life; each shade creates relationships with each other just as human beings create bonds with each other. Ultimately, Arnaud’s artwork is all we need in this period, that is color, life, union and emotion. Maybe we really need a Stormtropper with a Mickey Mouse heart that will be able to take the user’s soul by storm.
“Color is a means of exerting a direct influence on the soul” (Vasilly Kandinskji)
Art Curator Vanessa Viti
Arnaud Verhulst
Afro Pop
Arnaud Verhulst
Chacha
Arnaud Verhulst
Powars
Astrid Hutengs
The watercolor colors that reveal the color or paper distinguish the style of the artist Astrid Hutengs. Her works are explosions of light charged with emotional power. A collection of female portraits made of watercolor and pencil. The intent of the artist, through these three works is to see the face of a woman, without being able to look at other, to listen to what her eyes communicate. Astrid, emphasizes the theatricality of the expression of the face to bring out what is deeper. From the pose, from the look, from the lips, emerges the visceral sensitivity, that inner sense that defines the essence of women. The element that distinguishes the subjects is the color of the hair, from pink to water green, whose different tonal gradations are obtained by the progressive dilution of the color. The transparency of the layers of very thin color and the bright areas, obtained with the white background of the paper, therefore become an integral part of Astrid’s painting. The painter and engraver Albrecht Durer (1471-1528) is traditionally considered the first master of watercolor in Europe, but are the 600 and especially the 700 centuries of its great development. The most talented watercolourist of this period is the famous English painter Joseph Turner and this technique will continue to be used, often mixed with others, even by great modern and contemporary artists, like Cézanne, well-known his “Nature morte au melon vert”Gauguin, Manet, Degas, Paul Klee, Eduard Hildebrandt, Carl Larsson.
Art Curator Federica D’Avanzo
Astrid Hutengs
A Touch of Helios
Astrid Hutengs
Achromatic with blue flower
Astrid Hutengs
Magentic
AT
The revolution advanced by the movement of Cubism in visual art is comparable to what happens in the field of scientific and philosophical research following the elaboration of the theory of relativity by Albert Einstein, through which radically change the way of understanding the reality, the means and the ends of knowledge itself. If the man of the Renaissance has a clear and orderly cognition of the world, measurable, finite, made to human measure, in the twentieth century all reality is configured as a disordered flow, a set of fragments in which not even space and time can be considered absolute parameters. Everything becomes just “relative”. Many of the Cubist artists, including Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, had been part of the Fauve movement, a radical breakthrough in their research and language. The most exemplary work of the period of collaboration with Georges Braque and “The Portrait of Ambroise Vollard”, conceived for overlapping plans. An analytical look at things and bodies, as in the case of this portrait, which consciously distances figurations from the commonly understood realism. Such an edginess emerges in King by AT, with a surreal face and decomposed by bright colors. The edges become curved and the stylized lines twist and try to dig into the introspection of a man with a proud and powerful attitude, undisputed protagonist of AT’s work. It’s not just any man. It is a King. The crown, the hairstyle and the dress are there to tell us. The texture of the colors gives particular depth to the painting that well reflects the reality of a man laden with the weight of the responsibilities of his nation and everyone.
Art Curator Federica D’Avanzo
AT
King
Atsushi Ohta “This drawing will be of enormous importance for painting. It represents a square, the embryo of all possibilities that in their development acquire an astonishing strength. It is the progenitor of the cube and the sphere, and its dissociation will make a fundamental cultural contribution to painting.” (Kazimir Malevič) For the “Kromatic@rt” exhibition at the M.A.D.S. Art Gallery in Milan, the artist Atsushi Ohta proposes three works (“Drawing a square 2”, “Drawing a square 6”, “Drawing a square 16”): the crucial points are the representation of a geometric form and the position it takes on the surface of the painting. Recalling the artist Kazimir Malevič with his “Suprematism”, Atsushi emphasizes the importance of geometry within art, giving the square a pure and innovative sensibility and drawing inspiration from the emotional and mental sphere of the human being. This form, which is also typical of Geometric Abstractionism, is completely free from any traditional element typical of painting: in this way, the artist explores and investigates only the “plastic nature” of a figure, seeking the true origin of art, namely its soul, a profound essence that leads it to be the pure representation of itself. To all of this, it is bounded the marked use of colors, which are both subject and object of the representation. Different philosophical, metaphysical and spiritual interpretations are associated with the different shades of blue, from the darkest to petrol-colored, making this tone to become the representation of light and shadow. The shape of the square is then further emphasized by the juxtaposition of vertical and horizontal lines, as if the elements could spill out from the canvas. Moreover, the white background puts evidence on each figure, making it almost three-dimensional, framing and homogenizing the overall view. The viewer is pervaded by these pure works, from which a balanced, intense, contemplative, and mystical effect emerges: it is the search for the symbolic meaning of the form and color, as well as of the concept of essentiality. This combination becomes the real character and the key to understand Atsushi Ohta’s work.
“The canvases pose questions to the viewer and induce him to meditate. If you look for the shapes long enough, you eventually mix colors and you find out the light inside them.” (Ernst Beyeler)
Art Curator Alessia Perone
Atsushi Ohta
Drawing a square 16
Atsushi Ohta
Drawing a square 2
Atsushi Ohta
Drawing a square 6
Aude Nguyen “There is no distance on this earth as far away as yesterday” (George Jean Nathan)
Aude Nguyen is a French artist of Vietnamese origin. She graduated in Psychology and specialized in Art Therapy. To create her art, Aude draws inspiration from personal photographs taken during her travels. References to Asia often recur in her works and her painting “In memory of Vietnam” is inspired by an old family photo of Vietnam before the exile. In her artwork, we find warm and cold colors that blend together creating a chiaroscuro sought desired by the artist. From the background, we find human figures emerging, painted in a delicate and sometimes stylized way, which seem to represent a habitual urban scene. The female figure that we find in the foreground, instead is characterized by more vivid colors thus becoming the protagonist. In fact, the anonymity of her figures and femininity are recurring themes in her paintings, conveyed by the use of shaded colors and undefined contours. Her emotions and her memories are enhanced by observing her work, contemplating a timeless, suspended daily scene belonging to a distant place. A nostalgic memory of a distance made of contrasting colors and feelings.
Art Curator Elita Borgogelli
Aude Nguyen
In memory of Vietnam
Austin Jackson (Trippy Everything)
Austin Jackson (Trippy Everything) creates psychedelic artworks, exactly as the video presented at the “Kromatic@ rt” exhibition at the M.A.D.S. Art Gallery in Milan. In “Age of Wonder”, the artist opens the door to a new dimension, according to the principle of “fractals”: numerous and detailed geometric objects are repeated, whose dilate and contract while maintaining their shapes on different proportional scales. Fractals frequently appear in the study of dynamical systems, in the definition of curves or ensembles, and in the chaos’ theory, often described with algorithms or equations. By calculating different mathematical functions, the artist turns the results into images, animations, music or other forms of artistic expression. The melody used is crucial, as it is even associated with the figures reproduced, so as to create elements that follow each other in unison. For example, according to physicist Richard Taylor, Jackson Pollock’s painting can also be considered to have a fractal texture, being able to measure the painter’s entire output by detecting a changing and growing dimension over the time. But, what about the viewer’s perception? Austin shows us that each individual can see and capture different images, colors and evolutions. The power of the imagination, which sets no limits with the different compositions that man is able to generate, can artistically realize new horizons, open, free and fluctuating, as the creative action produces a multiplicity of combinations of figures, tones and movements. Everything is generated from consciousness, from knowledge, from reality, but above all from the “preconscious”, from intuition or perceptions, right down to the first elements of the universe. Austin creates a multidimensional and sensorial work in which feelings, emotions and moods emerge energetically, capturing the viewer’s attention. In all this, it is clear that every expression, either of the artist or the viewer, blends with the forms present in the time-space continuum. Such visual images are universally observed, and each individual deeply grasps them as a personal event, thus constituting a phenomenon of great collective harmony on an optical-perceptual level.
Art Curator Alessia Perone
Austin Jackson (Trippy Everything)
Age of Wonder
Bana Moureiden “We all have our time machines. Some take us back, and they’re called memories. Some take us forward, and they’re called dreams” (Jeremy Irons) Bana’s work is a journey through memories and dreams. The colors that she uses on the canvas are sober, simple, velvety and evoke in the mind a certain type of tranquility, given by the calming effect that they themselves play. Soft colors that not only give tranquility, but also to evoke memories that mix with dreams and future projects. The viewer who finds himself in front of the artist’s work experiences the same sensations that are experienced sitting by the sea, the colors that Bana uses seem to come out of the sea foam, it almost seems to hear the sound of water and breaking of the waves. The colors themselves become like waves of the sea, they meet and collide, and the observer gets lost, loses his gaze to free the mind and heart. As any person in front of the sea frees the soul, looking at infinity manages to bring out dormant memories, so happens to the observer who looks at Bana’s work. Not only is she able to bring back memories, but also to make us reflect on what will come, on the future, the artist gives positivity, the soft colors she uses certainly give a confident look on the world and the future. Bana’s art is undoubtedly of an abstract and informal matrix, in his works there is no line, no sign, there are no figures or shapes, it is total abstraction, only the color is the protagonist, it is who plays a fundamental role and the artist is able to use it in an exceptional way. Color in Bana’s art becomes a “creative moment” in its pure state, it almost becomes a cult, creating a completely structured work on color without apparent form can generate strong emotion. Her work refers to the motto “quid e ora”, total freedom of expression, spontaneous and intense. The colors arouse emotions in the people who observe them, each shade has a meaning and a value, in Bana’s work we find delicate colors that caress the soul of the observer, the pink that blends with the blue in such a delicate way , make the work romantic and moving. Ultimately Bana’s work is a breath of freshness, it is emotionality, it is what we need in days like the ones we are living, in which we are often denied the color of everyday life. “Aura” represents the window to observe the future ahead of us with positivity and joy.
“Life is beautiful, because every day it starts again. And each has its colors, its music, its scents.” (Agostino Degas)
Art Curator Vanessa Viti
Bana Moureiden
Aura
Banaza “Color! What a deep and mystrious language, the language of dreams.”(Paul Gaguin) Myriam BouFagua, in art ‘Banaza’, is a promising young artist. A world citizen and thirsty for knowledge, she creates works with an original style by mixing various media together. An endless search between techniques and different artistic influences. In her work “Bonnalie” she creates a research in both colour and composition. Colour is explored in all its forms, creating a new and expressive composition. Touches of light try to emerge among the yellows and purples. A strong work, of impact but at the same time emblematic. A sort of rebus to be solved in which the answers are to be found within the human soul. A rebus hidden among the colours, using black as the medium. Black, with its decisive stroke, creates signs, letters, writings. Everything appears as a coded message that the artist wants to leave for the viewer to solve. The title sounds like a melody and recalls the name of a flower. In fact, “Bonnalie” is composed as a flowery meadow full of fantasy and hidden emotions. This is where the contrast arises. The work is as beautiful and delicate as it is mysterious and enigmatic. The colour claims its space, drips, creates signs and nuances. The layering appears homogeneous and soft, the composition harmonious as a whole. As delicate as a primrose and as luminous as a dandelion. A contrast that highlights the double soul in the human being, as fragile as it is complex. The two complementary colours of yellow and violet play a leading role in the work. Yellow is a symbol of sunlight and vital energy. Purple embodies wisdom, mystery and metamorphosis. Two opposites that in this case attract and create a perfect combination. In terms of structure, there are undoubtedly several sources of inspiration. There is a clear reference to Pollock’s action painting, which is here re-proposed in a more modern key, almost like street art. The canvas, with dripping, becomes the stage for a psychophysical, emotional and gestural performance. The artist is guided by creativity, gestures and intuition. She draws on her own visual experiences. Banaza applies colour with the utmost spontaneity without any apparent formal calculations, trying to go beyond the conditioning of the psyche. The work is explosive, new. The viewer is completely captivated by the force of the colours and the black marks that are repeated on the canvas and generate a hidden mystery. A timeless, gestural combination that places Banaza’s creativity and inimitable style at the centre.
Art Curator Ilaria Falchetti
Banaza
Bonnalie
Baraa Alsamarai
Baraa Alsamarai is an American-based artist who lives in Austin, Texas. Colors have always been a key feature not only in his artistic production but also in his daily life, as they have helped him to develop a unique vision of the world. Colors could be defined as the most valid and relevant expressive tools to depict a frame of mind. Thanks to their expressive strength and their capability of not verbal communication they are able to portray always new sensations such as happiness, quiet or energy. Their unspeakable power has focalized Alsamarai’s artistic production since the beginning, allowing him to create a personal style that he has translated into different mediums, focusing on the digital one in the last period. The digital medium appears to be as the perfect vehicle to express his never-ending imagination, a powerful tool that enable to convey a personal elegant representation of the reality; a field test, subject matter of a creative process that let the artist reach the desired result. Baraa Alsamarai has established with the digital medium an unbeatable fellowship, cleverly declined in the three artworks selected for the exhibition. Firstly, “Heavenly bird”, could be seen as the exemplification of Alsamarai’s artistic research. The picture unifies his inclination for bright color palette and geometrical representations with a nearly figurative approach. As a result, the viewer is drawn into an imaginary pleasant world, which its balance reminds a still life painting, or an artwork tracing back to the geometric abstractionism period, such as those depicted by the Italian artist Emilio Pettoruti. A more abstract approach could be detached in the second artwork proposed: “River eye”. The artist gets rid of any pre-established representation scheme creating an immersive colorful artistic dimension by using different colors and shapes. The last work exhibited is “The big boss”, an artwork that could stand in by itself from the other ones proposed. The artwork conveys, in fact, both the abstract and the figurative process generating a vivid dimension in which we can identify some of the patterns of the artist production such as vivid tones, forms and thin lines. Colors and shapes contribute to create independent universes moved by the viewer’s gaze. Every look reveals and creates something new, a new story.
“Color is all. When color is right, form is right as well. Color is everything, color is vibration like music; everything is vibration.” (Marc Chagall).
Art Curator Anna Panizza
Baraa Alsamarai
Heavenly bird
Baraa Alsamarai
River eye
Baraa Alsamarai
The big boss
Barbara Vogel
White, black and grey invade the canvas by Barbara Vogel. A pictorial explosion that reaches the eye and heart of the spectator. An imperfect and abstract circular shape that alternates dark moments with shiny moments with light brushstrokes of a light yellow. “Blown circle” represents in technical terms a set of lines that do not describe and do not contain but simply exist as an autonomous event that reproduces on the canvas the movements of the artist’s body. The line thins or thickens, acquires speed or flows slowly, and its appearance changes depending on the randomness with which the painting is arranged, dripping, forming shapes. Large areas of breath that allow the bottom of the canvas to leak thanks to a greater chromatic order obtained using a narrower range of colors. Homogeneous forms, therefore, synthesize the expression of the inner world of Barbara and her irrational search to express emotions, feelings through spontaneous gestures and devoid of any study and premeditation. A bit like it happens, in general terms, for all the expressionist current of artists like Pollock, both in the use of colors and in abstract forms. For the American artist the need to leave a visible trace of existence is the ultimate purpose of his painting.
Art Curator Federica D’Avanzo
Barbara Vogel
Blown circle
Bianca Lever
Bianca Lever was born in the Netherlands, she is a full time painter and lives most of the time in Italy in Sassoferrato where she has her own studio. Lever mainly realizes her works in mixed media, especially she uses spray paint, acrylic and oil on canvas. Her artistic production is mainly focused on making realistic portraits. The peculiarity of her works is that they are so realistic that they resemble photographs. The artist inserts bright colors in each of her realizations, through which she transmits energy and positivity. An example of this are the three works exhibited at M.A.D.S. art gallery during “Kromatic@rt” exhibition: “Graffiti girl”, “Touched by the Light” and “I Like”. All three depict three women, Lever’s favorite subject. The most emblematic is the painting entitled “I Like”: it depicts a woman drinking a glass of milk and above her a small cloud inscribes the title. The graphic imprint is evident, as well as a clear reference to Pop art of the 1960s. In particular, Lever is inspired by Roy Lichtenstein, a Pop artist who created works inspired by the graphic of comics, also reporting the dotted effect that the print of newspapers created. This effect is also found in the work of Lever that replaces the background dots with small red hearts.The other two works are less graphic with a more realistic footprint. The artist here plays on the backgrounds: in the case of “Graffiti girl” enrolls the girl in an underground environment, surrounding it with graffiti made with spray paint on canvas; in the case of “Touched by the Light” the subject is accentuated by the artist’s choice to create a background composed of colored lines, which in a sense recreate a psychedelic effect, reminding us of the psychedelic artists of the ‘60s. Lever’s art is therefore a graphic and realistic art in which the technicality and meticulous attention to detail meet the imagination.
Art Curator Giorgia Massari
Bianca Lever
Graffiti Girl
Bianca Lever
I Like
Bianca Lever
Touched By The Light
Birgit Weinerth
Birgit Maria Weinerth is an extremely creative German artist. Her unique style, full of different artistic influences, is a truly intimate and reflective journey into the emotions. The colours used by the painter are full, energetic and full of unexplored emotions. She does not only use acrylics in her works, but enriches her style through the original use of materials that create particular and refined textures and three-dimensionality. An imaginative and well-balanced experimental technique within his works. His creations have a rational but at the same time creative structure. This may seem paradoxical, but it is precisely the element that makes his works intriguing. Although he allows his creativity to run wild with bright and brilliant colours, he maintains a clean and balanced structure. In his work ‘The game’, all this is visible. Geometrical shapes alternate, creating a sort of cycle, an emotional motion driven by bright colours. Red, green and blue form the background to the strong emotions evoked by the work. The undisputed protagonists are black and white, which alternate as if in search of an emotional balance. A stylised figure with human features puts man at the centre of the reflection. The painting evokes a constant search for an emotion, a state of mind. The constant search for oneself, for one’s purpose in this world of obstacles in which the only thing that saves us is art, the shapes and colours with which everyone creates their existence. Birgit paints in an intriguing way, almost evoking a dreamlike dimension. The viewer, looking at the work, cannot help but look inside himself. The human soul is laid bare here. There are clear references to avant-garde artistic currents such as Expressionism and Cubism, from which the artist takes his decisive line, structure and use of synthesised geometric shapes. The colours are few, simple and essential, but their combination creates something new. An interplay of simple shapes that are related to each other. The synthesis of shapes recalls the mental aspect of painting, the purest and most intimate aspect. An artist who is constantly looking for stimuli to transform into extraordinary works and enrich her precious journey. Guided by spontaneity and genuine creativity, Birgit plays with the strength of primary colours, with the light generated by white and the disruptive force of black. An extremely instinctive work, gestural but at the same time studied. Life is a journey, a “game” as the work itself indicates. A game of light and shadows where mystery and dynamism are mixed to obtain unusual and expressive combinations such as those created by Birgit in her work.
“Painting is just another way of keeping a diary” (Pablo Picasso)
Art Curator Ilaria Falchetti
Birgit Weinerth
The Game
Blair Treuer Blair Treuer is an American textile artist, she’s the only non-Native American member of her family. Her children’s participation in a traditional healing ceremony required her to make blankets as an offering. The process itself was spiritual for her. It was the only way she could contribute as a non-native. She herself says: “I poured everything I had into them. I taught myself this art form and I cannot let this love affair with fabric go”. Starting from this experience, Blair Treuer begins to create a sort of tapestries that become real works of art: she attaches her fabric to a wire cage which gives them a sculptural quality on the wall, it’s hard to give them a specific term because Blair’s art is something innovative and unique. The threads and fabrics are her colors and the thread is her brush. Her artistic production focuses mainly on the creation of portraits in which colors are the real protagonists. The fabrics are juxtaposed and positioned as if they were small brushstrokes of color, recalling the technique of the Impressionist artists. Just like the Impressionists, Blair Treuer does not design her works before the realization but lets herself be guided by instinct, as if her hands moved alone, guided by the spirit. She herself says that only when the work is finished she asks herself: “What does this mean?”. The meaning that the artist gives to the work presented at M.A.D.S. art gallery is very deep. The work is titled “Daughter” and portrays one of her daughters. Innocence and purity are clearly perceptible by the child’s gaze as she looks at a bird flying beside her, but what lies behind this work is the fear of a mother who sees her daughter grow and her body changes. Blair Treuer wants to bring out with this work the silent epidemic in the U.S. and Canada of missing and murdered indigenous women. The fear is represented by the black background, which also invades the body of the child, suggesting on the one hand the darkness that could take over her and on the other hand symbolizes the mother’s will to protect her, even though she knows she can’t do it forever. Blair Treuer thus launches a strong message of protest against these abuses, an invitation to people to reflect and concretely do something to change the world we are leaving to our children.
Art Curator Giorgia Massari
Blair Treuer
Daughter
Breda Stack “To me colors are living beings, highly evolved individuals who integrate with us and with the whole world. Colors are the true inhabitants of space.” (Yves Klein) Breda Stack (Lightbridge Art) is an Irish artist who creates abstract, lively and colorful works of art. Through her paintings, she brings out all the deep feelings of the viewer, involving him within the individual canvases, in a vortex of tones composed of numerous pigments and pure feelings. Breda’s creative spirit is clearly visible in every brushstroke and nuance, by energetically awakening the viewer’s dormant soul. The artist invites the viewer to dive into another dimension filled with love, light and joy. Fascinated by extraordinary fresh shapes and colors, Breda’s way of representing the world around her undoubtedly recalls the works of past artists, such as the famous paintings of Claude Monet, passing through those of Expressionism and Fauvism. She observes and reproduces elements from nature, which it is so lush and precious, to better understand and preserve them. Her style encompasses inventiveness and imagination, allowing the mind to interact in the unknown and endless possibilities of a universe made up of authentic pictorial matter. Based on chromatic harmony and the symbolic value that stands out from the surface, she depicts and serenely conveys positive emotions and thoughts. Exactly as in the works presented in the “Kromatic@rt” exhibition, in “Angel Walk” there is an intense purple hue, which becomes the protagonist of the entire work. This shade has a very significant aspect: in addition to evoking spirituality and everything that connects us to our deepest soul, she helps the viewer to immerse himself in a mysterious and mystical atmosphere. The addition of a particularly bright pink is accompanied by a slight movement given by the different brushstrokes. Finally, the presence of teal and cobalt give the canvas an “artist” touch, as they are also being used in the next two works. In fact, in “Blue Float” the artist gives ample space to these colors, so intense and full of vitality. The white beam of light represents the most striking element that crosses the pictorial surface diagonally, as to create an imaginary line between the sky and the sea, going beyond the horizon and that boundless floating expanse. This “separation” is purely visual, exactly as in reality, where each element blends into the other. Finally, in “Cosmic Flame” the artist wishes to emphasize the immensity and beauty of the universe, which is composed of numerous constellations and billions of shades of color. Here, the most significant aspect lies in the power of nature and the cosmos, which reveal a particular strength and energy that fascinates the viewer. In these vibrant colors are present the unity and totality of existence, the search for a visual experience as a crucial act, as the painting manages to trigger opticalperceptual sensations.
“Colors, as shapes, follow the changes of emotions.” (Pablo Picasso)
Art Curator Alessia Perone
Breda Stack
ANGEL WALK
Breda Stack
BLUE FLOAT
Breda Stack
COSMIC FLAME
Catherine Paridans “Color directly influences the soul. Color is the keyboard, the eyes are the hammers, the soul is the piano with many strings. The artist is the hand that plays, touching one key or another purposively, to cause vibrations in the soul.” (Wassily Kandinsky)
Belgian artist Catherine Paridans uses the power of color to convey the energy and vitality that characterize her sparkling and charismatic personality. Looking at her works, you can see unusual color combinations, sometimes risky, but always surprising and in perfect harmony with each other. In Venus, a painting made with the technique of acrylic on canvas, the artist offers an original and atypical version of one of the most widely reproduced subjects over the centuries. The goddess is depicted in the same pose in which Botticelli represented the protagonist of “The Birth of Venus”, always associated with the ideal of female beauty in the world of art. Her body characterized by sinuous shapes is in a standing position, resting on the valve of a large shell. Venus shows a modest attitude: she covers her nakedness by grabbing a lock of her long and thick hair with her left hand, while she hides her breast with the right. His gaze is authentic and profound and aims towards an indefinite space. Great protagonist of the work, in addition to the beautiful goddess, is undoubtedly the color. The painting is characterized by unrealistic colors which, when mixed, create a magical effect. The body of different shades of purple contrasts with the light pink of the shell and the bright blue at times duller of the hair. The background, on the other hand, is distinguished by the presence of warm colors that are opposed to the cold ones of Venus. The use of yellow, orange, and red has given the goddess of love even more prominence. Catherine, an extremely versatile artist, proves to have great mastery both in terms of drawing and painting. Admiring her works we can understand how her creativity is infinite and how much her original personality influences the creation of unique and extremely innovative creations.
Art Curator Camilla Gilardi
Catherine Paridans
Venus
Cécile Coënt “Le malheur se lasse, le souffle des vents orageux n’a pas toujours même violence” (Euripide)
Cécile Coënt is strongly influenced by the American action painting: a style in which matter and gesture are equally important in the realization of the artwork. The color is sprayed, splashed, blown on the canvas. The action that the artist performs becomes very important, the painting is a physical manifestation of it. Cécile’s artwork Eclaboussure was born from two intentions: firstly we can find the artist’s desire to create order, establish rules and finding a sort of continuity. Cécile’s first approach to this artwork seemed to be more systematic: earth tones are used, they are dark and reminds us of roots and this technique is repeated in various shades. Secondly, the artist feels particularly inspired by a different movement: instinctively her style changes, and we can find a more rebellious impact, symbolized by the red color which is a much more energetic shade than the previous ones used. In fact, the use of red breaks the repetitive style of the artwork composed until now, subverting the order. In this work, the energetic charge and its relation with the previous pattern are the protagonists, the strength of the splash changes the rules of the game. As completion of her works, the artist decides to accompany each painting with a poetic composition, opening our gaze to interpretation and evocative force. During the years, Cécile worked as a nurse and, feeling inspired in helping others, she decided to approach Art-therapy.
Cécile Coënt
The style of action painting is deeply influenced by Freud’s and Jung’s ideas, relating to the subconscious. In fact, the paintings of Cécile do not portray subjects or objects. By juxtapositioning materials and colors, the artist’s works become impactfull and evocative. “Le Souffle” is a great example: the viewer, in front of it, feels a vast series of sensations and can find different levels of interpretation and visions. The vastness of the sea, the power of nature, the waves breaking on the cliff. Her artwork is very rich in details and colors. This emerald green gives us a sense of tranquility but at the same time fascinates us with its connection to the natural world and its laws; it reminds us of the stones of the mineral kingdom, such as jade, malachite, flourite and emerald. These precious stones symbolize balance and rootedness with the environment. The light blue, on the other hand, symbolizes creativity, harmony and meditation. The use of these two colors leads to a sense of movement and fluidity. “Le Souffle” is the result of a reaction of close and harmonious colors but what is really interesting are its accurate details but what attracts us most are the many shades that these colors create together and their details. To complete the interpretation, the artist has chosen a quote from Euripides: it underlines the end of a negative moment and heralds the arrival of serenity.
“Comment la nuit peut-elle tomber d’un coup sur l’océan sans faire la moindre éclaboussure?” (Grégoire Lacroix)
Art Curator Elisa Garosi
Cécile Coënt
Eclaboussure
Cécile Coënt
Le Souffle
Christina Hiltscher
Christina Hiltscher is a German artist, based in Zurich. During her life she lived in seven different countries which is reflected in her varied style and ability to create original paintings with different emotions and moods. Christina is a mixed media artist; she utilises different techniques and materials like collage, texture, and colours to create layers and interesting emotional effects. Her artistic purpose is to create connections, showing paradoxes and contrasts through the combination of different shapes and colors. Each work starts from an inspiration or intuition, which is then transformed into an abstract message. Emblematic is the work presented by Christina Hiltscher at M.A.D.S. art gallery, titled “Connection”. With this work the artist seeks dualism, the double nature of things, referring to the Doctrine of the Opposites described by Heraclitus. The philosopher explained the perfect harmony of the opposites with this example: “things get hot, things get wet and dry”. Hiltscher’s work, in fact, describes a change through the evolutionary path of a square that then turns out to be a rectangle, thus changing form and orientation. On the same wave, the artist realizes the work entitled “Spring in the city” inspired by the arrival of spring. The colors play a fundamental role: the orange dominates the composition, but the green imposes its brilliance, transmitting to the spectators the feeling of rebirth. The two works just described are the result of a geometric research, in which the artist creates shapes through spatulate and instinctive brushstrokes. Completely different is the work entitled “Reflection. Together” in which the artist uses the technique of collage for the realization of the background. The pages of a literary work merge with a soft peach color on which are sketched two faces. They can be interpreted as the representation of man and woman. The man on the top left, the woman on the bottom, on the right. The artist brings the viewer to the reflection: Was Eve really born from the rib of Adam? Does this imply an inferiority of the woman, born only to keep the man company? The lightness of the painting and its sweetness lead the viewer to answer “no” to these questions, to seek equality and the end of suffering in mutual love. Another possible interpretation is that the figures are two women, thus also reflecting on the inequality that is often created between women. In this sense, the artist launches a message addressed to women: let us support each other, be an inspiration for each other, attenuating the inequality to which we are already subjected.
Art Curator Giorgia Massari
Christina Hiltscher
Connection
Christina Hiltscher
Reflection.Together
Christina Hiltscher
Spring in the city
Christina Walsh Christina Walsh is an American Contemporary Abstract Artist born in Hollywood, California. She spent part of her childhood living in Sweden, lending to further influences from a family of painters and sculptors, always encouraged to explore different methods of artistic expression from portrait and landscape work, to the more abstract ideas. Christina Walsh’s artistic production ranges from Figurativism to Abstractionism to Abstract Expressionism. The artist presents at M.A.D.S. art gallery three works with the following titles: “Liberté of Justice”, “The Emperor Has No Clothes” and “Democracy is Voluntary”. From the titles is clearly evident a political influence that the artist herself admits to have. “Perhaps it is a way for me to make order of the political chaos we see” she herself says. The political features are clearly visible in the work “Liberté of Justice” in which the Statue of Liberty’s face can be distinguished. The Statue that embodies American values of freedom, combined with the word “justice” that the artist inserts in the title, launches a clear provocative message: “is justice really present in our contemporary society?”. The artist then leads the viewer to reflection, the same does with the work “The Emperor Has No Clothes” even if with a totally different approach. Here, in fact, the influence of the painter Wasilly Kandinsky is clearly perceptible as well as elements made through dripping, a technique developed by the American painter Pollock. The title suggests the presence of a naked figure, without clothes and so the mind begins to look for human elements. The two elements closest to figurativism are the two breasts in the upper part of the composition, as well as the sinuous lines of a female bust and the navel. The shapes, the spots of color and the lines approach the style of the artist Casper Eliasen. The last work presented here by Walsh differs from the previous ones: “Democracy is voluntary” is darker, at times frightening and the headline tells viewers about the future that awaits us if we are not willing to change things. Democracy is a voluntary act, starting with each of us. The strength and immediacy of these instinctive brushstrokes arouse the artist’s emotions: anger, pain but also hope, represented by the white brushstrokes in the center. The latter painting is closer to the pictorial process that the artist herself describes: “Sometimes I start with colours and as I begin the background work, the painting begins to reveal itself,where I started is often very different from where the painting ends, and that journey is seen in the final piece”. This journey that the artist describes is then perceived by the observer who comes into contact with the artist and her emotions.
Art Curator Giorgia Massari
Christina Walsh
Democracy Is Voluntary
Christina Walsh
LiberteĚ of Justice
Christina Walsh
The Emperor Has No Clothes
Christine Lance
Christine Lance is a French artist, member of the Lyonnaise Academy of Painting and associate of Taylor Foundation. She is an artist with a great academic and artistic experience. At the international exhibition “KROMATIC @ RT” of the art gallery M.A.D.S., Lance exhibits “Tea-Time Abstraction liryque”, an oil work whose production was certainly influenced by lyrical abstraction, just think of “Retrospective” by Wols , but in a general sense from abstract expressionism, in particular the color drips of Cy Twombly, a characterizing element also in Lance’s “Tea-Time”. The yellow and the orange, which tend to represent a precious color, such as gold, are at the heart in this artistic production, a central role as in the works of the Austrian Gustav Klimt. It is a primary color, it is the color of the sun, life and energy. An extremely emblematic aspect in “Tea-Time” is the ability of the work, and therefore of its creator, to express and produce profound sensations, an evocative ability belonging to the expressive medium used, the color. The synaesthesia produced by color also concerns the “temperature” of yellow, in this way, even the neutral colors present, such as gray and beige, take on the same emotional depth as yellow, but also black although it is itself a neutral color, which expresses power, elegance and formality. The subtle strokes of purple, on the other hand, lead the viewer into the sphere of royalty. “TeaTime” allows everyone to enter a different, special, unreachable dimension, the mind of the viewer can travel to unexpected places and stop and reflect.
Art Curator Martina Viesti
Christine Lance
Tea-time Abstraction lyrique
Christopher Rozitis
Pop is the colour that distinguishes the works of the artist Christopher Rozitis, with psychedelic tones and whimsical shapes, endowed with a deep creativity and innovation. The exalted and exasperated color is the lifeblood of his art and considered by the artist himself the most expressive means to express emotions, feelings and moods. A revival of the 80s palette, transports the viewer in an eclectic atmosphere and in an explosion of bright colors and never tenuous. Christopher’s canvases are the protagonists of an evolutionary process of color that changes and changes in the act itself, loose and transparent or thick and opaque. His interest turns to moments in the daily life of contemporary man. The artist then becomes a pure manipulator of images, objects and symbols of common use, which offer the opportunity to be visually isolated from their context, combined with new materials and reworked with innovative techniques. Such a pictorial ability is visible in the works of one of the greatest representatives of Pop Art, Andy Warhol, whose art synthesizes the forms of the visual universe that, in those years, opened before his eyes. Such bold use of bright and clear colors, rigid graphics and sharp lines played, not surprisingly, heavily on the starting point of Christopher’s work. There is no shortage of references to the current of Pop Art in all his works, such as “Love takes everything”, “Heart and Soul”, “Inner strength”, “Party”, “Hell fire” works that fully portray the colors of the soul. Tangible nuances capable of making a deep and intimate work.
Art Curator Federica D’Avanzo
Christopher Rozitis
Heart and Soul
Christopher Rozitis
Hell Fire
Christopher Rozitis
Inner strength
Christopher Rozitis
Love takes everything
Christopher Rozitis
Party
Christopher Woodyard “Color is a power which directly influences the soul ” ( Wassily Kandinsky )
Chris was born in Italy and from an early age travels constantly within the United States following the movements of his parents who serve in the army. The artist often uses the language of color to describe her emotions, a sentimental tone that reworks human shapes and proportions, expressing her concept of the world. In his works, he usually pays little attention to the particularities of the individual or to his somatic features by representing schematic figures; sketching the style and the attitude to communicate through them the contents and symbolic meanings. The distortions and deformations of the human figure were used in particular by the Expressionists, who used them to communicate personal feelings and thoughts. His technique is used to create drawings where the viewer finds himself engaged in the impossible search for a rational meaning, in order to draw them into the irrational realm. The bright color combined with the collage technique is the key element of Chris’s art, he simplifies his works in angular planes and subsequently, he selects hues that are sensibly balanced, with some respect for their tonal values, but with the maximum intensity. Also, being engaged in the literature filed, his work as a painter explores the possibilities of translating the dynamic aspect of words into visual poetry, using color as a means to impress his feelings on the canvas. Pulsating life and emotions are part of these three works exhibited by Chris, tenacious and passionate, this guy is able to transform deep feelings, echoes of difficult moments, into brushstrokes towards rebirth.
Art Curator Erika Gravante
Christopher WoodyardÂ
Dissatisfaction & gratitude
Christopher WoodyardÂ
Dusty eyes
Christopher WoodyardÂ
Embrace
Cicilie Svanem
Cicilie Svanem is a Norwegian artist who expresses herself through works in oil and acrylic on canvas. Color is very important in her works: made in a brilliant way and with strong chromatic contrasts, it thus becomes the protagonist in Svanem’s work. The artist had already previously presented her work “Butterfly woman” at M.A.D.S. art gallery on the occasion of the exhibition “Fable” clearly announcing to the spectators the importance of female emancipation for her. Cicilie Svanem confirms this position by presenting a portrait of the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, a symbol of freedom, hope, strength and independence. The portrait is based on a famous photograph that portrays the painter in front of a green flowery background. Svanem paints Frida with impressive realism but at the same time following her vision, in the way she sees the artist. What emerges is a deep sense of admiration and purity, with the intent to bring peace and tranquility in the eyes of those who also look through the sweet gaze of Frida.
Cicilie Svanem
The second work that Cicilie Svanem presents is totally different and original. It’s entitled “Something wonderful is about to happen� and once again the color is the protagonist. Here, however, the color assumes an ideological and symbolic connotation. The different colored clothes of the people that make up the work represent the personalities, each different from the other. The focal point is in the center, the look focuses on the woman in white: mysterious and pure. The artist compares her to an angel who came to earth with the intention of spreading joy and convincing people to always see the positive side. This sensation is accentuated by the vertical lines that dominate the entire painting: they can be interpreted as drops that slide on a glass, as to erase pain and purify spirits.
Art Curator Giorgia Massari
Cicilie Svanem
Frida Kahlo
Cicilie Svanem
Something wonderful is about to happen
Claes Frowein “We artists are gifted with a particular sensitivity in absorbing and expressing what is around us, sometimes without even understanding where we can get.” (Arnaldo Pomodoro)
Claes Frowein is an artist of French, Dutch and Canadian nationality whose works, endowed with great communicative power, can convey strong emotions. Claes, in addition to painting subjects with particularly expressive faces, is also able to use color with great skill, attributing to it not only aesthetic, but also semantic value. The work “The nuns of St-Anna” is made with the technique of acrylic and spray paint on a Venice canvas. The protagonists are, as the title itself says, three nuns of which we can only glimpse the face of which the features are not clearly defined. Their mouth appears simply as a red spot, while their eyes, small and rectangular, turn their gaze towards the viewer. The face painted with yellow and grey brush strokes creates an amazing color contrast with the black of the background that coincides with the burkas worn by the three women. Although the faces appear essential in the details, they manage to give us back exactly the personality that characterizes the nuns themselves: reserved and composed women with fixed and severe gaze. The eyes, of different colors, seem to be watching us carefully. A very particular fold effect characterizes the extremely fine canvas which, thanks to the specific use of color, is even more embellished. Claes, resuming the quote from the famous sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro, can be considered an artist with a particular sensitivity which allows him to look at the world with a critical eye. He treasures everything that captures his mind, his eyes and his heart and transforms it into extraordinary works capable of totally immersing the viewer in his world.
Art Curator Camilla Gilardi
Claes Frowein
The nuns of St-Anna
D.Q. Nguyen “Colors became dynamite cartridges. They were meant to explode light.” (André Derain)
D.Q. Nguyen exposes “Justin Plays” at the international exhibition “Kromatic@rt” at the M.A.D.S. Art Gallery in Milan. This work emphasizes crucial aspects such as expressiveness, impressions and the abstraction of color, which is the absolute character. The artist sees reality in a different way, approaching the viewer according to his own sensitivity and feeling. As in the works of the Fauves, color is the most direct way of expressing one’s moods, reflecting the artist’s refinement beyond the conventions, such as green stands for the meadow and blue for the sky. The result of this conception is a painting in which each shade captures the viewer’s attention with both warm and cold tones, juxtaposed in such a way to generate a chromatic optical-perceptual contrast by creating a vital and dynamic harmony. Through such an immediate gesture, each brushstroke is released from reality, taking on its own instinctive connotation and effect. The perpetual movement of all these lines resonates on the pictorial surface, like musical notes on a pentagram. Color joins the dynamism of these undulations, up to the point of dematerializing the figures at the center of the painting. Moreover, a shadowless luminosity emerges from the center of the work and spreads up to the corners of the canvas, immersing the figures in a kind of vortex that almost reaches to the sky. Everything expresses sinuosity and energy, while enhancing the rhythmic sense of the composition.
“I want to reach that state of feelings’ condensation that constitutes a painting.” (Henri Matisse)
Art Curator Alessia Perone
D.Q. Nguyen
Justin Plays
Deepa Koshaley
At the “Kromatic@rt” exhibition, the artist Deepa Koshaley presents a special work through which art, meditation and nature come together to create peaceful and at the same time dynamic optical-perceptual experiences. Reflecting on human psychology, her artistic conception focuses on the revelation of expressive elements, conveyed through colors, light and gestures. Reminiscent of Vasily Kandinsky’s abstract art, the impressions he receives from the outside are linked to those from his inner world. Her paintings are the result of a combination of geometric and symbolic signs that communicate with the viewer, by inviting him to participate in the creative act of the work. Drawing inspiration also from the post-Impressionism and Expressionism movements, the artist deep into the research on free color: she does not represent the reality around her, but she tries to bring out her feelings through shapes and shades, making them escape from the canvas and involving the viewer in a whirlwind of emotions. In fact, through “Streaming II” Deepa is inspired by flowing streams of water, which provide a completely new and energetic lifeblood. The artist wishes to evoke both physical and mental serenity, inviting the viewer to relax cognitively and spiritually. She wants to help the viewer to shake off his own state of mind, giving free rein to replenish himself with positive emotions and releasing negative ones. To get into this purification process, the artist uses all the nuances of the rainbow, emphasizing the chromatic charge. She places the color and its dynamic function as the center of gravity of the work, where the numerous patches of color float in the air, mainly placed in the lower part of the painting. The viewer’s perception is determined by a great gestural and tonal energy, producing a very wide-ranging effect of vitality and allowing the viewer to experience new emotions from this creative image.
“The modern artist works to express an inner world. In other words: he expresses movement, energy and all other inner forces.” (Jackson Pollock)
Art Curator Alessia Perone
Deepa Koshaley
Streaming II
Dominique Meunier “In looks like a lit up forest. Like a bouquet of light whose trees take their source in the depths of shimmering water.� (Dominique Meunier) Reinassance is the access key to enter the world of the French artist Dominique Meunier. We can defined his as an art that refers to the poetics of spiritual, of the sensational research of an Ego traveler who remains ecstatic in front of the perfect harmony of the nature. In looks like a lit up forest. Like a bouquet of light whose trees take their source in the depths of shimmering water, writes the artist about his work. A catharsis, a purification of the body and of the spirit that seeks itself in the original union with the nature. The work isn’t a rapresentation of a landscape, but it is the essence of itself, because the artist shows us the pshyco perpectual emotions caused by the immersion in the bright colors of the forest, emblem of life. Following the movement of the work, from below, from the water, towards the frond of the trees, the reference to impressionism painting is clear, to the sensational painting of Claude Monet, visible in his chromatic study about the light effects on water. If the painter of Giverny captures the light vibrations of the nature through the contrasting brushstrokes, Dominique Meunier goes over, proposing us a new painting, synthesis between the chromatic shades and the material expressiveness. Going on with the reading, we can see how the trees grow up from the water dephts, and their branches spread in multiple directions as the multiple ways of life. Also the color changes in harmony with the metamorphosis of the composition, blending the blue and verdant shades with the various colors of the earth. In this choice we can read the target of the artist who wants take us in a golden reality, that is at the same time changing and essencial; an heavenly dream where spirituality and aesthetich blend to open the way to the multiple shades of the possible. As every living being, the spiritual evanescence conforms with the structure of the picture, fruit of a material and essencial painting. In this we can find the echos of the informal picture that searchs the energetic and evocative potential of the matter that releases from the image to leave space at the pictorial sensoriality. In this way the artist shows us his painting searching a feeling that goes over the apparent vision. The work through the artist talks with us passes through our senses with delicacy, transporting us in a silent evanescent world, that touches our sensitive strings by the material vibrations present in the composition. Technical and compositional variety are the fruit of the painting ability of the artist who freeing himself from any kind of style, makes himself free interpreter of the molteplicity of the reality. The work present here is the result of a vision in costant material, perceptual and sensoriale change, that point out the passage between body and soul, between concrete and abstract, between dream and reality, in a infinitive existencial research aimed at exceeding the limits, to reach the primordial unit among man and cosmos. The vision of the world opens before our eyes and becomes universe, with its infinitive variety of shades and possibilities, thanks to which the man is free to choose and change form in the continues vital metamorphosis.
Art Curator Alessia Di Martino
Dominique Meunier
Renaissance
Dominique Richard
Experimentation as the driving force of everything. Playing with shapes, lines, colors and all the basic elements of our visual perception is the prerogative and fundamental part of Dominique Richard’s creation process. In her works there is all the expressiveness of color, the freshness of the sign and the heterogeneity of forms. Let’s take Supernova. There is chaos inside: smeared, scraped, dotted color; shreds of paper colored with pigment intersect each other to form an artistic representation on multiple levels. The printed paper peeps out in certain points of the work, hiding among the chromatic backgrounds and yet it is there, present in the whole, contributing to the composition. Hints of scratches disturb large areas of full color, disfiguring it and giving it new meaning. It is chaos, yet it is orderly. In fact, the determination to compose a harmonious composition, to juxtapose colors on paper and to use shapes and forms to move the composition is evident. An uncontrolled - but well thought out - explosion of colors, a supernova that has just exploded, captured as a still image in the moment in which it is slowly releasing all its atoms that until a moment before had composed it, were part of it. And here, on an expressive colored backdrop, in a dense cloud of atoms of heterogeneous chemical elements, three oval shapes peep out, shiluette of elements characterized by a thick black border. They are figures in the foreground, which stand out in front of everything with great expressive force; bearers of mysteries, they swim in the color, they make space between the various backgrounds to find their own autonomy. They are looming, almost sinister images that create a strong contrast with what is represented below them.
Dominique Richard
Ominous presentiment? Dominique’s painting leaves ample room for personal interpretation, it doesn’t give an unequivocal answer to its reading, to its observation, but rather, rather than suggesting solutions, it asks us questions. They are works of art that instill doubt, that make us think about the possible reality of things that often is not what we see at a glance. Happy is a multicolored universe where lines and fields of color, sometimes ethereal, sometimes rough and heavy, meet to form a whirlwind of emotions and positive vibrations. The title suggests this reading, an interpretation assisted by the strong presence of bright and well-defined chromatic tones. Yet, the invitation is not to be satisfied with appearances, to literally go beyond the superficial layer of things, to strain one’s mind to stimulate it to ask questions, queries and doubts. Reality is not easy to understand and Dominique knows this: what if behind this storm of effervescent and bright colors there was something else? Is it possible that that title hides within it something that, at a first reading, we cannot interpret? Dominique’s art is an invitation to interpretation. Her is an open painting that does not cling to univocal interpretations, to tight dogmas that are impossible to calculate. It is an art that welcomes you, capable of building a dialogue, capable of supporting questions coming from an infinitely multifaceted reality where nothing is ever simple, in which we must learn to see beyond the surface.
Art Curator Lisa Galletti
Dominique Richard
Aqualis
Dominique Richard
Happy
Dominique Richard
Insula
Dominique Richard
Supernova
Dr. Javeria Nabahat Amin “Now nature, for us human beings, is deeper than on the surface, hence the need to introduce into our bright vibrations, represented by reds and yellows, a sufficient amount of bluish colors to make us feel the air.” (Paul Cézanne) The artist Dr. Javeria Nabahat Amin exposes an absolutely marvelous work at the “Kromatic@rt” exhibition, wishing for a peace of mind. In “Prayers in Solitude”, she brings to light the colors of Kashmir, a region subjugated by various conflicts. Javeria wishes to bring back the beauty of nature here by depicting a pristine landscape bathed in tranquility. She emphasizes her experiences, insights and emotions through the medium of creativity. The enchantment of this nature evokes the memory and reworks the imagination of the artist: the eye of reason and the eye of the heart, the representation of each element and its interpretation are combined in this context. Exactly as in the Impressionist movement and artists such as Corot and Courbet, Javeria plays with the use of different tones and light, blending these aspects with pure naturalism. The realistic treatment of light, the solid plastic construction and the authenticity of the composition reflect the intention to represent the reality as it appears to the viewer. What attracts the viewer’s attention the most is the harmonious use of color and the respect for this immense nature. By trying to capture the first impression of a particular moment, while the water flows through the rocks, the artist creates a calibrated image of an immense panorama completely enveloped in silence and serenity. She also concentrates on creating a sense of depth and solidity through extremely delicate tonal variations, achieving a pictorial balance. Regardless of any element present, in this work the artist wanted to capture the connection between perception, representation and knowledge, spreading a feeling of well-being. By expressing what she feels, the artist gives voice to her feelings through a personal aesthetic that can be shared.
“I see everywhere in nature, for example in trees their capacity for expression and, so to speak, a soul.” (Vincent Van Gogh)
Art Curator Alessia Perone
Dr. Javeria Nabahat Amin
Prayers in Solitude
Dragos Bagia For the “Kromatic@rt” exhibition at the M.A.D.S. Art Gallery in Milan, the artist Dragos Bagia has created three works connected by a unique universe of metaphysical figures and themes, through a poetic and philosophical structure immersed in a romantic and cosmic atmosphere. From an abyss filled with fantasy, the artist extrapolates and paints what he sees with the eyes of his mind: art becomes a vision that emphasizes his own perceptions and connects directly with the viewer. Through research into the unconscious, the foundations are laid for the liberation of the individual, both emotionally and spiritually. This is how the depth of the human spirit is perceived, from which extremely powerful forces emerge that are beyond the control of the senses, will and reason, merging the two spheres of reality and fantasy according to what is known as “surreality”. A pictorial language that encompasses a sense of the magical and mysterious is being affirmed, by showing invisible psychic phenomena such as the aura and the soul. What the artist has created is a veritable expressive vocabulary, in which the works retain a dreamlike and fantastic aspect thanks to the use of strong and decisive colors, which acquire meaning by strengthening its visual impact. In the work “Procul Hinc” (from the Latin, “Away from here”), Dragos highlights nature’s desire to save itself at all costs from the “industrial revolution” started by the human being. The figure of the deer is linked to the instinctive strength of body and spirit and its horns express the continuous renewal of life through catharsis and rebirth. The animal turns its gaze towards the forest, the only place where it can be safe. In fact, recalling the philosopher Giordano Bruno and his conception of nature, the representation of the deer is a key element of the entire work: it underlines the natural environment and invites the observer to safeguard it. Getting away from the city is the only way to protect and enhance the love of nature. The artist encourages the viewer to have awareness as well as to understand from the mistakes of the past: only in this way he can become an integral part of the cosmos and of nature. While in “Sadhana’s Mystery” the artist wishes to remember Sadhana Shivdasani, known as The Mystery Girl, one of the most important actresses in the history of Hindi cinema and the golden age of Bollywood. The woman’s face is depicted five times: this number is fundamental in Hinduism as it recalls Shiva, a deity represented with five faces, symbolizing mastery over the elements of nature and the five senses. The images are ideas, or symbols that connect with mysterious dimensions, becoming a vehicle for the elsewhere and acting in the depths and in ways that escape the reason. Finally, in the work “Sapna” (or “Dreaming” in Hindi), the universe of the mind is open, populated by infinite worlds and colors so vivid, without a predominant center because each element is extremely essential to the human condition. As Sigmund Freud and André Breton, the proponent of Surrealism, Dragos Bagia highlights the dream as an essential part of human existence, as important as the wake, since it is only in the dream dimension that man fully satisfies everything that happens to him. In the dream the powerful forces of the unconscious are unleashed, breaking the chains of rationality, coming to the surface where the imagination can fully express itself, accentuating every aspect of the irrational, from play to magic, because only in this way the totality of the human being can be affirmed. The dream is the dimension in which the human being is fully realized.
Art Curator Alessia Perone
Dragos Bagia
PROCUL HINC
Dragos Bagia
SADHANA’S MYSTERY
Dragos Bagia
SAPNA
EDL
EDL is a young French artist based in Paris. Born in 1998 near New York and raised in England. She creates works in which color is the main protagonist. The artist realizes acrylic works in which is evident an approach to Neo-Pop, a movement developed in the wake of Pop Art with cultural references including the world of Street art, Japanese comics and web design. In particular, it is clear the reference that EDL makes to the works of Keith Haring, regarding the use of strongly marked black lines, almost graphic and comic print. EDL’s works, however, also assume an abstract connotation, precisely because, unlike the artists mentioned above, she aims at the creation of works that do not have clear visual references. In this sense, EDL approaches the teachings of the great Abstract Master: Vassilly Kandinsky. The inspiration for the artist also comes from fashion, she herself in fact claims to be influenced by the prints of Hermes Carré and Emilio Pucci. A clear example of EDL’s art is the work exhibited at M.A.D.S. art gallery, entitled “22 Mindset”. For each canvas, the artist selects specific colors, which exude different types of emotions and sensations. Here the work is composed of blue, red, yellow, pink and white, all dominated by heavy black traits that create indistinct shapes. The minds of the spectators are therefore directed to the imagination. The stimulus to creativity is in fact the main focus in EDL’s art. Emily’s paintings seek to reflect what she names “aesthetic emotions”. Indeed, to her, art must give a sense of reassurance, not only in the making, but also within the contemplating. For this reason, her works fit perfectly inside the houses, to give calm and tranquillity. Each spectator will then be able to attribute to the painting its own meaning, according to his own path of life.
Art Curator Giorgia Massari
EDL
22 Mindset
Elizabeth Andrade Arnold “As a woman I have no country. As a woman I want no country. As a woman, my country is the whole world.” (Virginia Woolf) The Gold color is usually associated with sunlight, a radiant light capable of transmitting heat, movement, strength. There is nothing static, it pulsates with compressed energy that opens outwards, in a continuous expansion. Lüscher, compares Blue to entering a tunnel and Gold to exiting it. In this vision, Gold takes on a connotation of openness, liberation, release and subsequent expansion. Gustav Klimt, right between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, in one of the most fruitful, revolutionary and incisive moments that the artistic world has ever known, makes his way with his art to become famous in worldwide. In his paintings, large golden backgrounds alternate with female faces with elegant and sensual features. Strong are the influences of Klimt’s art and Art Nouveau in the paintings of Elizabeth Andrade Arnold, a contemporary artist from Bermuda. The choice of a figurative language, with a constant need for golden detail and the delicacy in describing female faces, make her art the legitimate heir of the great masters of early 1900s Vienna. Everything, reworked in a contemporary key, through a more pop expressiveness, gives the observer the perfect description of the independent woman of the 21st century. In Glamor Girl, a young woman looks us in the eye, self-confident, in a pose that is both erect and seductive. Large backgrounds of strong materiality extend, occupying a large part of the space. The shades chosen do not tell the reality, and many small details outline the shapes of insects and animals, making the female figure, the goddess par excellence, Mother Earth. In Elizabeth’s art, Klimt’s gold and fatal sensuality take on a new meaning, even more dense. A new reading space opens up, entirely dedicated to today’s women, who struggle every day to have their freedom and identity recognized.
Art Curator Francesca Brunello
Elizabeth Andrade Arnold
Glamour Girl
Elizabeth Andrade Arnold
Scuba Girl
Elizabeth Andrade Arnold
Secret Life of Bees
Emelly Velasco With the work presented here “Rode Draad”, the artist Emelly Velasco shows us the visual representation of her homonymous poem. The colors are the red thread that accompany her art. Emelly shows us how her destiny and the red thread that connects every step of her life and that guides it are represented by the color and the emotions it transmits, because for the young artist, colors are emotion and expression of herself: this appears in a disruptive way in all her works. Here the contrast of the chromatic choices expresses the contrasts of life, but still in harmony with oneself and with the world, as the colors on the canvas are in harmony. Finally, gold gives the work that touch of love and joy for life. Looking at this work, we are in fact overwhelmed by the passion that animates Emelly. What color are your decisions, if each one transmutes. What color do you feel when your life surpasses your dreams What color is your truth, knowledge accompanies the expression Vibrations do not judge, color does not distinguish, we are light, we are color, We are true, we are love and we go in a great upward spiral or descending And the color choice that will get you there; you can choose. What color is your choice? A red thread accompanies our destiny, observe the thread, if you go the right way It will loosen up ... If you go the wrong way it will be tense and you will see That the circles you give force you to break them, get out of the loop ... What color is your truth? I see color in the spirit, do you?
Art Curator Silvia Grassi
Emelly Velasco
Rode Draad
Erin Wilkins “Colour above all, and perhaps even more than drawing, is a means of liberation.” (Henri-Emile Matisse) The American artist Erin Wilkins, as the quote from the famous French painter Matisse states, uses the tool of color to give free play to her creativity and imagination. Color as liberation, as the free expression of what one is. Indefinite shapes and surprising chromatic effects characterize the artist’s magical abstract paintings. The power that color can wield on man’s mood, on his emotions has always been recognized. Erin’s works are a clear confirmation of this: looking at them, our thoughts and our sensations are set in motion going to deeply touch our inner world. A specific meaning is attributed to each color, but everyone is free to associate their own interpretation with them. In “Somnium Ignis”, Erin decided to represent the protagonist from which the work takes its title, using very bright colors and combining cold shades with some warmer ones. Large brush strokes give life to the fire dream which, although it appears as an indefinite shape, looks like a wave that, full of energy, wants to break into the sea. Different colors emerge from the grey background in all their strength: blue, in some points more delicate while in others brighter, green in different shades and pink which, toning down, becomes an intense red. The work, without any doubt, perfectly manages to convey the idea of a tormented dream, but at the same time magical and full of emotions. The quiet and peaceful sleep, represented by grey, is suddenly interrupted by the beginning of an imaginary journey which, transporting the dreamer on an extraordinary adventure, will make him feel emotions never experienced before and will allow him to look at the world with different eyes. Erin, an artist with great creativity, but also with a deep soul, manages to make us completely immerse in her works that can touch our heart.
Art Curator Camilla Gilardi
Erin Wilkins
Somnium Ignis (Latin for ‘Fire Dream’)
Fatma Aysun Özkan
Turkish painter Fatma Aysun Özkan is an eclectic artist, able to convey and evoke multiple universe of perceptions . In fact, while having a personal touch of artistic storytelling, the Fatma experiments herself with different creative languages, offering to her audience a large spectrum of fruition. For instance, “Hope” and “Phoenix” belong to an abstract style characterized by colourful outbreak of acrylics. At the same time, if we look closely we can observe that those apparent amorphous yet fascinating shades of colours hide beautiful semblances of respectively blossoming flowers and an elegant phoenix. The flowers painted in black and yellow symbolize that contrast of pain and rebirth of what life can be, and a message of “hope” to brightly thrive again, despite the darkly difficulties. “Phoenix” can be the natural epilogue of this positive narrative: this particular bird is in fact cyclically regenerates, obtaining new life by arising from the ashes. The painting in fact is extremely colourful and delicate in its composition, suggesting a sense of comfort and reassurance. On the other hand “Whirlpool, still aligned with an abstract technique similar to the other two, is however more gloomy. The piece illustrates a vortex on a black background, and what is spinning around its centre is more unclear, but still colourful and softly painted. In fact, the vortex can close that harmonic semiotics of colours where life, in its being often melancholy can brings in its tunnel of experiences elements of positivity that this time is up to the spectators to interpret and fantasize about. “Secret” and “Serenity” belong instead to a more figurative style of the artist, where we can clearly identify the represented subjects: a small and flowering lake and an person in the act of praying. The peculiarity of Fatma is, in both abstract and figurative style, to leave the spectator the opportunity to get immersed in the story, always subtle and potentially full of meanings and hidden symbols, extremely evocative and comforting. “Secret” evokes a strong sense of intimacy and peace, raising the desire to witness to that immaculate natural scenario. “Serenity”, made of a warm palette, creates an atmosphere where, while looking at the prayer, we almost want to pay attention to not disturbing him/her in that spiritual and private moment. Fatma plays wisely with her canvas, offering to audience’s sensibility multifaceted ways of artistic experience, still maintaining her personal signature of style and of emotional suggestions.
Art Curator Cecilia Terenzoni
Fatma Aysun OĚˆzkan
Hope
Fatma Aysun Özkan
Phoenix
Fatma Aysun Özkan
Secret
Fatma Aysun OĚˆzkan
Serenity
Fatma Aysun Özkan
Whirlpool
Fiorella Pareja “Color possesses me. I don’t have to pursue it. It will possess me always, I know it. That is the meaning of this happy hour: Color and I are one. I am a painter.” (Paul Klee) Peruvian artist Fiorella Pareja, passionate about the creative world since she was a child, manages to make her magical drawings even more special using the color tool skillfully. Impactful chromatic contrasts, but at the same time perfectly studied and balanced, characterize her works. “Angel de alas Blancas” was made with the mix media technique on canvas in December 2020 and its protagonist is San Miguel Arcangelo, leader of all angels. He is mentioned in chapter XII of the Book of Revelation where the archangel, identified as an adversary of the devil, defeats Satan and his supporters in the last battle. The celestial being, represented by the bust up, has a face with fine features: full lips, straight nose and large eyes that turn their gaze towards us. Pretty stars and a small comet are drawn on the straight and neat dark blue hair. The dress leaves the shoulders uncovered and is painted with cold shades such as blue and warm colors such as bright yellow and orange. The white wings have been depicted with accurate brush strokes that manage to perfectly restore the effect of the feathers that compose them. The blue background identifies what can be called the house of the angels, that is the sky. Fiorella through this representation makes us perfectly understand the strong personality of the archangel: straight gaze, always ready to defend his ideas and fight for his principles; the colors of the dress symbolize the great energy that characterizes the identity of the saint. The Peruvian artist possesses the great ability to make the spectators to look at the subjects that she represents in a realistic way under a fantastic and enchanting vision. Fiorella takes us into her wonderful world where reality and magic meet, merge to create a whole.
Art Curator Camilla Gilardi
Fiorella Pareja
Angel de alas Blancas
Francesco Loiacono “Art should be something that liberates your soul, provokes the imagination and encourages people to go further” (Keith Haring) Francesco Loiacono is an Italian artist born in Bari in 1992. He started to paint four years ago when he found out the therapy power of the art and the magic emotions that is expressed by creating drawings. His artworks, in black and white, gradually started to took colours “To better define the variety of subjects represented” in the last period of his life. In his dynamic drawings, the figures communicate as intertwined tangles: different images tell an abstract and fantastic story. Letters, animals of fairy tales, spots and shapes -of a distant and dystopian world- dialogue in a space full of flourishing and gaudy colours. The aesthetic world’s reference –as Francesco revealed to me in an interview- is Keith Haring, the American artist who discovered how to fill spaces with twodimensional, funny and extremely colourful images. The results it’s a horror vacui sensation where the space is completely full and organized without leaving a clean white place. A chromatic world embrace Francesco’s universe who’s always ready to catch and transport the incredible sensation of joy and cheerfulness in his poetry and drawings. His creations want to alienate himself from reality, distort everyday life and ennoble it with imagination and fantasy. Everything is achievable thanks to the delicate and intelligent use that Francesco uses in the choice of his materials. Its supports are always drawing papers, pens and markers (Windsor and Newton Promarker) which allow the artist to return the expressive intention searched by his creative genesis. With his young age and experience, Francesco is a promising Italian artist who wants to permit his art to communicate with everyone, to allow everyone the opportunity to get away from reality, to smile and enjoy the pleasure of imagination, colour and life.
Art Curator Cecilia Brambilla
Francesco Loiacono
Hearts
Francesco Loiacono
Magic night
Francesco Loiacono
Verdant
Fujiyama Baron
Bright colors and heterogeneous elements from the real world come together to create the art of Fujiyama Baron. A whirlwind of colors within which the wandering eye of the viewer loses its orientation, gets lost in the sea of heterogeneous sensations that the work arouses. A pop-psychedelic universe that grabs with both hands the contemporary popular culture and makes it its own, declining it according to parameters and established patterns. A doll’s eye looks furtively at what is beyond the pictorial surface, smiley stickers peep out of the irreverently bright chromatic material, newspaper cuttings, figurines of women and Disney princesses are incorporated into the pigment. And again rhinestones, lace and lace transcend the two-dimensionality of painting to suggest a space that goes beyond the surface of the canvas, extending beyond its material boundaries. Post-metamorphosis shells of cicadas are laid - glued - on a milky and sometimes fluorescent surface. Arranged homogeneously on the canvas, they have undergone a transformation during the creative process: they are perfect as if industrially produced, shiny and almost frosted they lose their natural aura to acquire a new sense, all their own, a new dignity. Faces of manga girls, cartoonish baloons peep out from the variegated surface: inside them immediate, recognizable and clear words. Yet, there is something behind this colorful veneer, on the back of this shimmering, multifaceted world. One senses a sneaky, hidden undercurrent covered in rhinestones, lace, and figurines of busty girls. Fujiyama Baron’s adhesion to reality, the material attachment aroused by her works induces us to think about the real objectification of multiple elements that are part of our daily life. There is a sort of hymn to commodification in those vaporous pieces of lace and rhinestones. There is a reference to the hammering publicity of the multicolored television commercials, billboards, Internet cookies. A use of pictorial matter that suggests a fast movement, of a few moments, spot after spot, marque after marque in a bombardment of images and information - superfluous - that nowadays it is normal to watch, to live daily. Moreover, the incessant presence of the female figure declined in its various types of representation could suggest the speculation - still current - towards the female sex. Faces of manga girls, advertising postcards, beautiful half-naked women and dolls lead us to think of a criticism of the commodification of the female body by Fujiyama Baron. The critical message is therefore clear. It is only to be unearthed, to be discovered under piles of sequins, brilliant gems and images of hearts. A joyful world, extremely pop and sweetened that, underneath it, hides a much deeper meaning, a wink to what is wrong with our society, our “unassailable” and traditional culture.
Art Curator Lisa Galletti
Fujiyama Baron
American Roulette
Fujiyama Baron
Internal organs of the earth
Fujiyama Baron
Love Machine
Gabriele Gracine
For the “Kromatic@rt” exhibition, the artist Gabriele Gracine proposes three works (“Doyenne”, “Gabriele”, “Impasse”) from which an involving and enveloping energy immediately emerges. By letting herself carried away by her emotions and the creative act, Gabriele emphasizes the play of light and shadow that captures the viewer’s attention, making him immerse in a perceptive and sensorial journey within his soul. The final effect is that of a kaleidoscope that conveys innovation and a great temperament in the use of such vibrant, bright tones. The fusion of light and color gives rise to a powerful dynamism, emphasizing the many shapes in these works as well as an intense chromatic contrast. This movement is constantly evolving and unstoppable: you can contemplate it as it is happening, or you can break it down into a series of moments and figures, yet it remains an immutable principle that defines the essence of the reality in which every human being lives. Gabriele contributes precisely to this process, encouraging the viewer to be dynamic, full of life, joyful and electrifying! Her works are modern and revolutionary, and leave plenty of room for the imagination, from which both the active spirit of the artist and that of the observer emerge. While in “Doyenne”, where the alternation of bright pink and aqua green, which almost become fluorescent shades, create a pleasant perceptual shock that captures the viewer’s mind; in “Gabriele”, unreal colors and shapes mostly predominate. Thanks to the chromatic energy radiating from the work, Gabriele succeeds in transforming everything into a surreal vision that leads the viewer into a parallel dimension where everything becomes brighter and more striking, succeeding in overturning what is perceptible to the human eye, upsetting the ordinary and promoting a new, unique way of perceiving reality. Finally, in “Impasse” the artist teaches the viewer that, with imagination, everything can be perceived differently. The whole scenario embraces the dreamlike aspect of the observer, becoming magical and so fascinating to his eyes. Gabriele evokes interconnected images that are found only in the mind, capable of uniting the work itself with the individual, in an exclusive and subjective experience. She creates a structure so imaginative that merges with the deepest emotions of the viewer.
“The purpose of art is not to represent the appearance of things, but their inner meaning.” (Aristotle)
Art Curator Alessia Perone
Gabriele Gracine
Doyenne
Gabriele Gracine
Gabriele
Gabriele Gracine
Impasse
Gabriele Helms “Do you not see how necessary a world of pains and troubles is to school an intelligence and make it a soul?” (John Keats) The devastation and suffering left by the Second World War brought important changes in the artistic research of the time. In 1951, the famous art critic Michel Tapié coined the term “art informel”, in an attempt to define the new art produced in those years, far removed from the figurative, from geometry and mathematical rigor, which instead characterize abstractionism. The artist rebels, refusing the form, instead enhancing the importance of the sign and materiality. The gesture becomes the expressive and creative moment in its pure state. Spirituality is expressed and concentrated in the instant of the pictorial process, now immediate and liberating. The art of Gabriele Helms shows strong links with Informal Art. At the same time, fluid and tactile gestures expand, sometimes engulfing the whole space, others condensing into a single point. Backgrounds with delicate colors, give strength to overbearing reds that are distributed on the surface, in a continuous alternation of transparent glazes and streaks with material consistencies. Drops and fluidity that the canvas has taken possession of thanks to the force of gravity. Its colors mix while maintaining their identity superbly. The result is a combination of vehemence and at the same time of delicacy, strong energy and sensitivity. In Red Core, a spherical mass appears to tumultuously rotate in the center, pulsating seductively, just like a source of energy and life. This canvas has forever recorded the gestures, full of sentiment, that Gabriele was describing with her brush at that precise moment. In this case, Art is no longer understood only as an expression of an inner feeling, but also as a memory of a moment of spirituality experienced by the artist.
Art Curator Francesca Brunello
Gabriele Helms
Attende Tibi
Gabriele Helms
Coeur
Gabriele Helms
Red core
Garik Fabricas “Look deeply at nature and you will understand everything else.� (Albert Einstein) The work entitled + - presented to us by the artist Garik Fabricas is a psycho perceptive work in which we are presented with the evolutionary process of the interaction of the electromagnetic field through the concepts of color, time and balance. The compositional structure is made up of rectangular modules, two small on the left and a larger one on the right, aimed at seeking a balance also achieved by the chromatic choice. The colors used by the artist, red and blue, are primaries, full, physical colors, bearers of important and sometimes contrasting meanings. The history of art teaches us how red has been considered an energetic color, of strength, of passion, and therefore assimilated to royal subjects. While blue, a cold, deep, iridescent color, in ancient iconography was assimilated to the barbarians, the enemy, the nomads. Obviously these meanings are not to be considered unique, but the contrast between these two diametrically opposed colors remains a constant. The one negative, the other positive. Placed in one-to-one relationship, they reach equilibrium by completing each other. On the right of the composition we observe a large white rectangle. In the Theory of Color Isaac Newton shows us how, through the interaction of a ray of light with a prism of crystals, the white ray of light is broken down into seven colors. Hence the theory that considers white as the sum of all colors, a non-color that actually represents them all and therefore a symbol of fullness. This discovery shows us how there is mutual communication between art and science, and how they are complementary. In this regard, the artist Garik Fabricas talks about his as an open research, aimed at experimentation, inspired by the observation of natural phenomena, whose particles move according to a chaotic and systematic movement. We also find this experimentalism in the use of various materials such as linen, wood, spray paints, acrylics that are placed in relation to each other through the construction of different layers. And in fact, by carefully observing the composition, we are faced with a work of art that shows the public all the traces of its own evolution. It is as if the artist wanted to communicate the various nuances that have characterized the process of his work. Daughter of Abstract Expressionism, the work presents itself as a new subject, a new form of a being that acts on us, crosses our eyes, reaching our deep interior and arousing spiritual resonances. In this statement we find the echoes of the sacred art of Mark Rothko, who with his huge monochromatic canvases manifests the feelings of tragedy, ecstasy and extinction belonging to every living being. While achieving a compositional balance, the work presents itself as an object of intuitions, pauses and rethinking in constant change, just as natural chemical processes are in continuous transformation. The artist becomes a medium between the work and the viewer, who is transported into a creative world, made of intersecting surfaces, of various materials placed in harmony with each other by expressive and incident gestures. + - is a journey in search of balance through the artist’s spirituality.
Art Curator Alessia Di Martino
Garik Fabricas
+-
Garry Scott Wheeler “It is necessary to continue dreaming otherwise our soul dies.” (Paulo Coelho)
Garry Scoot Wheeler is an award winning abstract acrylic artist, author and entrepreuner from the Gulf Coast of Florida. Travelling is fundamental to him and he draws inspiration from it for his works. They come to life from the dreams that the artist puts on canvas. that’s what happens in “Happy Place”. For this work Wheeler paints in an abstract way shapes and animals, seen in dreams, all enriched by the use of vivid and mostly warm colors. A mosaic of forms is created, releasing energy and strength and reflecting the artist’s unconsciousness. The position of colors and lines convey a sense of balance to the work. The same thing happens in “Menagerie” and “Outreach”. In the first painting, we find the summary of a dream where animals, birds and aliens are the protagonists. The colors are colder than the previous work, probably also due to the elements the work takes inspiration from. Similarly to “Happy Place” softer shapes are combined with more squared ones, generating a geometric construction. In “Outreach”, on the other hand, the contours of the shapes seem to be more outlined by using a thicker white brush stroke. It is also inspired by music. “Connection, fortitude and love are the emotions that emerged while painting the work, after listening to Elton John’s “Madman across the water”” artist says. The chromatic combination that we find in his works, brings out their expressiveness. The images of dreams through painting flow into abstraction, visualizing the creative force of his works in color. He stages memories of dreams that are difficult to decipher even for himself but through the imagination of his canvases, the viewer will be able to try to understand them.
Art Curator Elita Borgogelli
Garry Scott Wheeler
Happy Place
Garry Scott Wheeler
Menagerie
Garry Scott Wheeler
Outreach
Georgia Tsarouhas
A swirl of lines, segments traced with pigment that stand out against a backdrop of deep hues. They overlap, meet, know each other and merge. Endowed with their own autonomy, these lines pervade the entire pictorial surface, dictating a skilful balance of solids and voids, presences and absences. It is the image of a pasodoble between the Hic et nunc and memory, between what was before and what is now no more. Georgia’s work is the gateway to time beyond which two virtually infinite paths branch out: one leads to the past, to an inevitable past; the other stretches towards an indefinite but - by force of things - present future. A dense web of threads that tells us the sense of time: the impossibility of the present to aggressively detach itself from the past - sweet and melancholic - and the necessity of the future to take charge of a time that existed before. The result of this studied interweaving is peculiar: an image that evokes the structure of the nervous tissue, the only human tissue concerned with the process of storing memory and giving inputs for thoughts and actions that will be inserted in the future time. A dense network of neurons is developed on the canvas, the dots are connected to each other, past and present are linked in a relationship of interdependence. And so it is that, the pigments used acquire a particular degree of consciousness. Yellow ochre, color of the earth and of history, bivalent in its continuous reminder of a time and past civilizations and the expansion towards a future -all to be built- bathed in sunlight. The infinite shades of blue that are associated together in a dichotomy between two elements: blue Greece with its sea, fragrant of roots, of a time at the origin of everything; blue of the ocean that laps the coasts of Australia, so deep, unknown and yet to be discovered.
Georgia Tsarouhas
Remembrance of the past and inclination towards the future. Rejection of oblivion and a sense of self in the present. La Vie en Rose is the culmination of Georgia’s cathartic journey and at the same time the beginning of something new: it is her heart’s response to recovery, to returning to seeing the love of life while preserving the priceless richness of past memories. The weighty burden of her beloved father’s death, painfully analyzed and examined throughout the Be Longing series has here come to resolution. Powerful red tones remind us of the intensity of the Australian land, recalling the transition process of Greek culture. Sensual and feminine pinks mixed with guttural ochre are here declined in smoky stains and stark lines exhaling consolidated pain, hope, courage and desire. Georgia has made her journey, her own personal Homeric nostos. Catapulted into a condition of change, she has found herself poised between the inevitable tension towards the future and the assiduous gaze turned to the past, to the painful memory, to the melancholic but inescapable memory. She has returned home, she has found her internal reconciliation in a balanced harmony between the irreplaceable richness of memory and the drive towards the future, the power of a new life that blossoms.
Art Curator Lisa Galletti
Georgia Tsarouhas
La vie en rose
Georgia Tsarouhas
The beach
Georgia Tsarouhas
The cypress grove
Georgia Tsarouhas
The realm
Gergana Nikolova “Color is vibration like music; everything is a vibration.” (Marc Chagall) Gergana Nikolova is a Bulgarian artist who has exhibited her work in several exhibitions during her career. Gifted with creativity and inventiveness, she creates extraordinary works from philosophical ideas, book sentences and music. One example is her work ‘Schein’. Here, the acrylic creates an immersive, almost hypnotic effect. Blue is definitely the dominant colour on the canvas and creates a hazy, evanescent effect that reflects the theme of appearance. Light and colour contrasts lead the viewer to look inside himself, to reveal himself and the many facets typical of the human being. Light turns out to be a fundamental element for reading the work. Not only represented by the imposing presence of white, but also reflected in different ways on the canvas. In the centre stands a figure with human features and an enigmatic pose. The eyes and ears are easily recognisable and are a clear invitation to look inside and around us, listening to every stimulus that is offered to us. The colours are vibrant and impactful and the image at the centre is reproposed with transitions. On the one hand, the artist invites us to ask essential questions about our true nature. On the other, he investigates the ephemeral sheen of reality. Dreamlike and literary dimensions are mixed with Gergana’s unique style, creating a hypnotic and mysterious image. The fleeting nature of the stroke conveys the idea of something elusive, as beautiful as it is evanescent and short-lived. The work is studied down to the smallest detail, from the structure to the combination of different shades of blue with orange, red and white. The rhythm and structure are reminiscent of music, another fundamental element. Music that guides the artist in the creation and experimental juxtaposition of acrylics that blend with the canvas. The artist is certainly inspired by Kandinsky’s abstractionism and Mirò’s surrealism in terms of composition and the use of music as a founding element. Also in “Schein”, in fact, the synthesis between nonfigurative and figurative painting is successful. Colours become incandescent, forms dissolve. The composition created by Gergana appears alternately calm and dynamic, creating a correspondence between sound and image. What makes Gergana’s style unique and inimitable is the use of several arts together: painting, music, literature. “Schein” is thus a mix of elements that are able to marry in a harmonious and balanced way.
“I try to apply colors like words that shape poems, like notes that shape music.” (Joan Mirò)
Art Curator Ilaria Falchetti
Gergana Nikolova
Schein II
Giulia Ciani “In nature, light creates the color; in the picture, color creates light. Every color shade emanates a very characteristic light no substitute is possible.” (Hans Hofmann) Giulia Ciani is an Italian artist living in London since 2012 whose abstract paintings created with the technique of acrylic on canvas are distinguished by the particular way in which color is tested. She considers art as a moment of escape in which she leaves real life aside to immerse herself in her magical world where shapes and colors meet to give life to unique creations. Painting to find peace with oneself, to release one’s emotions trying to convey them to those who look at her works. “Traces” was painted in 2021 using the innovative fluid art pouring technique. This takes advantage of the liquid consistency of the paint that is poured to create multiple fantasies. The term itself, fluid art, perfectly describes the movement of the paint which, sliding over the entire surface, creates surprising visual effects. The canvas is populated with different colors in various shades that create pleasant chromatic contrasts. In “Traces”, the predominant colors are green, pink, blue and red in different shades. Circular shapes, spots without precise outlines can be distinguished; the colors in some cases are defined, in others they blend to create new ones. The effect that the technique used gives is surprising, but it is such as because the artist is able to treat and explore it in an excellent way. Traces that everyone leaves behind during his life journey, traces everyone must follow to reach a predetermined goal, his own footsteps that meet someone else’s because it is destiny that has decided it. The title itself leaves room for the viewer to interpret the work in a personal way, allowing him to review himself, reflect and get completely involved. Giulia, a young artist with great talent, makes color the protagonist of her works, making it capable of transforming itself into a powerful and exciting means of expression and communication.
Art Curator Camilla Gilardi
Giulia Ciani
Traces
Gregorio Negro Maldonado “The journey is a kind of door through which one leaves reality as if to enter an unexplored reality that looks like a dream”. (Guy de Maupassant) The works of the Spanish artist Gregorio represent a real journey, he takes us to the discovery of places he has visited and which he reinterprets. Meeting with Gregorio’s artistic work allows us to walk and undertake a journey not only geographically speaking, but also emotionally and temporally. “Enchanted forest” is the memory of a trip to Japan, here the gold color becomes a symbol of the magic and mysticism that animate the Japanese culture and that its woods emanate. Gold that is light on a dark background, a metaphor of the divine that illuminates the road and life. If in “Enchanted forest” we experience calm and composure, in the work “Fishing of Malaga” we witness a whirlwind of colors, set in motion by fast and precise brushstrokes that flicker like fish. The viewer is completely overwhelmed by the agitation of colors that seem to overlap with each other to escape from the picture, as if to free themselves from the confines of the canvas. In fact, the work has a link with expressionism, where the fundamental principle was precisely to express the inner sensations with a push from the inside out. Gregorio is able with great dexterity to express emotions, to tell the memory of moments lived through the power of color, the incisiveness of the sign and the synthesis of form. Gregorio’s artistic work is a triumph of colors, in the work “Coralin forest” it seems as if the gaze is lost in the depth of the colors, placed one next to the other, separated by contour lines that recall the stained glass windows gothic. The works of the Spanish artist somehow retrace the time and let the viewer get lost in remote memories. Gregorio’s artistic work clearly refers to the works of great abstract artists, somehow the Spanish artist’s art makes one think of Pollock’s dripping, for example in the work “Enchanted forest”, the color that drips refers to the works of American artist. Defenitely, the works are full of bright colors, in the same way they are a concentrate of emotions, evoke unique sensations, of astonishment and wonder and still awaken dormant memories.
Art Curator Vanessa Viti
Gregorio Negro Maldonado
Coraline forest
Gregorio Negro Maldonado
Enchanted forest
Gregorio Negro Maldonado
Fishing of Malaga
Haiyang Hou
In his digital work titled “Kissender” the chinese artist Haiyang Hou uses cold and brilliant colors to depict a common scene proposed by ancient and contemporary artists internationally known. However this time the young artist repserents the scene of the kiss - that calls to mind “The Lovers” by the surrealist and belgian artist René Magritte – between two queer, from here the name of the work: “Kissender”. The two transgender figures are recognizable by the use of the black beard and the long eyelashes that broke gender identity; moreover they are drawn in a colorful way by the use of pink and violet hues, to recall a caring scene. On a shiny green background, the main characters seem to be vigilant from people’s gaze - that is the setting of the picture – keeping their eyes open while kissing. Haiyang‘s aim is to represent a quotidian and contemporary scene that characterizes the whole society full of people who deny and reject homosexuals and their freedom. This denialism is visible through the black horizontal and vertical lines that seem to divide the two figures. The use of a great variety of colors is the symbol of the LGTBQ pride flag.
Art Curator Martina Stagi
Haiyang Hou
Kissender
Harry T. Burleigh
The artist Harry T. Burleigh presents at the “Kromatic@rt” exhibition at the M.A.D.S. Gallery in Milan five exclusive works (“Callipygian”, “Fire Dance”, “Lofty Waters”, “Morpheus”, “The Hand of God”) with a strong emotional and pictorial charge. By being inspired by different combinations of colors, sounds, sensations and the sensual “S” curve (serpentine figure) typical of the Mannerist movement of the 1500s, the artist makes his representations dynamic and harmonious, capable of drawing the viewer attention into that desired sensorial and chromatic vortex. Two fundamental aspects can be seen in these paintings: movement and the four elements of nature. As for the first point, Harry imagines and imprints on the canvas figures that can be traced back to the female human body, but the ensemble of these forms is strongly dynamic, as if a supernatural force were present and capable of creating a unique musical symphony. A strong wind that gives warmth and balance and that sweeps the observer away and cradles him as in a graceful dance. Thanks to the wave-like movement, these paintings are pervaded from an atmosphere that hovers between dream, fantasy and reality, contributing to the creation of luminescence and broad color shades. The second crucial aspect is inherent in the theory of the four elements: they constitute the material of our universe and the human temperament. The artist is able to listen to nature, with its changing and mysterious voice, and this helps him to enter the depths of his own soul. It whispers to him and helps him in his choice of bright tones and particular nuances, allowing the beauty and purity of his surroundings to shine through. And this is how the artist’s skillful hand succeeds in representing the elements that make up our planet: in “Callipygian” the features of a shapely woman appear before the observer, with nuances that range from green to blue to thick orange hair, as if to represent Mother Earth. While in “Fire Dance” there is a triumph of bright colors, symbolizing life and rebirth, where fire warms the deepest perceptions of the contemporary human being. In “Lofty Waters”, a great vortex of warm wind revives the waves of a crystal-clear sea. And finally, “Morpheus”, which recalls the god of dreams and sweet sleep, the spectator can let himself be lulled by a light breath of air that immerses him in a heavenly dimension. But there is one last key aspect that can be admired in the work “The Hand of God”: he is the only one who can govern the four elements and radiate a pleasant and satisfying feeling with that golden yellow and intertwining hue. Harry T. Burleigh’s works represent “emotional” painting, made up of creative skill, poetic transfiguration and vibrant imagination, through a mixture of gazes, stories and emotions, where a balance between figuration and abstraction certainly emerges.
“And one by one those extraordinary elements called colours came out exultant, festive, reflective, fantastic, spontaneously creating new combinations, until they mixed with each other and created endless series of new worlds.” (Vasilij Kandinskij)
Art Curator Alessia Perone
Harry T. Burleigh
Callipygian
Harry T. Burleigh
Fire Dance
Harry T. Burleigh
Lofty Waters
Harry T. Burleigh
Morpheus
Harry T. Burleigh
The Hand of God
Haubi Haubner “Art is made to disturb, science to reassure.” (Salvador Dalí) Haubi Haubner is a German artist who, starting from 2016, creates works of contemporary art using ink, acrylic and spray, even if the first approaches with the creative world date back to the 80s during which he delights in the execution of graffiti. Haubi’s works are characterized by strong color contrasts and the subjects, represented in the smallest details, are metaphors for reflections, teachings and challenges that man is required to face every day. In METAMORPHOSIS - “FIRST, LAST + ALWAYS”, a work created in 2019 with the technique of acrylic and ink on paper, the protagonist is a lively face which, by making a twisting movement, shows its most hidden, dark, and gloomy side. Color, in addition to have an influence on the aesthetic factor of a work of art, certainly also has a strong semantic power. This representation, without any doubt, confirms it. Haubi, an artist with an original but at the same time profound personality, with METAMORPHOSIS wants to give voice to one of the most enigmatic crossroads that puts man to the test, often making him fall into temptation: right, wrong; the good and the bad. The right is always the way to go or maybe making mistakes can sometimes have its positive effects? Is there never a hint of badness in the good and vice versa? The painted face on the left of the work represents the positive side, endowed with energy and vitality: the colors that characterize the various geometric shapes that make up the figure range from different shades of green and blue that contrast with a touch of orange. On the right, however, in black and white, we can admire the representation of the metaphor of what can be defined as cruel, wrong. A touch of color is given by the blue eyes from which sad tears fall which are then dispersed in the yellow background. Haubi, through his works, in addition to letting us enter his intense and magical inner world, offers us the opportunity to reflect on important arguments, thus learning to better know ourselves and our relationship with what surrounds us.
Art Curator Camilla Gilardi
Haubi Haubner
METAMORPHOSIS – „FIRST, LAST + ALWAYS“
Heike LIN Triebel
Heike LIN Triebel is a German artist, based near Frankfurt. Her creative process determines her originality. Each painting is realized starting from the background, what usually takes a back seat. For Triebel, the canvas is like a sky full of clouds to observe until imagining forms to be painted. The artist is inspired by the colors, mostly shades of light blue and blue, as in the case of her series entitled “Wild Horses” consisting of nine paintings. Triebel then realizes material backgrounds through several superimposed layers of acrylic paint, varnish, gauze and oxidation media, approaching the Italian artist Alberto Burri. After an observation phase, the artist begins to paint the subjects that emerge naturally from cracks, spatulates and oxidations. As can be guessed from the title, from these blue backgrounds the artist brings out horses as the main subject. The history of art is imbued with equine representations that often symbolize strength, as in the case of the work of Umberto Boccioni “La città che sale” made in 1910; horses are also subjects that can be used to represent anxiety as in the case of “The nightmare” by the Romantic painter Johann H. Fussli, or even more the horse par excellence: Selene’s horse of the Parthenon, kept at the British Museum in London. The most emblematic example of Triebel’s series is the canvas entitled “Wild Horses IX” in which three horses impose themselves with power on the canvas. The force is perceptible by the movement: they seem to gallop among the impetuous waters of a stormy sea. The feeling is that the subjects tended to escape from the canvas, challenging the viewer through their straight and decisive looks.
Art Curator Giorgia Massari
Heike LIN Triebel
Wild Horses IX
Hiroshi Wada
In a world full of different colours, shades and nuances, an exception in the art scene is the contemporary Japanese artist Hiroshi Wada who mainly uses only black ink in his works. They are as essential in their strokes as in their colours, but no less meaningful for that. Hiroshi Wada is a calligrapher and so, in accordance with the tradition of this ancient art, black ink marks are traced on rice paper. The paper not only serves as a support, but also becomes an integral part of the artwork, part of its soul that recalls the aesthetics of emptiness typical of the East. A void of space, but not of meaning, since the white makes the black calligraphic line Love, revisited in a contemporary key, even more incisive and effective. A novelty in this work is the red ink spot. It captures the viewer’s attention and makes him reflect on red as the colour of the strong passion generated by love. The love that everyone needs in life. This same concept was expressed in the West by Keith Haring, not in form or technique, but certainly in colour and in the idea of unconditional love. In some of his works, the artist uses only black, white and red, one of the strongest colours. The black and red are inks that vibrate on the support as a pure expression of the artist’s inner world and his path of discipline and daily exercise. This is a typical characteristic of all calligraphy artists, as Usuda Tosen - master of this art - also testifies. For them, errors or preparatory drawings are not allowed, as in most artistic currents, but only a fluid and sure gesture in which they manage to transmit their vital energy. Halfway between tradition and avant-garde, between Japanese calligraphy and Western abstract painting, LOVE_05 is certainly a work of art that belongs to the contemporary world and that will one day succeed in fulfilling the artist’s deepest desire: to have classical Japanese calligraphy recognised as an art capable of reaching an international level, that can be accepted as Contemporary art.
“I believe unless we break classical traditions or common sense, the truly new things cannot be made.” (Hiroshi Wada)
Art Curator Alice Tresoldi
Hiroshi Wada
LOVE_05
Ian Orkis “I’m all lack- there’s no nostalgia and not even distance- being what is missing- now and ever- I” (Mariangela Gualtieri) «I’m all lack- there’s no nostalgia and not even distance- being what is missing- now and ever- I». These verses of the Italian contemporary poetess Mariangela Gualtieri are very meaningful if related to the opera of the artist Ian Orkis. What emerges is a face with the facial features erased: polished cheekbones, smooth forehead, no wrinkles. The sight is focused on the rigid and indefinite eyes. The background illuminates the shoulders of a figure that seems to come from the light and going towards the observer. This movement gives prominence to the face. In this way his expressiveness and what it communicates takes shape. This is a contemporary phenomenology used by artists like Michelangelo Pistoletto and Gideon Rubin. The face that gives us Ian Orkis doesn’t want to be recognized by the facial features, it doesn’t create differences or borders between who shows and who observes, the figure just wants to connect with the observer up to take his expressions, blending in him. In this suggestion the eyes penetrates into this image that now seems to become a mirror. That’s the way the artist has to communicate the depersonalization of the individual, directed towards a self abnegation, in virtue of this exchange of sympathetic glances. And when we meet the other, the reflection, he seems to say: -I wanna look at you too, try to look like you-. The occasional observor listens to this voice and projects his existence in the one of the painting. The result is his own negation, in a game of reflections where the key is the condensation between the observor and the image of the painting. In this way the artist, Ian Orkis, in occasion of the art contemporary exhibition, Kromatic@rt wants to tell us the creation process of his opera and how he has arrived to disappear and blend into the visitor through the cancellation and the annulment. He gives us the cancellation of the borders between who observes and who shows in virtue of one unique object, that is the art. Like he says: «This process is made possible by disappearing what has already been made. Also, this is the necessary step for expanding imagination, and this painting is the attempt to advance art through creation and disappearance». And on the other side of the reality, of the mirror or maybe on the other side of canvas, Ian Orkis gives us the opportunity to forget about us, as a ritual to say together with the figure ”I am what is missing” and in this way celebrate art.
Art Curator Elisabetta Eliotropio
Ian Orkis
Untitled
IP by ArteMonium The past year has left us with unbridgeable hole and a sense of continuous disorientation. Distance from the “real” world and the impossibility to live “normally” in complete freedom has led us to stick to what we care about most: values, family, loved ones, and why not, even our passions, such as art and music. The creative duo IP Artemonium conducted its own research on this discourse: every artwork, in its own way, aims at filling this emotional and social gap. Through various nuances, colours and different techniques, a work of art is able to communicate and activate the viewers’ emotions and sensibilities. “Tommy” was born as a glimmer of hope for what we have lost and its “beige” holes refer us to something missing but that at the same time we could recover. This possibility of soothing sorrow is expressed by the use of magical colours, to spread positivity. In “Ucronia”, whose literal meaning refers to the Greek tradition, talks about a time that has never been there: an alternative to the present and the current situation: a mixture of colours (what we would have wishes) alternating with black signs (with what we are forced to endure in the present), a continuous sense of dissatisfaction, melancholy, emptiness. A feeling probably realized and evoked in “Distopia”, with a hint of even higher tension: heavier brushstrokes, pasty and pained. A turn of tension is certainly found in “Night in Shanghai”, in addition to the homage of the famous novel, tends to grasp the potential of the famous Chinese town, known for being always in turmoil: a full of energy and vitality, as suggested by the same colourful nuances, full of possibilities and hopes. As you the spectator can notice, each artwork captures a state of mind and evokes a musical sonnet or a reference to something else, that makes us identify with the paintings. In “Lucy”, on the other hand, there is a clear reference to the ancestral force, to that lifeblood that allow us to overcome difficulties and instil hope even in the darkest moments. A radical change of colours, brighter and stronger, such as the meaning and message they want to communicate.
Art Curator Cecilia Terenzoni
IP by ArteMonium
A Night in Shanghai
IP by ArteMonium
Distopia
IP by ArteMonium
Lucy
IP by ArteMonium
Tommy
IP by ArteMonium
Ucronia
Iretiar “Man does not have a body separate from the soul. What we call body is the part of the soul that is distinguished by its five senses” (William Blake) The central part of Iretiar’s work is occupied by the figure of a woman lying on the ground. The observer is not only in front of a body, but what appears is the sensitivity and fragility that characterize it. All the vulnerability of a woman enclosed in that fetal position, she so curled up and so defenseless, but the artist inserts an element that becomes a shield and protection. A horn emerges from the woman’s shoulder which here is a symbol of strength and defense. In fact, the horn has always had a great symbolic value for man of all times, it is no coincidence that many divinity were equipped with horns. Symbol of power undoubtedly, famous rulers of past historical eras adorned their headdresses with horns, not only that, even the sorcerers used them as an ornament because they took on the symbolic meaning of mental and spiritual strength. Iretiar protects her creation with a large horn, so if at first glance the observer is attracted by the fragility of the figure, immediately afterwards he discovers that he has something else in front of him, that is the strength of a woman. That strength of mind that only women possess and that often hide with elegance. The protagonist of Iretiar’s work seems to take on the appearance of a fantastic or mythological being, she appears as if she had emerged from a deep green background. That backdrop could be as strongly real and tangible as a large lawn covered with thick grass, at the same time it appears as surreal, almost imaginary, which brings to mind a certain mysticism. For both, the background and the human figure, Iretiar uses deep and mellow colors, the artist creates dynamism, volume and concreteness. The intensity of the colors, the immediacy and the simplification of the forms make the work of Fauve style, without doubt it refers to the great masters of the movement. At the same time, the artwork remind to the symbolism, where every detail has a meaning, has a special value, in her work Iretiar inserts some elements and all of them have specifically meaings. Iretiar’s work is full of power and emotional intensity, meeting the French artist’s art means discovering sensitivity, elegance, strength and courage. It’s like a meeting with a beautiful and strenght woman.
“Women hold up half of the sky” (Mao Zedong)
Art Curator Vanessa Viti
Iretiar
Forêver
Jai Mitchell “Art is a line around your thoughts” ( Gustav Klimt )
Jai Mitchell approached the world of art through the discovery of art therapy as a way to a new beginning. Through the artistic expression of thoughts, experiences and emotions, Jai uses its potential to creatively process all those sensations that cannot be brought out with words and in everyday contexts. Through creative action, the internal image becomes an external; visible and shareable and it communicates its emotional and cognitive inner world to the other. Art allows him a direct, immediate, spontaneous, archaic and instinctive expression of himself that does not pass through the intellect. Through his works made of movement, sounds, colors, shapes, and drawings, the artist is the protagonist of his emotions and dreams and artistic techniques are a tool to communicate with other human beings in a society where we tend to live passively, to “consume” the emotions of others, perhaps emotions that are coming from a television.
Jai Mitchell
The creative moment for Jai is the act of expressing, it’ s a feeling that comes to light. In this dynamic relationship between body and soul, there is space for a therapeutic, rehabilitative and educational relationship. He makes us enter his world and courageously shares his intimate life stories with these powerful and touching pieces, he invites us to “feel” to “connect” with the rawest part of us and he does so in an overwhelming way. Jai’s art is a somewhat magical spark, a precious instant in which his creativity gives life to something that speaks to us in a unique way that is ours alone; the internal image with the creative action becomes an external, visible image, it is exposed to be shared and to communicate our intuition; a special way to deal with problems and to do, say, or perceive reality.
Art Curator Erika Gravante
Jai Mitchell
Nation Insecure
Jai Mitchell
No One Else Can Make You Change
Jane Gottlieb “Every new morning, I’ll go out on the streets looking for colors.” (Cesare Pavese) The world around us is a world of color. Every object, every place and even every person are characterized by a color that represents and describes them. But also, every emotion and every feeling recall a color to our mind, which makes us relive that feeling, thanks to what it emanates. It is up to us to decide to see these colors. There is no better representation of the power, that the colors of everyday life have over us, than the works of the artist Jane Gottlieb. For her works, Jane chooses subjects from the daily life of each of us and this makes us approach and enter even more in them. What makes them absolutely unique are the artist’s color choices. The colors, with which we are used to recognizing places and objects, are completely distorted and, thanks to this, they are able to convey completely new, unique sensations, that we could never have imagined. Thanks to Jane’s works, we enter a new and unprecedented world, in which colors dominate it, creating an atmosphere of joy and vivacity. It seems to walk in a fantastic and fairytale world, in which the sunset lights transform the whole landscape and what surrounds us: everything is colored in yellow, red, orange and pink, as in the work “South of Sunset”, but also “California Pool” and “Cover Girl”. But also, and above all, art and architecture are part of our daily life and Jane, in the works “Brancusi Head” and “David”, gives a new life to the vision we have of them. These works are the artist’s homage to two great sculptors of human history, who revolutionized their time with their works, Michelangelo in the Renaissance and Brancusi in the twentieth century. Above all, the work dedicated to Brancusi shows us how art predominantly enters life and the world of every day. Here one of the most emblematic works of Brancusi’s art dialogues in an unprecedented way with the Gothic architecture of the church, and it seems to be in one of De Chirico’s Piazzas of Italy, but vividly animated by the colors of Jane, which transport us to a fantastic world.
Art Curator Silvia Grassi
Jane Gottlieb
South of Sunset
Jane Gottlieb
Cover Girl
Jane Gottlieb
David
Jane Gottlieb
Brancusi Head
Jane Gottlieb
California Pool
Jarmila Novakova “Painting is a state of being ... Painting is process of self-discovery.” (Jackson Pollock)
The artist Jarmila Novakova conceives painting, especially the abstract one, as a connection to a new, mysterious and attractive dimension, through which the viewer can be fully involved, both physically and mentally. An extension of the earthly world where dreams and fantasy have the freedom to cross all boundaries. In fact, with “Colour Inspiration”, the work presented at the M.A.D.S. Art Gallery in Milan for the “Kromatc@rt” exhibition, Jarmila crosses that imaginary line into a parallel universe, where every mood and feeling emerge both from the canvas and the heart of the viewer. Two aspects are fundamental: the use of colors and the form they assume on the surface. The artist focuses on violet, white and black in her choice of colors: the fusion between them generates other different shades, which extend from the center to the sides of the work, while the different strokes give life to an unequalled dynamism, as if the all the signs were in continuous movement and evolution. Based on the expression of her inner world, Jarmila’s aesthetic and artistic research includes the study of the composition of shapes and colors, which influence both the artist and the viewer, awakening creativity. By externalizing emotions and feelings through spontaneous and immediate gestures, these traits have affinities with psychoanalysis, exactly as in Abstractionism and Expressionism movements: interpreting and painting through the unconscious means to activate all those perceptive processes capable of expanding the viewer’s imagination. Freedom, peace, purification, a new beginning: Jarmila succeeds in unleashing numerous dynamic sensations that rekindle the energy of anyone who admires this painting.
“The unconscious is a very important element of modern art, and I think the impulses of the unconscious have a great significance for the viewer of a painting.” (Jackson Pollock)
Art Curator Alessia Perone
Jarmila Novakova
Colour Inspiration
Jenny Chandler “The color is the key, the eye is the gavel, the soul is the piano with many strings.” (Vasilij Kandinskij) Looking at the work of the artist Jenny Chandler, we dive in a parallel universe, we are run over by a multi-color wave that touches our senses with dynamic signs. Away from any kind of real landscape, the world shown by the artist is the result of dynamic balance given by a plastic construction in which the different chromatic and signs surfaces intersect with each other and open the doors to new universes. The sign is the main character of the composition. We find it as in the construction of the layers background colors and as in the extreme last touch of the artist who, through the use of bright colors like yellow and blue, leaves a trace of herself on the painting, of her impetus, of her physicality, of her liberty. In this we read a tribute to the abstract expressionism of Jackson Pollock, to his dripping technique, to his action painting. The artist expresses her full freedom of action in that she does not follow any predetermined project, any ideal, any reference to the real, but she controls the power of the color with dynamic gesture. So the painting shows during the executive process, expressing also the psychophysical energies of the author. The sign becomes an hypothetical ego that moves on the surface thanks to the gesture of the artist through which she crosses the various reality of the composition. Moving away from any kind of emulation of the real, the work of art becomes a way through which we move away from everyday life to set sail for new worlds to search pure emotions. Together with the sign, that defines a study on the compositional balance made by the artist, what points out this evasion from the real is the color. The colors used by the artist are bright colors, unreal colors, metaphysician colors, psychedelich colors, that refear to the reality of the dream, of the fantasy, the unique place where our dreams are completely satisfied. ‘’The color is the key, the eye is the gavel, the soul is the piano with many strings’’. Kandinskij defines the art like this: an inner necessity that find its fruitful ground in the vibration of the colors. This is the tenet that we find in the work of Jenny Chandler: an impetuous force that through free gestures marks, elaborates, deletes, redraws with various shades the movements coming from resonances of one’ s soul. The art becomes unique subject of the painting, appearing as a whirling dance of new light forms, that belong to the pure and childish fantasy, that pass through our eyes moving spiritual risonances of our soul. And here the title: Alice in the wonderland, a recall to the childish lightness, to the first impressions, to the innocence look, free from every mental limits that, with the maturuty, delimits more and more our throught. It is a travel back, towards many stories and tales belonging to a fantastic world, a world where we can run away whenever we need it. It is the principle of the art, to make travel, to explorer new scenarios or to bring us back to the sensations of wonder, that are present forever in the soul of the great dreamers. The artist becomes a way through which cross the bridge that bring us from the reality to the fantasy, to the world of the possibilities, to the universe of the creativity that makes us able to change our shape in a changing world.
Art Curator Alessia Di Martino
Jenny Chandler
Alice in Wonderland
Jill Hellman “A painting is never finished, It simply stops in interesting places.” (Paul Gardner) Jill Hellman is an American multi-material and multimedia artist. Her works embody strength and courage. She creates unique masterpieces. Each one artworks in its own right, capable of conveying wonderful emotions. All this can be seen in her extraordinary work ‘Many Points of Entry’, in which she encapsulates all her creativity and strength of spirit and conveys it to the viewer. The colours are juxtaposed with each other but outline distinct, almost geometric elements. The complex architecture of the work is certainly the result of experimental research, a journey into the deepest emotions of the human being. The composition creates a harmonious interplay of forms reminiscent of the works of the cubists and surrealists such as Matisse (the strong presence of the vivid red colour is also recalled). The elegance of the decorative rhythms is evident in the work, and the lights are rendered through a chromatic layering of pure colours. The volumetric rigour is combined with a subjective and emotional vision. The application of colours is soft and at the same time full of strength. The artist’s research is based on the continuous discovery of new elements. The message conveyed is subjective and varies from viewer to viewer, from point of view to point of view. What unites the countless ways of perceiving the work is the underlying message, a search for truth, a message of hope. A unique artwork that sees the triumph of blue, blue, red, pink and orange colours, embellished with touches of gold and white light that create three-dimensionality. A jubilation of volumes that fit into each other, blend and together create new combinations to be discovered. As the title suggests, there is no better point of view than another to look at and interpret the work. Every side is right. The viewer is left free to wander through the pictorial space and discover different angles, new elements that on a first superficial vision were not visible. Cubism is present in the painting because in the work, as in Cubist works, we do not see what the eye can see from a single vantage point but what the mind reworks on the basis of visual experience and memory. The result is a playful and multifaceted work, full of ideas and interpretations that are linked by a single thread: hope. With “Many Points of Entry” Jill invites the viewer to see life as it is: true, pure and full of colour. A game, that of living life in colour, which never ends and is destined to evolve continuously.
“The only time I feel alive is when I’m painting.” (Vincent Van Gogh)
Art Curator Ilaria Falchetti
Jill Hellman
Many points of entry
Johann Neumayer “Today’s world doesn’t make sense, why would I have to paint pictures that have them?” (Pablo Picasso) Johann Neumayer is an Austrian artist. He started as a craftsman and then trained as a furniture designer after taking the HFL course for interior design. He begins to experiment and deepen the Rhino 5 design program that he uses today for the realization of his works. In the panorama of contemporary art he is among the most complex artists in terms of the process of analysis and artistic creation. Observing his works, it emerges that at the basis of these, there is a process of free association between thoughts and images without precise aims or inhibitory restraints, a concept and foundation that we know to be at the base of Surrealism. Neumayer exhibits at M.A.D.S. art gallery just five of the many works that make up the “Play paint point” series. In each of them we see represented and repeated inside, the same abstract figure generated by lines and curves, joined together by point-like objects that define the single point in 3D space. This tangle of lines that at times refers to a spaceship, also reminds us of the subject represented by the Italian artist Roberto Crippa in the series of “Spirals”. In fact, by carefully observing Neumayer’s works, we can find hints and references to the “spatialist movement” founded by Lucio Fontana in 1946. Only in works number 3 and number 4 do we see the vertices of the points dilate and distort. The same chromatic background appears in four of the five works. We can recognize the colors of the rainbow that make up the basic spectrum from which all visible light is formed. The work N3 has a white background while the colors fill some portions of the abstract forms present. The choice of color was conceived on the occasion of the exhibition “Kromatic@rt” in which Johann Neumayer will exhibit the works in question. Through and thanks to the touch screen systems of which M.A.D.S. art gallery prepares, it will be possible to interact and play with the works, hence the title “Play paint point”.
Art Curator Elisa Acquafresca
Johann Neumayer
Play paint point 1
Johann Neumayer
Play paint point 2
Johann Neumayer
Play paint point 3
Johann Neumayer
Play paint point 4
Johann Neumayer
Play paint point 5
Jon Skul “You paint the way you have to in order to give. That’s life itself, and someone will look and say it is the product of knowing, but it has nothing to do with knowing, it has to do with giving.” (Franz Kline) Jon Skul, pseudonym of Jon Hover, proposes his portrayal of the past year. As a radiologist, having experienced the pandemic wave first-hand in 2020, he decided to turn this experience into a creative project and, opposed to the malaise he was perennially living, he canalized his energies and knowledge to create and evoke a feeling of relief. As he declares: “The emotional turmoil and physical exhaustion led Skul to express himself through his artwork”. He forged a term for this experimental work illustrating a sort of new artistic current: “Bioexpressionism”. The expression refers to a mixture between medical and scientific influences and the expressionist artist’s attitude in intensifying and exasperating the emotional side of reality. The artist’s style mixes up applied knowledge of his work as a radiologist together with the artistic one, using peculiar techniques that he learned during his BA degree in New Media Animation/Photography. The individuality of the artist is the heart of the artwork, where Jon challenges his existence in a psychological and spiritual sense. In this case, the painting, represents a space free from aesthetic conventions, in which the artist conveys his emotions and his vital energy. In being in direct contact with pain and despair, the human being ends up distancing himself, from his heart and from his true needs, therefore it is here that art can become a lifeline. Jon decides to exhibit for KROMATIC@RT exhibition “Drowned”, suggesting the theme and the collective condition that many people have felt and continue feeling because of the existent global pandemic. The artwork presents different colours, between the brightest and the lightest. Among them, we can see a syringe, to date the symbolic instrument of rebirth after this bad period, and lower, an object now indispensable for our lives: the mask. Jon’s paintings are the result of sacrifices and devotions, of constancy and commitment, that he decided to show us and share with us. The only way to escape, albeit momentarily, from the pandemic nightmare.
Art Curator Ylenia De Giosa
Jon Skul
Drowned
Josetta Jones
The artist Josetta Jones has a passion for art and more specifically to portraiture: in fact, from her works, beauty, femininity and youthfulness emerge from every face depicted. Each portrait she creates is influenced by a woman who has inspired her: for this reason, the desire is to imprint on the canvas all those emotions and sensations that remain vivid in both the heart and the mind of the artist. In addition to its representation, the aim is also to give a name and a story to the finished portrait, as if it could interact and speak to the viewer. Exactly as in the work exhibited at the “Kromatic@rt” exhibition: in “Hana” all the splendor and ease of the woman is represented. Well-groomed, calm and reassuring, the girl’s beauty highlights her youngness, with her bust in profile, she looks back to the observer, as if she had turned to respond to the call of a voice. Recalling the portraits of artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and his beloved “Gioconda”, Jan Vermeer with “The girl with the pearl earring” and Gustave Klimt with “Portrait of a Lady”, Josetta emphasizes the woman’s gaze through every detail: from the shape of the face, to the pink mouth like the flowers in the hair and the earring, up to the deepness given by the dark tones of the eyes and the thick hair. All these elements create a sharp contrast with the pale complexion and slightly flushed cheeks. There is also a sense of familiarity as opposed to mystery: the viewer is attracted to look at the woman, who shyly returns the gaze but does not go any further; and the background depicted with pastel tones and almost impressionistic brushstrokes, gives the work naturalness, gentleness and security, reassuring the viewer. Josetta Jones conveys more than a thousand words with her art, and each of her portrait represents a fragment of everyday life, with which the viewer can totally identify himself.
“No matter how much we use all the means of communication in the world, nothing, absolutely nothing, replaces the gaze of the human being.” (Paulo Coelho)
Art Curator Alessia Perone
Josetta Jones
Hana
Julien van Middendorp “Every artist has been inspired by the beauty of lines and colors and their intersection of use, rather than by the concrete subject of the painting.” (Piet Mondrian) Julien van Middendorp is a Dutch abstract painter with a well-defined style that emerges from each of his paintings. Within his artistic and aesthetic conception, Julien uses primary colors on large canvases in order to make his works extremely connected as in a musical symphony where the various tones express liveliness and vitality. Although his paintings are purely abstract, one can perceive different figures that characterize the pictorial surface. Moreover, the different themes and key messages can be deduced from the titles of the works themselves. In “Alien Blueprint”, nuances with precise meanings emerge: yellow is linked to solar energy, red to the union between light and space and blue is a symbol of spirituality; everything is skillfully arranged in a compositional order that seeks a formal and chromatic balance. Exactly as in the works of Piet Mondrian, Julien emphasizes line and color, creating a relationship between universal order and natural reality that allows it to be reduced to an essential plastic vision. As the curved lines meet, they form a central, horizontal pattern anchored to the central axis. Around this form, a grid is arranged symmetrically to form an abstract and balanced composition. The presence of geometric figures of different sizes provides stability to the entire composition. Through black and white, the artist expresses harmony and rigor as opposed to cosmic disorder, with the aim of achieving a representation of the immutable truth of things, in favor of a painting that is independent and itself pure expression. Moreover, imagination plays a crucial role in this work and in Julien’s creative process: each element is arranged on the canvas like musical notes that his unconscious has composed in an energetic and dynamic rhythm.
“I want to get as close as possible to the truth, so I can abstract everything until I arrive at the fundamental quality of the objects.” (Piet Mondrian)
Art Curator Alessia Perone
Julien van Middendorp
Alien Blueprint
Julio Solórzano “You will learn at your own expense that in the long journey of life you will encounter many masks and few faces.” (Luigi Pirandello)
The word personality comes from the Latin word “persona”. In the ancient world, a persona was a mask worn by an actor. While we tend to think of a mask as being worn to conceal one’s identity, the theatrical mask was originally used to either represent or project a specific personality trait of a character. Only later, this term changed its meaning, assuming the connotation that we still attribute to it. Each of us in our growth path develops our own personality. Over time, the different experiences and teachings that derive from them, form a sort of stratification that settles in our ego, gradually developing our way of being and acting in the world. Through his art, Julio Solorzano, an artist from Honduras, offers us a research approach dedicated to investigating and deepening these changes between one layer and another.
Julio Solรณrzano
In the creative act, he immerses himself in an inner search, analyzing every detail layer by layer. His paintings are characterized by a series of brushstrokes of different colors, distributed horizontally and vertically, one on top of the other, letting some smudges of color thicken to form lumps. The result is a strong sense of movement and a vibrant surface. In Primavera, green, yellow and orange tones occupy the entire visual field, transmitting hope and energy. White lines collide with each other perpendicularly, forming angles. Julio tells us about the complexities that hide behind each person and the stratifications that characterize it. Color on color and brushstroke upon brushstroke, it creates a space for investigation and research of the inner world.
Art Curator Francesca Brunello
Julio Solรณrzano
Primavera
Julio Solรณrzano
Torino
Justin Maser
In 1704 Newton published a work entitled “Optiks”, a treatise on light and the nature of colors. In 1810, a century later, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, published his work “Of the theory of colors” in which he highlights the lacunosity of Newton’s earlier theories, focusing on the retinal perception of the chromatic phenomenon and on the functioning of vision, but not only. Although Goethe’s theory was more complete and accurate than that of Newton, it was not recognized as scientific in all respects and was adopted only long after by artists such as Turner, Kandinsky, Klee, Alberos and many others. They decided to make the use of color and its power their stylistic signature. A very rich variety of historical moments, artistic expressions and figurative needs, therefore, well represent how deeply the theme is interconnected with all the historical moments of painting. Color is often understood as a logical sequence or as a metaphor of real figures referring to well-defined forms and the creation, therefore, of something extremely tangible as you can see in the work “Wonderland” by Justin Maser. A rainbow of colors that explodes on the canvas, so decided, to form different shades that will serve to recreate the slow overlap of the days and the incessant flow of time. The circular course interspersed with sequential lines metaphorically could refer the viewer to the hands of a watch that slowly mark the days through a palette of warm and cold colors and pasty brush strokes or less material.
Art Curator Federica D’Avanzo
Justin Maser
Wonderland
Karifurava “Art does not reproduce what is visible, but makes visible what is not.” (Paul Klee)
Having to describe the art of Karifurava, polish artist born in 1992, the unique andjective that comes to mind is challenging. The art history teaches us like the historical and social contest is a fundamental part of art criticism and of the artistic production which spreads from that. The only costant that does not depend time is the heated debate between what has been accepted as art in the course of time and what has been defined as scandal. Just think of the compains made from the Middle Age onwards against the paintings that showed nakedness or rough scenes. Though we can notice how in Ancient Greece was normal to show scenes of orgiastic sex life. Mentioning only some of the artists that angered the criticism, as Bosch, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Courbet, Manet, Schiele, Manzoni and Cattelan, we can understand how on the one hand exists an harsh reading towards the works, on the other we can consider how it is this shocking event that made them some of the greatest geniuses of art. Talking about the works of Karifurava, we can understand how these arise in the audience a series of conflicting emotions. Looking on Dualism we are faced with two nude female figures, in provocative attitudes. And is not this the aim of art, if not to provoke? Sure, some may be scandalized by such a work, but if we look at it in its context, in our context, it is clear like this work has a satirical flavor towards a social reality where taboos on female sexuality still apply. The purity of woman is stained by original sin under the watchful eye of a reality that is always ready to cry out to scandal. The provocative nature of Karifurava’s art derives from the fascination he has for the art of the Japanese Toshio Saeki. His has been defined as a disturbing, grotesque art, the result of black humor and biting satire. With crude scenes depicting an exasperated eroticism, the Japanese artist highlights the sexual deviances of a sick society. Karifurava’s art is the bearer of this ideology, highlighting the psychedelic dreams of a perverse fantasy present in the human mind. Nurturing a strong interest in Asian culture, the artist offers us a cartoonist vision of a reality without veils, of a flow of unconsciousness that invades the human being. In the second work presented to us, First minute in the park, the reference to Japanese culture is clear, especially the closing ideology linked to the female figure. Today in Japan, and beyond, there are still social ghosts that relegate women only as the ‘’ sex that gives birth ‘’. The existence of these ideologies obviously influences other social issues for which women are not granted the same rights as men. Fortunately, there are strong social campaigns that fight this disparity, but one of the strongest means of denunciation is certainly art. Precisely for this reason Karifurava shows us a woman enclosed in herself that blooms among the flowering branches, a symbol of apparent beauty. The last work presented to us by the artist is Nirvana. Also in this case we are faced with the representation of the ecstatic condition of pure spiritual enjoyment, not concretely visible in everyday reality, but which unites every living being in its intimacy. The artist describes a dream world, far from any reality, in which the absolute protagonists are the senses and the psychological and mental emotions experienced during the moment of maximum pleasure. A seemingly free pleasure, but always observed by the big eyes of conscience. A female figure, a human skeleton and one of a mutant that abandons itself, melts before our eyes, showing its weak points. A very important element in Karifurava’s works are colors. His palette is made up of psychedelic shades, bright colors belonging to the world of fantasy, a place of absolute freedom where there is no type of censorship and the senses become the protagonists of an infinite journey.
Art Curator Alessia Di Martino
Karifurava
Dualism
Karifurava
First minute in the park
Karifurava
Nirvana
Karolina Lehtinen
Karoliina Lehtinen is a Finland artist who recently resumed painting after a long period of pause. Her passion and her dedication is evident in her recent works, as well as her feeling of breathing again. Her approach to painting is totally free from the patterns, it is authentic and immediate. The artist never plans what she will paint, Lehtinen approaches the canvas with the feelings she feels at that moment, unloading on it all the tension that life can cause. This approach certainly comes close to the action painting that tends to focus on gestures rather than on symbolism. In her works it is evident the importance of the gesture, of the brushstroke that imprints on the canvas all the power of the gesture. Colours also play an important role in understanding and conveying emotions. This is the case of the painting titled “Bloom” which differs from her artistic production for particularly bright colors. Lehtinen’s works are often dark, alluding to difficult situations, “Bloom” is instead a hymn to joy, rebirth and life. Like a flowered field, the canvas is dotted with small spatulates of colors: blue, red, yellow and above all white, which brings to the picture the purity that probably the artist needs at that time. The title in fact suggests a flowering, a positive change. On the other hand, Lehtinen’s canvas may appear as a blurred, a confusing image. This is probably the artist’s true intent: to raise questions in the observers and to push them to go beyond what seems like an obstacle. To go out of the box to find the answers and therefore to be reborn, like a flower field in spring.
Art Curator Giorgia Massari
Karolina Lehtinen
Bloom
Katell Art
Katell Art is a French artist and her inspiration comes from street art: during her stay in Miami she fell in love with the graffiti of the city. This inspiration is evident in her works: some made in digital and some in acrylic. She also realizes work in mix media. Her entire production is characterized by a strong graphic and underground imprint. It is also evident the Pop influence: Katell realized silkscreens as well as Andy Warhol, uses bright colors and a comic print like Roy Lichtenstein and sometimes approaches the old school style of tattooers of the 1920s. All this is evident in the work “Teddy Bear” that the artist presents at M.A.D.S. art gallery on the occasion of the exhibition “Kromatic@rt”. A blonde woman is the protagonist of this graphic work, in which the red flat background dominates the chromatic composition. The woman’s hair resembles a burning flame, thus approaching the provocative look of the woman holding a cigarette in her mouth. The title of the work refers to the reflection inside the glasses that the protagonist holds on her nose: a teddy bear looks at the viewer. The work takes up the colors of the work of Richard Philipps “Spectrum”: purple, red, green, blue and yellow are used by Katell to create light effects on the woman’s skin and hair. The parallelism with Philipps is also to be seen in the purpose of the work: both lend themselves to be furnishing paintings, bringing light and color within environments.
Art Curator Giorgia Massari
Katell Art
Teddy bear
Kayla Branstetter “In a morning, because one of us had no black, he used blue: in that moment, Impressionism was born.” (Pierre-Auguste Renoir)
At the “Kromatic@rt” exhibition at the M.A.D.S. Art Gallery Kayla Branstetter is exhibiting a profound and overwhelming work: with “Aurora” the artist emphasizes every detail of the canvas, bringing out the purity and vivacity of the colors. Several decisive and dynamic signs prevail, and the whole creates a great enveloping fusion. The viewer’s perception is inextricably bound up with this work, giving free rein to movement, a dynamism that immediately captures the viewer’s attention, involving his soul. With a greater chromatic order achieved by using a targeted choice of tones, Kayla emphasizes each brushstroke by recalling the nuances of a clear sky: blue and violet constitute an infinite mixture, suggesting a spatial depth. The artist comes into contact with the essence of matter, where this blue, spread evenly over the pictorial surface, invades with its power and strength both real and mental sides, creating a fusion between art and life. In this way, one can witness its transformation from color to a moment of indescribable poetry. The viewer is immersed in a whirlwind of emotions and vital energy, embarking on a journey into his soul: a spiritual and personal quest, through which the viewer’s gaze is lost in infinity and all this chromatic harmony is animated by a permanent internal movement. The aim is to create a work of art that actively involves the public and makes them participate in the painting itself.
“The deeper the blue, the more it draws man towards the infinite, it makes him feel purity and an oversensitivity.” (Vasilij Kandinskij)
Art Curator Alessia Perone
Kayla Branstetter
Aurora
Kazumi Nakane A world teeming with life summed up in Kazumi Nakame’s painting. Nature is here seen, assimilated and reworked into new forms, new shapes and representative methodologies. The generating force of the world condensed into soft, sinuous forms and elongated lines, freed from any purely didactic form. The fascination of the birth of life as a founding element of the natural world is here broken down in every phase. The seed, so small and in some ways defenseless, in certain conditions of light and humidity releases its generative force dormant inside its hard outer skin. This is how a tiny glow of existence comes to life through long moments of growth, through a silent and muffled movement upwards, towards the light of the sun, the driving element of life on our planet. Born in the dark, in the humid but fertile earth, the sprout emerges from the ground to bathe itself in light. Thus begins its life cycle that will lead it to be - in the future - a majestic tree, birthplace and small ecosystem of many other living beings and lung of our planet earth. Nature is silent, it has understood the importance of waiting, of time passing slowly and of the path - tiring and full of obstacles - of a life that tries to blossom. It is perfect in its cyclic existence, in its balance between life and death, between germination of new existences, annihilation and rebirth. A balance perfected and refined over a very long time, difficult for man to calculate. Millions of years of continuous evolution and repetition of the cycle of existence within which we, human beings, are an infinitesimal part of this whole, of the immense vital engine that is nature. Kazumi Nakane condenses the germinative force through the use of shapes and colors that expand on the canvas. Static features that refer to a slow time, imperceptible to the human eye; monochromatic and variegated backgrounds, characterized by a peculiar game of spots, depth and light areas, a reference to the aquatic environment, probably the first ecosystem to have generated life. We can then glimpse, among abstract forms with their preferred blue-greenish tones, more figurative elements, which can be traced back to well-recognized physiognomies of flowers with long petals and shoots that have just emerged from the earth. The abstract and the figurative planes intersect and interpenetrate in Kazumi Nakane’s creative process in an alchemy of balances that reminds us of the perfect self-balancing of nature.
Art Curator Lisa Galletti
Kazumi Nakane
Ancient flower - 1
Kazumi Nakane
Ancient flower - 2
Kazumi Nakane
Wishing vase
Kefka “The artist must have something to say, for mastery over form is not his goal but rather the adapting of form to its inner meaning.” (Wassily Kandinsky) Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky (1866-1944), is the forerunner and founder of abstract painting. In 1912 he publishes one of the books that will forever mark the course of history and will be a point of reference for artists to come: Concerning the Spiritual in Art. In this book he theorizes what he is experiencing in his painting, namely the relationship between form and color at the base of abstraction. It speaks of a new era of great spirituality and of the large contribution of painting. He exposes his theories on the use of color, glimpsing a very close connection between a work of art and a spiritual dimension. Associate each tone and color with an emotional property, a spiritual vibration through which color reaches the soul. A text that announces the advent of an era that will supplant the materialism of the modern age. Impossible not to notice, in the work of Kefka, a contemporary Belgian artist, strong influences of Kandinsky’s abstract art. Lines, circles, triangles and shapes of all kinds develop in space, exploding into a myriad of colors. In Givraltar, several images superimposed and digitally processed, show us different details in transparency. Many small birds of all kinds hover and perch among the shapes. The color of their plumage mixes with a background that changes from black to petrol, against which orange, green, yellow, red with intense shades stand out. Everything seems to float among the waves of a stormy sea, which reveals some fish apparently careless of the turmoil that surrounds them. Kefka adopts the language of forms by blending digital art with classic technical skills. He pushes Kandinsky’s abstractionism into the contemporary, also making color the means of expression of the soul.
Art Curator Francesca Brunello
Kefka
Givraltar
Kefka
Kôln
Kefka
Street-Trask
Kelly Bourgeois Kelly Bourgeois is an American artist who grew up in Montana. Her works are characterized by the contrasts created between subjects and background, file rouge is the concept of wild. In these artworks the reference to expressionism is tangible, strongly linked to Franz Marc’s “Blue Horse I”, the contrasting colors are a perfect example of this. Just like in Marc’s work, the bright colors that stand out in the background - blue, purple, yellow, red and green - give a fairy tale and obviously unreal connotation. The horses which are the subjects of these works, seem to fly in an almost dreamlike reality, which makes it impossible to place them in a realistic environment. “Prussian Duo #1” has a different representation than the other artist paintings, the colors are more placed on the left side of the works, and the subject looks at them, as if to remember something. The brush strokes are decisive, uniform and the use of watercolor allows a perfect mix between the subject and the background. The red is the predominant color, the artist’s evident will is to express emotions. As the master Henri Matisse wrote “A certain red affects blood pressure”, the red is an ancestral, visceral color, it is the color of our blood, passion, and strength.“Prussian Beauty Running #2” has as its subject a running horse, the red remains as the central color, but in this case, it is accompanied by the purple and by a hint of bright pink. This painting highlights an emblematic use of colors because all of them are linked to each other, in fact, purple is the intermediate color between the red and the blue (used to paint the horse). The purple is the color that most of all is associated with royalty, therefore with power, hence a symbolic association arises relating to the representation of the running horse as a force of nature and the use of purple represents its royalty. “Prussian Horse #1” keeps one horse in motion as the subject, but the use of background colors changes radically, the same importance is given to the five colors used - yellow ocher, two shades of green, blue and orange - these are colors which represent nature, there is a reference to the sky with blue, the green which recalls woods and the yellow that is a reference to the sun, finally with the orange the symbolism of movement and energy is created. If we keep in mind the artist’s origin, it is possible to imagine these colors in the real environment, a valley, mountains full of woods, lakes, rivers, and streams, but the representation is anything but realistic.“Prussian Regal” sees a steady horse, a proud position, the same as the “Prussian Duo #1”, in this painting the watercolors are slightly mixed - two shades of purple give life to a third and a purple tending to red, the color is not uniform and the horse stands out perfectly. “Prussian Beauties” sees as the subject a herd of horses, some of which are not perfectly defined, the movement pervades the painting, the opposite of the background colors is evident, but the use of two warm and two cold colors is also clear. The movement and the use of the colors thus prepared suggests day and night, the cycle, time.
Art Curator Martina Viesti
Kelly Bourgeois
Prussian Beauties
Kelly Bourgeois
Prussian Beauty Running #2
Kelly Bourgeois
Prussian Duo 1
Kelly Bourgeois
Prussian Horse #1
Kelly Bourgeois
Prussian Regal
Kevin Umbel “There are moments when troubles enter our lives and we can do nothing to avoid them. But they are there for a reason. Only when we have overcome them will we understand why they were there.” (Paulo Coelho)
Yellow is a symbol of light, knowledge and energy. Generally associated with the sun giving off strength and heat, it becomes the main subject in this work by Kevin Umbel, entitled Semblance of control. Kevin’s art comes from a combination of different disciplines such as, for example, photography, painting, paper, plaster, epoxy resin. Here, the entire space is occupied by a yellow background that has an inconsistent surface, where thin scratches, stains and lines alternate with vision. By observing carefully, we can grasp a three-dimensionality. The black drops seem to float in an empty space, far from direct contact with the yellow color. A red band, inaccurate and partly faded, runs from one side of the work to the other, almost cutting it into two parts. A shadow rises from below occupying the lower part of the surface. All this helps to describe different shades of yellow, each of which carries its own story. This work made up of different layers seems to place knowledge and therefore identity as its core. Every detail that affects and apparently ruins the most exposed layer is actually a sign, which over time will help to shape our being. The choice of this color as the dominant seems to indicate a vision oriented towards the search for wisdom, wisdom as a source of light and energy.
Art Curator Francesca Brunello
Kevin Umbel
Semblance Of Control
Kimberly Hess “White is not a mere absence of color; it is a shining and affirmative thing, as fierce as red, as definite as black. God paints in many colors; but He never paints so gorgeously, I had almost said gaudily, as when He paints in white.” (Gilbert Keith Chesterton) Kimberly Hess is an American artist who uses the technique of encaustic painting. This involves the use of heated beeswax, which is pigmented and then applied to the canvas, often with other mixed media. The colours drip onto the canvas, creating original combinations. With her art, Kimberly explores new methods of pictorial research that result in an encounter between old and new. She creates unusual combinations that are the result of extensive research. This style was used by the artist for her work “Whimsical”. A combination of techniques and materials that is as complex as it is balanced and harmonious. Neutral, pure colours litter the white canvas and bring back a concept of uncontaminated, primordial nature. A profound encounter that evokes calm and relaxation. The texture of the work is particular and extremely original. It gives three-dimensionality to the work and creates a contrast between the antiquity of the technique used and Kim’s modern use of it. The colours chosen by the artist evoke an atmosphere of peace and inner calm and the natural element is at the heart of the concept. Kimberly has undoubtedly been influenced by her life experiences which have taken her to different parts of the USA. The work appears as a play of contrasts that develops from a pure white canvas. The colour white is understood both as an absence of colour and as a synthesis of all the others. White encompasses all colours, representing purification, a new beginning rooted in the natural element. White is light, hope for the future and trust. “Whimsical’ is a game of contrasts, and the choice of title and colours already reveal this. The plastic exuberance expresses a feeling of chaos, but this is muted by the neutral, white colours used. A lukewarm grey and a shy brown try to emerge from the background, but are immediately stemmed by the white that brings calm and peace. The work conveys positive feelings. The chaos generated by a whim is immediately redirected to order. Kimberly is able to create unusual and at the same time astonishing compositions, full of contrasts that always lead to a reconciliation between the parts.
“With the brush we merely tint, while the imagination alone produces color.” (Theodore Gericault)
Art Curator Ilaria Falchetti
Kimberly Hess
Whimsical
Kirsi Salo
Faint distant reminiscences, vestiges of a lost time that emerge from the depths of memories. Fragments of a past that, like blinding lightning bolts, illuminate the dark abyss of oblivion in which everything tends to disappear. Memories on memories, a fragile cathedral of memories in which the mnemonic function is the founding and constitutive stone. Musical notes and timbres of distant voices, smoky images that flash for an instant in the mind. Kirsi Salo uses the canvas to impress on it what is sedimented inside her soul but that, in one way or another, in a distant or near time could disappear. It is an alchemic painting in which two forces are at play to create the final product. Memories and pigments are united, mixed on the canvas like reagents in a chemical reaction. They collide, mix together, blend. Some element sublimates, some other reacts with more force than desired and yet, incessantly, reactions of synthesis and decomposition forge, cause and annihilate each other layer upon layer of color, memory upon memory. Inert ingredients are not admissible in this alchemical recipe, pigment is not medium and memory is not motive. The two reagents are protagonists and promoters of the creative process at the same time, one inhales the other and vice versa in a stratification of elements that gives life to the painting. A stratification that we see only in part, a cathedral of memories of which we only glimpse high spires but which has within itself - and Kirsi knows it - infinite nuances on infinite layers of accumulation. Wide energetic and instinctive brushstrokes stand out on the canvas at first. Mood and gestures are the forces at play that intertwine and get to know each other in this first embryonic phase.
Kirsi Salo
A primordial soup within which, subsequently, the first forms of life take shape, the first biological units mirroring reminiscent memories. It is the beginning of the partnership between artist and canvas in which the latter lets itself go, unravels its mysteries, tells Kirsi about its nature and prepares itself for the new pigment that is about to be thrown on it. Flat backgrounds of acrylic color, intense ink stains and outlines, uncertain and delicate pastel interventions and the irreverent and ponderous use of spray paint combine to create a work of art that has its true strength in contrast. A contrast that can certainly be found in the rendering of every medium used by the artist and that reverberates the behavior and the peculiarity of memory: a state of imperfect and fragile balance between opposite feelings and sensations, a characteristic and entirely subjective bittersweet that oscillates with a wave-like motion in the artist’s soul. This is alchemy, not chemistry. There are too many undefined elements, the swinging feelings, the faded and feeble memories that cooperate in the creation of the work of art. Kirsi’s work is personal in the highest terms, it is mental and cannot be theorized, it is a river of memories thrown onto the canvas. It does not need fixed formulas, catalogued and experimented reactions. It is an alchemy of painting and memories.
Art Curator Lisa Galletti
Kirsi Salo
Bubblegum Dreams
Kirsi Salo
Darling, I would have stayed but there were Mountains to Climb
Kirsi Salo
Insufferable Lightness of Being
Kirsi Salo
Love, I would have kept my promises, but there were Oceans to Explore
Kris Palo “The artist is the hand that plays, touching one key or the other, to cause vibrations in the soul” (Vasilij Kandinskij) Total escape from reality, a world beyond what we live, something that has to do with the intangible, this is what we meet through Kris’s work. Taking us by the hand, the artist takes us to another dimension, inhabited by the purity of art, by the union of the arts, where colors and music live in harmony and create a magical and unique reality. Each color has a certain meaning and value, the red which is a symbol of passion finds maximum expression in Kris’s work, with arrogance stands out against the other colors, claiming its power, thus making the artist’s work full of emotion. The intensity of the red is contrasted by the blue and its coldness, less full-bodied, almost fearful brushstrokes are there that give balance to the entire composition. An elusive yellow creates movement within the work, while a well-imprinted magenta circumscribes the letters that form the word: LOVE. A clear, direct and concise message that emerges from a totally abstract work, features that contrast but create a perfect balance. Kris’s work goes beyond the representation of reality, she uses a visual language of shapes and colors with the aim of creating a work that can exist independently of the visual references in the world. In fact, the stylistic choice of Kris Palo is to deny a representation of the surrounding world, but to enhance one’s feelings through signs and above all colors. There is a correlation between the art of Kris and that of Kandinsky: colors and shapes become musical, expressing in a comprehensive way feelings and emotions. In fact, to define and characterize something abstract such as emotions, one cannot help but strive for total abstraction even on a figurative level. Kris’s work pursues this goal, rushes towards an abstract dimension, far from contingent reality to find fulfillment in an aesthetic of color. Definitely, the work of the artist Kris is the meeting of colors, shapes, sounds, it is balance and harmony, it is a dance, it is a show where art reaches its maximum expression.
“It seemed to me that the living soul of the colors emitted a musical call [...]. At times I could hear the subdued chatter of the colors mixing” (Vasillij Kandinsky)
Art Curator Vanessa Viti
Kris Palo
CO.LOVE-21
Krugh “Learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else.” (Leonardo da Vinci)
Thick dark brushstrokes first show themselves to our eyes in this painting by Krugh entitled Waiting for success. They stretch in space, regardless of precision, creating geometric shapes intent on describing a person sitting at a table, with one hand to support his face. His gaze seems to be directed towards an uncertain future. In the background, a mixture of cold colors push the subject to emerge, while other shapes contribute to the description of an empty body without any face, in which everyone can identify. All this suggests an apparent calm, which hides a convulsive expectation. The word geometry comes from two Greek words, “ge” meaning “earth” and “metria” meaning “measuring.” Geometry was born, therefore, as a field of knowledge dedicated to spatial relations. Everything around us can be described mathematically through the geometric language. The artistic movement of Cubism has made geometry its master language, describing reality “reducing everything, places and a figures and houses, to geometric schemas, to cubes” (Louis Vauxcelles). In Krugh’s work we find many references to Cubist research with the same need to narrate through forms and schemes, sometimes full, sometimes empty. A world so perfectly calculable, but which, at the same time, is so ambiguous and twisted as to make us feel invisible with little.
Art Curator Francesca Brunello
Krugh
Waiting for success
Kuusho Inoue
Let’s dive into the world of Japanese calligraphy. An ancient universe that finds its roots in distant China and arrived in Japan in the sixth century. An art carrier of universal values such as beauty, simplicity and the connection between mind and body. Associated with Buddhist practices, Japanese calligraphy goes beyond simple writing, the simple concept of writing a word. The secret behind shodo is precisely the union between mind and soul, the ability to write with the heart, without which nothing would have meaning. Constant practice is the key to penetrate the world of calligraphy, so much so that according to Buddhism, shodo is a fundamental element of the path to enlightenment. Kuusho is a contemporary calligraphy, more commonly defined as Bokusho. Compared to traditional calligraphy, Bokusho allows the practitioner a more intense and pronounced expression of self. Emotions and sensations are transformed into dots and lines and each process is unique: the brush leaves no room for error and uncertainty and the lines drawn are impromptu and non-reproducible. The black ink used, Sumi, is a fundamental part and creative tool of the artist’s work which, combined with acrylic paint and paper, contributes to the creation of expressive and perfectly balanced compositions. In Kuusho’s work, feelings are sublimated through the stroke of ink. Overwhelming anxieties, worries, desire for freedom and messages of hope are condensed into a vision of peculiar simplicity.
Kuusho Inoue
They are compositions characterized by a timeless beauty, within which the sign is as dignifiedly important as the space of white paper. Without space there could be no brushstroke, without brushstroke a composition could not exist. Distant from the Western concept of Horror vacui, Japanese calligraphic art appreciates emptiness, searches for non-form and the negation of the self, and Mu - nothingness, nothingness - is propaedeutic and fundamental in the search for representation. Few elements of representation and an almost atonal chromatic range invite us to rest our eyes on the fluency of the gesture, on the beauty of the small detail. The stroke in Sumi invites us to observe it in all its features, in its most intense moments as in its most watered-down tonal zones; it urges us to notice the changes of brushstroke on the support, to mentally mimic the artist’s gesture that led to the construction of that particular ink stroke. It is an appeal to beauty and contemplation, to the transformation of a simple, everyday act into a ritual. The discovery hidden in Cloud Dragon, in Pray, in Determination as well as in Inspire lies in gestures conceived as art, in the search for pure and essential form. Looking at one of Kuusho’s works one discovers the fascination of irregularity, the appreciated dynamism of symmetry and the rightful dignity to the concept of emptiness - Mu - father evoker of silence.
Art Curator Lisa Galletti
Kuusho Inoue
Cloud dragon
Kuusho Inoue
Determination
Kuusho Inoue
Inspire
Kuusho Inoue
Pray
L’OEUF Elements floating on the support, islands of color stand out on a background that welcomes them, accepts them in their intrinsic complexity. Almost spherical forms, rounded elements swim - or suspend themselves - on the surface of the canvas, basking and ending in their ancestral and original physiognomy. Elements endowed with their own autonomy, these spherical shapes suggest an atavistic space and time, transporting us to a very ancient dimension placed before everything. There is mystery, there is the sensation of an immense depth of content in these stains, all of which can be traced back to a very precise semblance, that of the egg. Biologically defined as a female gametic cell, the egg is the germ of life, the emblem of the principle of everything and a warning of constant renewal. It is a cosmic egg, a cosmogonic archetype found in the myths of many ancient civilizations. It is an element without edges and therefore without beginning or end. It is the emblem of divine perfection and the power of the universal. The conceptual burden associated with the egg is immense: it is the creation, it is the element from which every single individual is born and carries within itself, enclosed in the thin and fragile shell, the origin from which everything comes and the cyclical nature of the eternal return. A form so complex as to be represented geometrically by the ellipse, by Descartes’ oval and by Cassini’s oval, L’oeuf takes possession of the ovoid shape, moulds it, transforms it, fills it with its own intimate meaning, firmly aware of the gesture it is carrying out. And so it is that spherical cells take possession of the canvas by means of their powerful expressiveness. They become the fulcrum of the vision of the onlooker, hypnotized, their imperturbable floating. The existential placidity given to them is however contrasted by the chromatic rendering aimed at highlighting the characteristics of the egg itself. Pink, yellow, green and blue pigments illuminate the spheroidal elements, detaching them from the background and defining their characteristics. At first, a yellow trace with an uncertain line encloses the heart, the innermost point of the egg, bearer of the most mysterious and unreachable meanings. Then, the color multiplies, fluorescent pinks and green acids are linked together in a game of overlaps and transparencies, allowing us to compare with the classic images of the section of the cell, the morphological-functional unit of living organisms and indivisible element in the constitution of living complexes. Peculiar is then the treatment of the backdrop. The color, given several times, is scratched, interrupted in its constituent parts by scratches that, often, can be traced back to letters that make up sentences. What emerges is the harmonic union that is created between the spherical silhouettes and the graffiti placed on the backdrop. The first ones are preservers of atavistic, timeless and original mysteries; the second ones are bearers of immediate messages, constituents of a recognizable alphabet and signs of a temporality conceivable to us human beings.
Art Curator Lisa Galletti
L’OEUF
Light music in your ears
L’OEUF
Patience and Time
L’OEUF
Traces
Laura Nigro
Laura Nigro is an Italian abstract artist who finds inspiration in the warmth of her native country, Sicily. To portray the emotional bond with her island, the medium used in her paintings is sand. The artist then creates works in which sand and acrylic meet, thus producing material effects on the canvas. In this sense, the artist approaches the teachings of the Informal artists, in particular those of Alberto Burri. Laura Nigro presents to M.A.D.S. art gallery the work entitled “Mancanze” which means “something missing” or “something you lack”. Here the title takes on an important connotation as the art of Nigro is based on conceptuality. The artist in using red and yellow probably refers to her land: Sicily; in this sense the painting can be interpreted as a sunset by the sea, where sailing boats take off. At the same time, the work does not lend itself to the search for a symbolism, but it meets a process of simplification of forms, approaching the artist Piet Mondrian, both for geometrism and for the choice of colors. Laura Nigro therefore resumes materialistic, conceptual and neoplastic elements, combining everything with a pure and total application of color in an immediate and gestural way. What emerges is therefore a great sensitivity, a moment captured on the canvas, a nostalgia for her homeland and a great artistic reflection.
Art Curator Giorgia Massari
Laura Nigro
Mancanze
Lauren Robe “Life is a huge canvas: spill out all the colors you can onto it.” (Danny Kaye)
The aim of the art of the Brazilian artist Lauren Robe is to color the world with points, patterns and symmetry. Her works are in fact characterized by bright and vibrant colors, lacking symmetry and attention to details. With her work entitled “Portal”, Lauren takes us to one of her artistic worlds, that of mandalas. According to the oriental tradition, the mandalas are a representation of the universe. When we draw a mandala, our work can become a representation of our inner world and our state of mind at that moment. The artist Damien Hirst, in the series of works “Mandalas” creates mandalas for their visual power and their almost excessive presence of details opens up multiple paths and visual connections. On the other hand, Lauren’s work presented here, as the title suggests, turns into a real portal through which she allows us to enter her artistic universe, her inner self, deeper than her. The choice of every single shade of color, in contrast to the one next to, creates an extreme chromatic vivacity in the work. And the choice of floral shapes instead creates movement and harmony.The concentric structure of the work also creates a spiral movement in the gaze of the observer and leads us from the outside to the center of the work. The center that seems to emanate its own light and energy.
Art Curator Silvia Grassi
Lauren Robe
Portal
Lena Augustinson
Lena Augustinson is an emerging Swedish artist, she presents at M.A.D.S. art gallery a triptych of works clearly influenced by the massive use of blue by Yves Klein, or by Picasso in his famous Blue Period. The Blue has always been a fundamental color in art and commonly associated with harmony, infinity, imagination and calm. For the shared sense, blue is the sky, or the ocean, two immense elements, unknown for the most part, with the ability to spread peace and tranquility to whom contemplates them. “Abstract Bridge” allows you to visualize both mentally and practically the arches of a bridge that seems to be immersed in the depths of the ocean, or suspended in the sky of a parallel reality. Augustinson’s works seem to tell of a profound world that can symbolically belong to the one who looks, the bridge that leads our heart and our mind outside from ourselves. Emblematic from this point of view is also “Under the forest” whose title symbolically refers to an underground world, the use of different shades of blue lead to contemplation and tranquility, the inner peace that arises also allows the discovery of the joy of live.The great presence of black gives strength to these emotions, as it represents what lies beneath the apparent reality, it is our inner universe that in Augustinson’s work reveals itself to ourselves, leaving us to observe. Blue is still central in “Mysterious World” but not the only protagonist, on the contrary, brown and green take over, with a black that gradually becomes gray, without losing its evocative power. “Mysterious World” as the title discloses, tells the existence of unknown parts of our being, the mere fact that the human being is alive implies the existence of a personal world, often unknown to anyone and of which the artist wants to remember existence.
Art Curator Martina Viesti
Lena Augustinson
Abstract Bridge
Lena Augustinson
Mysterious World
Lena Augustinson
Under the forest
Lenka Kozlíková “Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your hand into it, all you feel is a caress. Water is not a solid wall, it will not stop you. But water always goes where it wants to go, and nothing in the end can stand against it. Water is patient. Dripping water wears away a stone. Remember that, my child. Remember you are half water. If you can’t go through an obstacle, go around it. Water does.” (Margaret Atwood)
The word “concretion” derives from the Latin concretio, “grow together” and with it, we define the accumulation in layers of different mineral substances, which are deposited by the water. In particular, the salt concretions, characterized by many small details, are interesting for the description of the artistic work of Lenka Kozlikova, contemporary artist from the Czech Republic. We often encounter a sensation of encrustation on the surface of her paintings, mostly accompanied by an underwater atmosphere with a strong expressive sensitivity. Colors of ocher and yellow tones mix with intense blues and delicate light blues, in an abstract language that does not renounce the importance of form.
Lenka KozliĚ kovaĚ
In About the hope, what appears to be a seascape opens before us, inhabited by strange beings, whose bodies over time have been covered with algae and concretions, with warm and enveloping colors. They populate the seabed letting themselves be enveloped by silence, peace and the sweet swing of the water. The fluid and soft sensation that accompanies her paintings is meant to be a tale of the mental state of serenity that characterizes the artist’s creative act, so essential for Lenka. A moment in which everything flows and runs generating new energy. Just following this flow, Lenka becomes like water, originating new worlds thanks to the free flow of her mind. She forms new concretions, letting the precious minerals contained in herself deposit and thus growing together with Art.
Art Curator Francesca Brunello
Lenka Kozlíková
About the hope
Lenka Kozlíková
Flow
Lika Ramati
Art is the means through which an artist expresses his own way of seeing the world and his own truth, thus he can translate his being into art, transforming his energy through shapes and colors. This is precisely the artistic poetics that guides the artist Lika Ramati. In the works presented here, the artist places the female figure at the center, who with her vital energy fills the world with harmony and colors. Lika’s female figures are always characterized by divine beauty and a divinity is the protagonist of the work entitled “Vesta guardian of the secred flame”. Vesta is the beautiful goddess of the home represented by Lika with a wide veil behind her, whose colors and shades of red and yellow recall the sacred fire that her priestesses always kept burning in the temples dedicated to her. In the works “Red Hat” and “Pink Extasy” the focal point is the direct and very sensual gaze of women. Their overwhelming beauty is able to fill everything around them with light and colors. In the first work it seems that the woman is drawing us into her world of a thousand vibrant colors; in the second work instead, the woman creates a pink world around her, a color that has always been a symbol of charm, beauty and femininity. The beauty of a woman is often compared to the beauty of a flower and in fact the protagonist of the work “Rock Star” is immersed in a fabulous world of a thousand colored flowers, which even with their heady scent are able to color our days. But the undisputed protagonist of Lika’s works is also color: through it the artist represents her overwhelming energy. Each of us, like the protagonist of the work entitled “Middle Grownd”, appears in a way to others and then colors their world with their own energy, their own personality and their own way of seeing what surrounds us.
Art Curator Silvia Grassi
Lika Ramati
Middle Grownd
Lika Ramati
Pink Extasy
Lika Ramati
Red Hat
Lika Ramati
Rock Star
Lika Ramati
Vesta guardian of the secred flame
Liliana Torres “El patriarcado es un juez, que nos juzga por nacer y nuestro castigo es la violencia que no ves. El patriarcado es un juez, que nos juzga por nacer y nuestro castigo es la violencia que ya ves: Es feminicidio, impunidad para el asesino, es la desaparición, es la violación y la culpa no era mía, ni dónde estaba, ni cómo vestía” (Colectivo Lastesis) With her works of art, Liliana Torres intends to forcefully denounce gender-based violence. The artist was born and raised in Santiago de Chile, a country that in recent years has been the center of feminist protests against the violence that is pouring into the country. The artist grows up in a punk environment and she is highly politicized against the country’s dictatorship and catholic heritage. With the artwork NOISE, her intent is to represent the experience of pain caused by others: often violence against women is inflicted by men who are closest as partners, fathers, brothers. The strong soul of the artist denounces misogyny in the world because it is a shame for all humanity. The voice of these people, at worst, is just a confused noise in our cities and often women find themselves alone in dealing with these situations. For her artworks, Liliana prefers strong colors, in this case, we find the use of primary ones: the blue of the masculine, the pink of the feminine, the red of blood, the white of the face in shortness of breath and air. The colors in the background underline a very tense and chaotic atmosphere. Liliana with her courage and sense of justice decides to represent what is still hidden in many states: the daily massacre that takes place inside the homes, a place that should represent serenity and warmth and that too often is a place of torture and pain. In her Selfportrait “HOE”, Liliana Torres gets naked and shows us all her vulnerability. Being born as a woman in a country like Chile doesn’t have to be easy: Gender discrimination is tangibile and is deeply rooted and widespread, the language is a perfect example of it. The streets around the world are often the scene of harassment against women: a whistle or some insults, are an example of catcalling. Sexist language is very complicated to deconstruct, being deeply rooted in the way of expressing itself, and today exchanges of questionable phrases are frequent even in the media. “HOE” is a typical expression of gender-based violence and Liliana chooses to write this word on her forehead. Her act highlights the derogatory ways in which women are called. Often the use of these violent tones can lead to more serious phenomena: hatred, control, manipulation, blame and other types of psychological violence. Liliana, with the instrument of painting, wants to denounce this daily violence, so permeated in our language, and so difficult to eradicate. If we approach this painting we notice, written on the mount of Venus, the word “Liberté”, perhaps part of the famous phrase “Liberté, egalité, fraternité”, the desire to live a life free from this daily violence. With Vengo con la sangre roja, Liliana, has decided to show a very personal side of her life. Due to various vicissitudes, the artist experienced a profound discomfort that led to the act of cutting. Self-harm is the damage to one’s body through direct and intentional self-inflicted injuries. Both in adolescence and in adulthood, the incidence of self-harm is higher among people with psychiatric problems and this is what happened to her. She stayed for a period in a psychiatric clinic. The artist’s intent, in all her artworks, is to show nowadays reality, even if it is uncomfortable. The theme of therapy is rarely represented in art and paintings showing self-harm and domestic violence are very rare. The artist shows herself for what she truly is without hiding her painful experience: she comes to us with this fresh and red blood, symbolizing the wounds are still open and she is still vulnerable. The artist’s intent, with her artworks, is not only to reflect or show her personal experience, but she wants to address them to the community to make everyday injustices tangible as well as the people who face these situations every day.
Art Curator Elisa Garosi
Liliana Torres
NOISE
Liliana Torres
Self-portrait, “Hoe”
Liliana Torres
Vengo con la sangre Roja
Lindsey Ellice Thomas Lindsey Thomas was born in a small town in Ohio, which led her to develop a special relationship with nature and looking differently at things. “The concept of nature has always been present in some shape or form in my work” she declared. In fact, she chooses to exhibit for KROMATIC@RT three artworks that represent nature’s creation and its elements. All made in 2020: an overwhelming year, but full of creativity in which she rediscovered the benefits of painting and in which she found relief. The first, “Geode”. A geode amethyst is a combination of minerals, pressure, water, and the results of time in beautiful crystals, that create wonderful shades. The same that the artist realized, with different media including glitter and acrylic colours, it manages to create an excellent conjunction between purple, light blue, and their derivatives. The amethyst is useful to create harmony and a natural balance. It affects both body and soul by helping us in exploring our hidden abilities and strengthening spiritual powers. But, above all, the geode generates a lot of energy: Lindsey in fact tried to absorb it and transfer it into her work. For “Azurite”, she used a mix of pastel shades like light green that reminds us of a marine setting. This is related to what she said about herself: “As she believes in the nature’s texture, she creates her artwork”. The artist transposes on the painting what she feels, like peace, calm, and serenity often evoked by the sea. In fact, in crystal therapy the azurite is appreciated as it is able to give physical and mental wellness and clarity. And the third, “Plasma”. That can also be interpreted as deep blue: this painting can recall several places, like the depths, the Milky way, or even the surface of a planet. All with a sense of mystery, the unveiled, Plasma identifies perhaps the unknown. It can be a place but also a condition. In physics it is identified as the fourth state of matter, but also defined as an energy conductor and sort of magnetic field. The power and intensity that Lindsey wants to express in this artwork: as a place to channel energy of which, however, little is known, that still remains secret and mysterious, making us feel elsewhere. Each of her artworks reflects a different condition and meaning, which thanks to his abstract technique, manages to directly involve the viewer and catapult him into her world.
Art Curator Ylenia De Giosa
Lindsey Ellice Thomas
Azurite
Lindsey Ellice Thomas
Geode
Lindsey Ellice Thomas
Plasma
Lisa Gehres “Art is a line around your thoughts.” (Gustav Klimt) Lisa Gehres is a contemporary artist who was born in Russia but has travelled extensively in her life. These travels have certainly influenced her artistic vision and the use of shapes, materials and colours. The main artistic movements she draws inspiration from are Impressionism and Cubism, which she enriches with the use of new media, managing to create works that convey very profound messages. The shapes he creates are able to inspire the viewer, to push him beyond his limits. A synthesis of forms that contains multiple points of reflection. Lisa is a multifaceted artist, she creates compositions using the most disparate and imaginative materials such as acrylic, resin, markers. In short, she is able to create art with anything. In her artwork “The Ruler”, Lisa places a tribal mask with a hypnotic gaze at the centre, which is read by the viewer as a symbol encompassing all the masks that man wears. The artwork is provocative, mysterious and leads the human being to question himself through the use of bright and vivid colours that capture the attention of the viewer. A journey through the human soul with the intention of exploring it. The strength of blue, the exuberance of pink and the warmth of red combine perfectly with the soft black line that envelops the shapes. The application of colour gives the viewer an impression of three-dimensionality. In ‘Dilemma’ the artist uses acrylic colours in stark contrast to each other. Fluorescent, hypnotic, brilliant colours paint the blue background. The canvas is decorated with countless marks, dots, stripes, dripping colour, circles, stars, arrows. A mix of elements that arouses the viewer’s curiosity. In the centre is the figure of a blindfolded woman holding a sword on one side and scales on the other. The latter is the symbol of balance and justice. A artwork that makes us reflect on what is right and what is wrong. Once again, the viewer is confronted with a contrast, an ambivalence. “Dilemma’ raises existential and often unresolved questions that pique the interest of the human soul. The artwork ‘MadMax’ is certainly sympathetic and characterises a part of the human soul that everyone possesses, namely the pleasure one feels in a situation that is as chaotic as it is amusing. The red marks that follow one another on the canvas express danger, beware. An exuberant chaos of signs, textures and symbols decorate the canvas and make her creative style unique. Lisa’s artworks are designed to bring out the reflections of man, his questions and his whys. They arouse the viewer’s curiosity, are bright and lively, never boring. Lisa creates fun and unique colour games that conceal deep meanings beneath the surface.
Art Curator Ilaria Falchetti
Lisa Gehres
Dilemma
Lisa Gehres
Mad Max
Lisa Gehres
The Ruler
Loriot “Everything that is visible hides something that is invisible� ( Rene Magritte )
Loriot is a French artist currently based in Paris. She engages in various techniques and components to find her artistic path by experimenting, through the use of acrylics and sometimes even gold leaf, a new path between the figurative and the abstract. Like an alchemist, in her laboratory, the artist mixes cultural and religious symbols taking inspiration from the imaginary by representing characters that have a childish but at the same time disturbing and dark aspect with a visual style in which ambiguity, promiscuity and a sense of the macabre come together. Mysterious scenarios where the size does not seem to matter, materials and tools with which it works, the same types of patterns manage to manifest themselves over and over again; everything building up, gaining complexity and simplicity at the same time.
Loriot
Entering Loriot’s works we enter a distorted path where it seems to want to project us into the dualism of our life. By observing the whole scene, we are aware that the artist really has something to say, a message to give, an interpretation of the order of things that, in a wrong or right way, is placed before our eyes. She introduces two different styles in the works represented by being guided by the emotions of colors and light. Hypnotic, transcendent and powerful, Loriot’s art leads us towards an existential journey of conscience and soul using a cryptic language and very bright colors, her canvases become the spokesperson of her way of life, so much so as to create an “intimate” relationship.
Art Curator Erika Gravante
Loriot
THE PASSENGER
Loriot
WHO’S THE NEXT QUEEN
LOSA
Yoann Losa, the french artist presents a series of colorful artworks, different between them that refers to the artist’s aim to feel free while depicting, recalling this feeling in the artwork just as action painting’s artists do. His technique of applying colors is emotional and without thought: <<the choice of my color layers, fate takes care of creating an impression of blurry movement, as so often in our lives. » Sometimes using brilliant colors as in “Cafi” work, where the orange; the yellow and the red brush strokes seem to create an image full of little flames in the middle of shrubs assisted by the white color’s spot that call to mind small waterfalls. Less bright and lively is “Nuit D’Hiver ‘’ in which the acrylic flows horizontally towards the right while some small spots seem to stop the colorful flux creating a contrast between the colors and their employ. Similar in the concept and perhaps an evolution of the previous painting is “Ubain” in which, with the same technique the spots have become vertical lines as if they have succeeded in stopping the ‘river’ of cold colors and changing the emotions the work instills: no more sadness and danger but energy and vitality: « My works are like a life, Unique with our choices and those of destiny >>
Art Curator Martina Stagi
LOSA
Cafi
LOSA
Nuit Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Hiver
LOSA
Ubain
Lozzy Lozzy is a mixed media Australian artist who brings his street style from the walls to the canvas. His love for street art and stencil works is clearly perceptible: he blends these two elements together, using various tools and tricks, creating in this way his own unique style. Emblematic is the work that Lozzy presents at M.A.D.S. art gallery entitled “Into the light”. The details of a female face are made through stancil, while the rest of the work is made of acrylic and spray cans. The work is multicolored but above all prevails the pink, echoing the strong colors used by Pop artists but reinserting them in a more contemporary and urban context. The same face is recognizable in the work “From the ashes she rises”, the title is probably a prelude to what will later become the same woman in the work described above. Here, in fact, the work is composed of only two colors: black and gray, alluding to the ash from which she herself is reborn. The urban footprint is clearly perceptible above all by the use of the stencil but also by the wall effect given by the gray background. The same composition is found in the work “The darkest hour” in which Lozzy inserts a note of white at the top of the canvas, accentuating even more the street effect. These last two works are an exception in the work of the artist, who usually focuses more in the creation of colorful and brilliant works. Probably the artist specifically chooses to present these two works in an exhibition dedicated to colors, just to break away from the rest and bring out as the lack of color sometimes genres sadness and disorientation. Even more, these two works are a clear tribute to the street art artist par excellence: Banksy, impossible not to mention him talking about Street art. The simple style that Banksy chooses to use is taken up here by Lozzy, who makes his own stencils by hand just like the English artist. Lozzy’s artistic production, however, does not want to limit itself to a single category but aims at exploration. Interesting in this sense is his last work made from a male mannequin. Evolution and change is a prerogative of the Australian artist who is ready to fill, with his colors, any surface that can inspire him.
Art Curator Giorgia Massari
Lozzy
From the ashes she rises
Lozzy
Into the light
Lozzy
The darkest hour
Luz Sanchez “Sometimes words are not enough. And then we need colors. And the shapes. And the notes. And the emotions.” (Alessandro Baricco)
The colors fascinate us and they are an example of the wonder of the universe, they stimulate and capture the imagination, they put us in contact with the sublime. And precisely for this reason, the artist Luz Sanchez expresses her art through vivid and bright colors. In the works presented here, entitled “Sueños de verano” and “El vuelo de los sueños”, Luz gives an artistic representation of dreams full of color. The presence of vivid colors in dreams can be considered an attempt to penetrate the mystery of life, but also to signal the detachment from the past and the passage to new phases of life. In the first opera Luz represents how the dream is a way of flying away from reality, to arrive in a place full of color, populated by magical creatures and animated by overwhelming music.
Luz Sanchez
In the second work, on the other hand, the dreams of the woman, sweetly asleep in the tranquility and beauty of nature, seem to come out of her mind to color and illuminate our world. In the other works, however, Luz represents the colors of nature. In the work “Canto de mar” we can observe a riot of colors, as if we were on the seashore listening to the song of the waves breaking on the beach and we were observing a sunset on the horizon, which paints the blue water of the sea in a thousand colors. Instead in “Flores con alma”, it is the colors of the floral world that animate the work of art. The predominant and most prominent colors are green, which means growth, a new beginning, and pink, which means innocent love. Flowers, with their scent and their colors are truly the lifeblood of everyone’s soul.
Art Curator Silvia Grassi
Luz Sanchez
Canto de mar
Luz Sanchez
El vuelo de los suenĚ&#x192;os
Luz Sanchez
Flores con alma
Luz Sanchez
SuenĚ&#x192;os de verano
Maaike Wycisk
Maaike Wycisk is a self-taught Dutch artist, born near Rotterdam in 1979. During her life she has moved around a lot. Not only in the Netherlands, she also lived in the USA and she is currently living in Switzerland. Her work is a combination of digital art with acrylic paint, paint medium, spray paint and stencil art. Her work is not about telling a story or finding a deeper meaning: she makes her works in such a way that she thinks is appealing to look at. In that respect, her work is mainly a discovery journey in which different images and materials come together to create a new piece. She presents at M.A.D.S. art gallery the work entitled â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mysteriousâ&#x20AC;? realized with mix media of digital art with different paint media. As in most of her works, the artist chooses a female face as subject. Sometimes the artist uses as subjects known faces, such as Marilyn Monroe, Frida Kahlo and Audrey Hepburn, thus approaching Pop Art. In this case the face is not known, accentuating the aura of mystery that is hidden behind this piece. The dominant color is orange, the color of trust and wisdom. It is a color often associated with autumn, a transition period. The orange here is given in a material way, covering at times the face of the woman and giving light to the composition, predominantly white and black. The material effect recalls the walls that are peeling, reminding us that beauty does not last forever. The art of Maaike Wycisk is therefore an art for its own sake, which aims at the creation of beauty. Aesthetics prevails over significance; the artistic process prevails over message. Maaike Wycisk with this work highlights her artistic skills and highlights photography in the world that now takes it for granted.
Art Curator Giorgia Massari
Maaike Wycisk
Mysterious
Maemi
Maemiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s art gathers with full hands the power of color and creative gestures. A whirlwind of tones makes space in the representative surface within which every brushstroke, every swipe and every stain finds its reason for being. The artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s creative process is clearly instinctive. Effective in his powerful gestural expressiveness, he gives dignity to the color itself, making it the protagonist of the composition. There are no lines or shapes similar to elements found in the real world, the color is what dictates the rhythm of the composition, the solids and voids, the shadows and light areas. The chromatic trace, developed on the paper support in several directions simultaneously creates its own personal space, conscious and sure of its chromatic supremacy. The work of art is built in the moment in which the creative process comes to life; there are no preconceived ideas or schemes, no preparatory studies carried out before the application of the color on the canvas. The engine, the origin of Maemiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s art is in her heart.
Maemi
Listening to the rhythm of her emotions, the artist moves her hand with an instinctive gestural expressiveness, impulsive and involuntary in its reason for being. There is no sign of insecurity, no brushstroke or spot of color that suggests a hesitation in Maemiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s intentions. Everything is automatic, the heart is the vital energy of the process of creation, the color is the medium that regains a dignity of being. The composition, characterized by an intense layering of color on color, although instinctive is extremely harmonious in its creative chaos. The juxtapositions between bright spaces and dark points, the homogeneous intersection of lines that cut the surface of the pictorial matter, the interpenetration and the inevitable fusion between the various shades of colors constitute a pictorial result visually complete and unrepeatable, an intimate and innermost unicum sprung from the heart of Maemi.
Art Curator Lisa Galletti
Maemi
No title
Maemi
No title
Maki Amemori
The hustle, bustle, light and shadow of the city create colors of overlapping scenes, moment by moment, in “Afterimage” by Maki Amemori. Multiple faces are added together in a single image to witness the different identities that inhabit the same urban center. The artist expresses her superimposed vision of the world that means not only knowing, but being closer to the truth, made of countless facets. An atmosphere so magical, in which dark and ethereal color spots collect shades of impact, whose deep figurative vortex is devoted more to female profiles in fusion with other surrounding elements. An artistic contamination that explains and tells the evolution of art, made of original photos, elaborate paper and digital collage. In a fantastic collision of natural and artificial elements, the artist explores and represents fantasy environments that seem to slide vertically on the surface of framed subjects. A graphic chaos that architecturally fills the scene, poised between a playful perspective and refinement. “Afeterimage” is substantially characterized by the simplicity made of a few compositional elements but with at the center something different from the rest from the playful and dreamlike spirit, where dynamism and color are the main protagonists.
Art Curator Federica D’Avanzo
Maki Amemori
Afterimage
Mara Bauer
When we think of the notion of form, whatever it is, what immediately springs to mind is the idea of elementarity and linearity. The line is part of one of the most influential currents of the twentieth century, the one we know as Abstractionism. The latter is easy to understand visually: lines, curves, circles, squares - sometimes colored sometimes in black and white - seem to float in the compositions. Abstractism is completely different from the real world, trying to create compositions independent of concreteness and materiality. Abstract painters, like Vasilij Kandinskij, considered one of the greatest exponents, placed at the center of their research the construction of another reality, in which they could always identify. Supporters of this current have always affirmed the presence of a strong emotionality within it. The artist Mara Bauer deals with this same sensitivity in her large-format works, capable of undertaking a visual reconstruction of pure shapes and colors. The meaning of each is part of the search itself. Red, for example, is seen as fiery and aggressive. The green, on the contrary, emanates tranquility and calmness as you can see from “Wainting for Spring” and “Graffiti No”. The mixture of these shades, brings out at the same time the coexistence of more sensations within the same composition. In the works of Mara Bauer there is, in fact, a deep connection with the real world, albeit in a particular way. It is clear that in our everyday life, fear, sadness and serenity are linked in a perfect balance that allows us to live in a healthy and coherent way. The predominant blue in “Stilles Wasser” is equipped with a vertical movement capable of enveloping the viewer at a hypnotic level, creating an effect of total immersion. A combination able to communicate to the observer an “inner necessity” of the artist, not expressible with words or material subjects.
Art Curator Federica D’Avanzo
Mara Bauer
Graffiti No.1
Mara Bauer
Stilles Wasser
Mara Bauer
Waiting for spring
Marcus Carmo
Marcus Carmo is a Brazilian artist based in Miami. His passion for design and geometry are combined in the creation of his digital works. The social distance to which we have been subjected during 2020 leads Carmo to produce a large amount of works as a means of venting. Marcus Carmo presents at M.A.D.S. art gallery three works in digital, all different from each other, despite being held together by a black background. The abstraction is evident, although the titles suggest a symbolism, as in the case of the work entitled “Open Heart” that clearly alludes to the shape of a heart made through warm colors. The work “Sliding” instead is made from a rainbow of colors that create a psychedelic effect, almost reminding us of the Psychedelic artists of the ‘60s. At the end, Carmo shows a monochrome work entitled “Omni” made only by magenta. The magenta, primary color that is the basis of colors. It is comparable to each of us, to an entity. We are monochromatic until we blend into society and create new nuances and connections. The artist, with his apparent simplicity, aims to create impact works, distorting thoughts and raising questions in the audience.
Art Curator Giorgia Massari
Marcus Carmo
Omni
Marcus Carmo
Open Heart
Marcus Carmo
Sliding
Marek Boguszak “Things you see here are not visible to the naked eye in the world outside” (Marek Boguszak)
Marek Boguszak is a photographer born in Prague, where he still lives. His photographs are impactful, they reveal hidden structures and colors, a world within the world. Boguszak’s photography allows him to come into intimate contact with everything around him, the soul of the landscapes emerges, the discovery of something unknown, which, if observed carefully, appears. That of the artist can be considered as a rediscovery of abstract photography, as well as in Franco Fontana’s photography, colors are at the center of artistic production. The sinuous lines and irregular surfaces allow an emotional journey through the work, “Happy Lily” is an explosion of colors that lead to the depth of representation, in this way Boguszak lends himself to being a painter of photography. Shadows and lights are used masterfully, perfectly capturing what the artist wants. The presence of green and red, two opposite colors, give life to a vibrant image, this also applies to the hint of purple and yellow which are opposite colors too. “Knight with the Lance” seems to have been drawn with pencils and pastel colors, the light comes from the bottom left corner giving life to a beam of light and shadows from which light colors stand out and gradually darken.The photographic use of colors by Boguszak turns out to be like a chiaroscuro, emblematic in this regard is “Gold Rush” the colors so bright and opposite make the artistic representation rich in movement and nuances. In the photographic artwork, yellow, in the center of the image, reigns over the rest of the photograph, thus diffusing a particularly warm and intimate light and with it a feeling of peace.
“It’s only when we take a step back and look again that we see things in a different light. New contexts reveal what truly matters. New angles make us think again.” (Marek Boguszak)
Art Curator Martina Viesti
Marek Boguszak
Gold Rush
Marek Boguszak
Happy Lily
Marek Boguszak
Knight with the Lance
Margaret Alice Høiesen
Margaret Alice Høiesen approached painting almost ten years ago and since then, she never left this passion. The artist played and experimented with various techniques over the years, from oil paintings, to pouring acrylic and alcohol-ink-paintings but preferring over all acrylics, with which she is able to test and improve her skills and method, especially with colours: “Colours are fascinating” she says. And this is why she chose to exhibit at Kromatic@rt exhibition. “In Town” we see a city in the distance, almost stylized, surrounded by different shades and blue patches. By using the blue colour as she suggests, and its different shades, it is able to evoke and communicate calm, bliss and relaxation. Everything that this colour inspires her, it is emotionally transferred to us. Perhaps this city is the same one that galvanized her to create “Manhattan by Night”? The same that explodes at night with colours, lights, sounds. The one full of life, which never sleeps, a whirl of emotions. In the painting the spectator can notice the glitter of skyscrapers, bright signs: the similar sensation that Ezra Pound himself expressed “No urban night is like night in New York”. When great buildings lose their reality, they become immaterial as if they are magical. Enchanted: this is the same feeling captured in “Breath”: a sense of suspension and serenity, completely different from the turmoil of the other two paintings. Once again, blue is present, a crucial and narrative element symbol of these emotions: the glows of light alternating with the darker ones make everything more interesting and engaging. They highlight the sighs, like the breaths, on a slow cadence. Margaret manages to make us understand how important it is to get excited by painting and creating and to transmit authentic emotions to involve her audience.
Art Curator Cecilia Terenzoni
Margaret Alice Høiesen
Breath
Margaret Alice Høiesen
In Town
Margaret Alice Høiesen
Manhattan By Night
Margareta Trudh Bogren
A painting that springs from the soul. From the most silent places and jointly teeming with ideas inherent in the depths of themselves. The atmosphere is silent, quiet and muffled. The space is ephemeral, without defined boundaries and inclined to openness in all its sides. A delicate, suffused and directional light induces us to recollect ourselves and to listen to the most intimate side of our being. In this indefinite place the flash of the parent idea takes place. Flashes of light - visible only to the eyes of those who observe its interiority - burst out illuminating that calm and peaceful atmosphere in a succession of lightning and flashes. They intersect, one recalls the other which in turn excludes the previous one through a process of refinement of ideas that has intuition as its driving mechanism. And here the revelation comes to life and the embryonic phase of the creative thunderbolt is formed. Its characteristics are still labile, they are still stuck in that muffled inner world, all that remains is to approach the canvas. Margaretaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s art does not take shape from the outside world, from what surrounds each of us, from objects and places that physically exist in the world. Or at least, not exclusively from them. Thoughts, memories, elements that constantly form, animate and nourish the incessant flow of thoughts undergo a process of decantation within the artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s soul.
Margareta Trudh Bogren
The structure of the world and consequently its forms, its colors, its plans of representation that are observed daily with a fleeting and disinterested look are reduced to a minimum. Filtration of reality, purification of every element from superfluous and unnecessary characteristics for the understanding and construction of the self, detachment from the continuous bombardment of data and visual sensations. What emerges is a world refined by the superabundant and the excessive, a pure world, reduced to the minimum terms in its disarming simplicity. Scenarios of incredible impact for their clarity and purity are impressed in the eyes of the viewer, eyes all too used to receiving an unimaginable amount of information per minute. The colors are strong, powerful and confident in their autonomy. Deep red, Indian pink, purple and intense orange trap us in the vision with their expressive authority. No figurative shading or shading is allowed, it is pure pigment that shows itself in its most original state, in its intrinsic strength. The lines, so defined and distinct, stand out in front of these colored backdrops, formulating a world with its own aesthetics and its own heritage of constituent elements. It is a distilled world, arid in its expressive richness, reduced to the essential in its peculiar treatment of the pictorial matter. It is a gift of essentiality and purity in a land overloaded with information. It is Margaretaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s world that has found in the canvas its precious medium of transmission.
Art Curator Lisa Galletti
Margareta Trudh Bogren
Let Love Live
Margareta Trudh Bogren
Maya
Margareta Trudh Bogren
My Secret Place
Margareta Trudh Bogren
The Rune Carver
Margot Lochrin “Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” (Thomas Merton) Margot Lochrin is an Australian artist with an original and eclectic style. Her works are inspired by countless artistic currents, which she revisits in a modern key, also relating them to her personal visual experiences. An artist who brings fresh air into the art world. Air of novelty. “Connections’ has a strong naturalistic element. A chaos of intertwined branches, bright colours and strong lines bring out a strong feeling of courage and personality. An exuberant, irreverent and rich work that makes colour contrast its strong point. The colours that stand out are certainly the blues and reds that try to stand out from the pinks and blues in the background. The latter are more mixed with each other, creating more visual harmony and a watercolour effect. This harmony is broken up by the strong blue and black lines in the centre of the work, reminiscent of Expressionist lines. Margot takes up, both in style and composition, the innovations brought by the artistic avant-gardes of the first half of the 20th century, revisiting them in a more modern key and combining them with new contemporary influences. A painting free from academic dictates and dictated by a new approach. Reality is here deprived of the figurative sphere and is marked by the artist’s personal experiences, which he tries to convey to the viewer. The work lends itself to being viewed through different points of view, creating different connections with different human emotional spheres. Passion and courage are enclosed by the artist in a distortion of lines. The painter succeeds in effectively rendering, through essential stylistic means, a subjective individual condition that is also conveyed to the viewer through the use of vivid colours. Colours often tend to emphasise a state of mind and this work is a riot of bright colours. Margot manages to capture a visual impression and give expression to a subjective and emotional vision. An invitation to look at the chaos of colours and shapes that is present within the human soul. Thousands of connections are in front of our eyes every day. Connections that become subjective depending on who interprets them. Connections that we decide to make. Connections that affect all cognitive aspects of the human soul, such as the connection between the vision of a colour and its emotional perception. Margot with her magnificent work is able to suggest a whirlwind of motions, offering new stimuli and food for thought to the viewer.
Art Curator Ilaria Falchetti
Margot Lochrin
Connections
María Paula Alzate Afanador “For me colors are living beings, highly evolved individuals that integrate with us and with the whole world. Colors are the true inhabitants of space.” (Yves Klein) María Paula Alzate Afanador is a Colombian artist who attributes to color a powerful source of energy and, precisely for this reason, makes it the absolute protagonist of her magical works. Looking at her paintings, one realizes how incredibly versatile artist is and able to use the tool of color in different ways: wide and fine brush strokes, combinations of similar and more daring shades. In “Águila” in the foreground, a large eagle can be seen preparing to feed its harrier. If the feathers of the first are painted with different shades of brown, those of the cub are pure white and blue. This contrast creates a strong, but at the same time pleasant and balanced chromatic effect. In “Mar picado” María has managed to represent in an exemplary way one of the natural elements that she has at heart: as the title itself says, the sea. Wild because it is free, it is vulnerable, it is a source of life, but at the same time dangerous. Thanks to a fantastic combination of brush strokes, the artist perfectly represents the movement of water: with the intense blue - almost black - it identifies the depth of the sea, its darkest part, while with the light blue and white she depicted the crystal-clear water. “Chromatic love” is a work that differs from the two previously described both for the circular shape of the canvas and for the multiplicity of bright colors used. The soul and the existence of each of us are characterized by a succession of metaphorical seasons and multiple changes. The circular shape of the work refers us to its subject: the cycle of life, divided into different parts and painted in various colors. The segments are the different moments of the journey of each of us, the seasons that change, while the cold and warm colors are identified with the emotional state felt in the periods represented. A work that wants to be a hymn to life, a spokesperson for positivity. María with her paintings allows us to let our imagination wander and invites us to enter her deep and colorful world.
Art Curator Camilla Gilardi
María Paula Alzate Afanador
Águila (Eagle)
MariĚ a Paula Alzate Afanador
Chromatic love
MariĚ a Paula Alzate Afanador
Mar picado (Rough seas)
Marie Arpin “Colors are the smiles of nature.” (Leigh Hunt) Marie Arpin is an artist working between France and Germany. Her unique style is based on figurative elements that do not focus on humans but on natural elements. Her works are like timeless photographs of the reality that surrounds us, landscapes that immerse the viewer in an atmosphere of tranquillity and peace. Harmonious encounters of colours and shapes. In his work “Defì” we see how blue and green are the undisputed protagonists of the scene. The figurative subject is a boat seen from the front and placed at the centre of the work, represented with perfect perspective. The line outlining the figures is almost imperceptible and delicate. The boat blends into the blue water, creating a balanced composition that is pleasing to the eye. The blue colour conveys a sense of calmness and meditation, accentuated by the choice of subject. “Defì’ certainly appears more figurative than the other two works. In the work ‘Cheval Pie’ the protagonist is a majestic white and brown horse immersed in a naturalistic environment that transcends the figurative. The contrast created between the realism of the horse and the environment in which it is placed creates balance. The background consists of green, blue and light brown. All three are used in different gradations. The background is made by creating a watercolour effect given by Marie’s masterful use of materials. The horse is realistic and detailed but, again, the contours are soft and gentle. The animal seems to float harmoniously in this beautiful environment. In the work ‘Allége’ we find again the contrast between the real representation of the boat, in perspective, and the environment in which it is placed. The boat is bright blue and blends in with the yellows, pinks and greens of its surroundings. The colours are well blended and create a reflection in the water in which they are mirrored. The brushstrokes are soft. The three-dimensionality of the boat is given by the brown colour that slightly contours it. Lines, colour and shapes create a balanced and pleasant whole. What transpires in Marie’s work is protection, a connection with nature, a familiar and intimate environment. The subject matter gradually becomes less figurative and more instinctive, metaphorical. Places and environments that refer to the concept of ‘home’, of protection, a safe and comfortable refuge. Marie creates her works by transmitting to the viewer a sense of calm that makes him feel at peace with himself, safe. The colours blend into each other like in a Cézanne painting. Splashes of yellow, pink and green are painted on calm blue backgrounds. Sky and earth seem to contaminate and merge as in an Impressionist painting. The viewer thus has the impression of being in a three-dimensional but harmonious space. Marie creates extraordinary canvases that create serenity and at the same time lead the viewer to reflect on his surroundings. The subject matter becomes metaphorical and the colours allow total immersion in the deep meaning of the works.
Art Curator Ilaria Falchetti
Marie Arpin
AlleĚ&#x20AC;ge
Marie Arpin
Cheval Pie
Marie Arpin
DeĚ fi
Marie-Caroline Frabboni
Spontaneous painting that smells of freedom. Fluid forms that expand, shrink, merge and creep into each other in space. Colors with warm and earthy tones mix, accumulate and get to know each other in a dance of backgrounds and shapes with natural, almost anthropomorphic physiognomies. It is a free painting that fights against constraints of form, it is an art that lends itself to being represented with broad gestures, broad brushstrokes as spontaneous as possible. There is no margin for error. There must not be in Marie-Carolineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s art. The very definition of error as a departure from logical principles, cognitions or commonly accepted rules makes no sense. On the contrary, the artist seeks to avoid the limits, the brakes, the conditioning imposed by the rational ego in order to transcend into that intimate place where forms, colors and shapes no longer have a semiophoreal meaning. A place where the elements have lost their intrinsic information content and are examined and studied exclusively in their actual form. The components at the service of the creative gestation are then used in all their original power, in all their pure beauty, a splendor alien to any meaning that man over the centuries and eras has attributed to them. A process of purification of the sign, of the line and of the colors that has as a reaction product the totally mental vision of these elements. Only by reaching this state of things is it possible to be the protagonists of a painting that speaks of itself. Only by transcending the plane of reality in order to introduce the elements into the space of ideas is it possible to conceive an art directed towards interiority, fruit of the journey within Marie-Carolineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s soul.
Marie-Caroline Frabboni
And so it is that, finally free from all disturbances and restrictions, the brush flows fluidly on the support. Wide and free brushstrokes carry a pigment that in some moments intensifies, in others lightens; it defines itself in spots with regular contours or widens taking its space - due - inside the composition. Wide backgrounds dictate the rhythm of the composition, interrupted here and there by thick and evident dark lines that define the physiognomy of these forms with a natural flavor. And again, intrusive sinuous forms dominate the scene in all their sensuality, no longer earthly and concrete but entirely abstract and mental. Circular configurations, curves and roundness are the fil rouge and cornerstone of the construction of the representation. Marie-Caroline adopts a process of decomposition of the tangible forms of our world and purifies them. She distances herself from the balances of light, form and construction that her visual perception - and pictorial conventions - suggest in order to let herself go free from constraints of form and status. The result is a painting that, although it has anthropomorphic characteristics and can be traced back to something natural, has acquired an intimate and personal meaning, a journey inside Marie-Carolineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s soul, a place free from cages and restrictions.
Art Curator Lisa Galletti
Marie-Caroline Frabboni
A pebble in the universe
Marie-Caroline Frabboni
Our inner world
Marie-Caroline Frabboni
SeĚ rie XX, number 3
Marie-Caroline Frabboni
Una via verso lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;altro
Mariela Gastélum
Mariela Gastélum is a Mexican artist whose artistic production focuses mainly on the creation of figurative works in which flowers are always present. The accuracy of the latter is astonishing, accentuated even more by the size of her canvases. In this sense they can be compared to Hyperrealism, a current that aimed precisely at the creation of works that were so close to reality that it was difficult to distinguish between reality and representation. The work that Mariela Gastélum presents at the M.A.D.S. art gallery is entitled “Libertad” (literally “Freedom”) and expresses this concept explicitly. The work is in fact composed of a female face visible only half: the upper half is in fact occupied by a bird cage, inside which there is a woman squatting on herself. The cage is open. She can run away but she doesn’t: she probably didn’t notice or maybe she’s just aware that getting out of it won’t lead to change. The rest of the work is instead characterized by positive elements: such as the delicate peonies and butterflies that fly free in the space around the woman. They got out of the cage. These contrasting elements lead the viewer to reflection. Why do us choose not to abandon what makes us suffer? Why do humans cling to their own deleterious habits and are afraid of change? There are many reflections as well as interpretations, although the strong message of freedom is clearly perceptible. The works of Mariela Gastélum, and this in particular, are combined with the Surrealism of the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, also paying homage to her with the inclusion of her beloved flowers. Just like her fellow artist, Gastélum deviates from the Surrealist current in that she does not seek a way out of logic but her imagination is more linked to the representation of feelings.
Art Curator Giorgia Massari
Mariela GastĂŠlum
Libertad
Mariko Murase
Hard brushstrokes, leathery color that impresses itself on the canvas in all its plasticity. Stains, cracks and quick touches of the brush mold the patina of the representation in a rough and irregular surface at times scratched by wounds, by subtle scratches impressed in the pictorial matter. The color is sparing, bright and vivid pigments stand out on the canvas in short streaks and touches of the brush, flooding the surface with light and meaning. Yet, in the chaos of a canvas that makes scratching and irregular pigment its peculiarity, there is a repeated form, a distinguishable mantra. The circle, a blatant and manifest element in Mariko Muraseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work, is there, impassive at the center of the canvas, a witness to the creative process. It is an imperative presence, irrefutable in its perfect and all-embracing form. The circle, the only geometric form in which the points that compose it are all equidistant from its center, the only flat figure without corners, is the image of everything and, at the same time, the metaphor of the beginning of everything. The circle, the embodiment of cyclicity, is in some ways an all-encompassing image of time, of a past that is not disconnected from the present and of a future that rests its roots on moments of the past. The weight of a distant elapsed time is undeniably embodied in those wounds, scratches and piles of color on the canvas, signs of a past that, indelibly affects the present - and the future - in a perpetual motion. And yet, the pictorial matter on the canvas is not exclusively an image of the time that has passed: new contaminations, uncertain nuances, spots of color that are first generated and then merge into new instants of time are everywhere on the canvas, witnesses of the inexorable passing of time. Graphic signs that cannot be traced back to the concentric form are everywhere in Marikoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work. They can be assimilated to graffiti, small phonetic signs, an alphabet of letters surrounding the whole circle, home of infinite time. They are elements that, with their strong scenic presence, contrast with the immediate and universally known image of the concentric form. The addition of them gives the composition imperceptible additions of sense and meaning. These graphic signs urge us to think of the present, of a here and now, of the Hic et Nunc of our existence. We, human beings, are a small part of that universal cycle, of that infinite time theorized by philosophers and yet, we must strive to remember how fundamental it is to focus on being in the present, in a precise moment of space-time. The universe is too big to be understood, time is too wide a concept to be grasped, made our own. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s start to understand slowly the nature of what surrounds us and step by step we will build our own truth that will be - by force of things - part of the incessant and impassive flow of time.
Art Curator Lisa Galletti
Mariko Murase
Hive mind
Mariko Murase
One
Mariko Murase
The sea of subconsciousness
MARINA “I paint objects as I think of them, not as I see them.” (Pablo Picasso) The Japanese artist MARINA uses her precious imagination to realize witty creations characterized by a brilliant search for details. Represented with a fun and carefree aspect, the characters of her works want to be the spokespersons of important and profound themes that characterize today’s society, the part that especially involves the world of young people. At the center of the representation there is the protagonist, a girl with big eyes whose pupils have different shapes and on which a large telephone receiver rests on her hair. Goodbye, see you again someday, in fact, it wants to be a representation of one of the topics on which heated animated but at the same time interesting debates: connection, digital communication, the lack of dialogue between people. If on the one hand digitization represents a great resource that is now fundamental for the “survival” in a modern world, on the other hand it makes us inattentive, apathetic, sometimes insensitive. The title itself alludes to a possible future meeting, not yet defined, as it is easier and more comfortable to continue to “meet” virtually, to communicate with short messages. Many small characters and objects surround the protagonist occupying the entire background: some of these are part of the world that surrounds the girl in real life, while others appear as fantastic subjects belong to the imaginary world, probably known by the girl through navigation with her mobile phone. The artist represented all the small figures in detail, demonstrating the incredible ability to make us perceive as real what concerns the world of fantasy. MARINA is an artist with an enormous talent who, showing attention to important themes, manages to combine her incredible artistic skills with the representation of interesting contents. MARINA is an artist with an enormous talent capable of combining her great artistic skills with the transmission of particularly current and profound messages.
Art Curator Camilla Gilardi
MARINA
Goodbye, see you again someday.
Mario Louro “Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creative.” (Charles Mingus) Mario Louro is a Portuguese artist whose strength lies in making stylized and minimal faces extremely expressive and communicative. In his works, realized using the technique of acrylic on canvas, the protagonists are people, animals, and fantastic creatures who, together, seem to compose a fabulous plot in which each character is called to tell his story and funny anecdotes. In addition to the very original drawings, without any doubt, the artist is able to wisely use the tool of color which, in this case, has the incredible ability to create playful and cheerful atmospheres. Mario’s works possess the power to catapult us directly into the world that he himself dreams while letting his imagination wander. In SEA VIBES, the characters are sea creatures that, side by side, turn their gaze towards us. They seem to want to tell us something, but the signs on their faces, typical of the world of comics, suggest that they cannot speak. The colors of the characters, pink, white and black, contrast nicely with the blue of the sea in the background. In PORTRAITS SERIES N1/N12 the protagonists are twelve funny characters to whom Mario has given a particularly appropriate name to denote their curious personality. Enclosed in circles of equal size, we can admire their faces: each of them is characterized by a different hair, a specific facial expression that refers us to their emotional state. The artist, thanks to his skill, manages to make us imagine exactly a type of person so that we can connect to the character he created a real person close to us; fantasy and reality intertwine almost to merge. In AMAZING ;) INCREDIBLE IS MORE +, the context recalls that of the first described work: in addition to the four animated characters represented with the unmistakable Mario’s style magically come to life also the white clouds that stand out in the blue sky. Mario teaches us how fundamental imagination is to animate our lives and to help us see things from a different perspective, certainly more original and often happier.
Art Curator Camilla Gilardi
Mario Louro
AMAZING ;) INCREDIBLE IS MORE +
Mario Louro
PORTRAITS SERIES N1/N12
Mario Louro
SEA VIBES
MarioVaccaj <<mr WAVE>>
Digital painter MarioVaccaj <<mr WAVE>> based in Sardinia defines firmly himself as a futuristic artist, having the aim of making the artistic “wave” bright again and reinterpreting it through a very innovative and avantgardist approach. “Astronaut” symbolizes a real manifest of it: a digital painting that wants to celebrate this open- minded and progressive dimension in the contemporary art scene. The artist states “I want to dedicate it to M.A.D.S. as the gallery fully understood my unconventional and futurist attitude, promoting diversity and artistic variegation. Astronaut draws inspiration from the chromatic art of the shamans, who were exploring through creativity the primordial knowledge and their inner soul”. The painting presents vivid colours on a very contrasted palette: light blue, violet, yellow and black. A choice able to create a surrealistic atmosphere, almost set in the universe, far from the earth. The artist in fact is a real passionate about physics and science, often recurring element of his work. The synergy between art and science once again becomes to Mr. Wave a precious means of investigation of the world, a possibility to re-discover authenticity, identity and to promote a more visionary approach to the artistic scenario.
Art Curator Cecilia Terenzoni
MarioVaccaj <<mr WAVE>>
Astronaut
Martin Schöckl “The artist to a certain extent is a seer or a visionary” (Charles Thomson)
Martin is a visionary artist from Austria who dedicated his art to unexplored and indefinite dimensions of the world. His creations are born from a precise cultural background: Ernst Fuches, the co-founder of the Viennese School of Fantastic Realism; De Es Schwertberger and Philip Rubinov Jacobson. These artists, and different cover albums of psychedelic rock genre, share with Martin the desire to represent the fairy-tale world, the alien universe, the dreamlike and the dark that inhabit the human’s fantasy. “Fractal Spiral”, “Connectedness” and “Astral Traveler” tell a distant, astral world where celestial bodies and human existence communicate with each other. The colour utilized by Martin are dark blue, violet, and different cold tones, this choice restores a sense of melancholy and sadness that enhances the irrationality of an iconography distant from reality. Martin induces a specific vision of art: a visionary spectrum that transcend the physical world and represent a broader view of awareness, including spiritual or mystical themes. In front of this art, we’re all new-borns ready to discover a world dominated by abstract laws where there is no gravity, rules or any master to be respected.
Art Curator Cecilia Brambilla
Martin SchoĚ&#x2C6;ckl
Astral Traveler
Martin SchoĚ&#x2C6;ckl
Connectedness
Martin SchoĚ&#x2C6;ckl
Fractal Spiral
Mauro Bursi
Rhythm, elegance, small hints of hope represent the work Winter Allegory by the artist Mauro Bursi. A noteworthy pictorial experience in which you can rediscover yourself, the passion and beauty for life; to help us give it an intimate meaning and value, deep in the present and in view of the future. A work that symbolizes trust, expectation that helps us understand something really very important, ourselves, through a personal story and a remarkable artistic and human depth. The work of art is a metaphor of existence, of being alive, of the constancy and fatigue of daily life, its extraordinary wonder and how important it is to be who we are. A notable use of colors by the artist and gestures in full mastery of the material, gives life to a unique style of great emotional intensity. An expressive story, rich in meaning, embellished with personal history, color and a depth that strikes the heart and senses. A trace that marks a rich interior journey of considerable artistic growth. The work is an intimate, delicate, current narrative of great inner awareness. Every single gesture is imprinted in the material and embellished with color to give a testimony, an emotion, a constant presence of attention, care, affection and love for oneself and for others. A revealing work of a remarkable human journey and of which each of us can be the absolute protagonist. Constant research, expressive freedom, intense chromatic vibrations give energy and transport to those who lend themselves to observe the work carefully and glimpse the extraordinary strength through which the artist creates the entire compositional system, giving all these elements the role of absolute protagonists of his artistic process. Through this work, the artist Mauro Bursi deepens his style in a clear and precise way, creating a definite detachment with the past and giving the world a style that has definitely come to full maturity, deep and full of meaning. A hope on which it is worth reflecting.
Art Curator Giulia Zanesi
Mauro Bursi
Allegoria dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;inverno
Maya Beck
For the “Kromatic@rt” exhibition at the M.A.D.S. Art Gallery in Milan, the artist Maya Beck is presenting three exciting and highly expressive works: “Fearing the Future”, “Freya” and “Hungarian Girl” expressing all the pictorial, energetic and emotional power of Maya, who draws inspiration both from her own personal experiences and from everything that surrounds her, such as music. Thanks to these essential elements within her artistic practice, it is possible to define an appropriate and very personal “Maya style”, which is unique and full of color, nuances and dynamism. In addition, the artist is able to emphasize fundamental details, such as the lips, with the aim of conveying numerous sensations, as it is exactly through the mouth that the whole body is able to best express emotions, experiences and states of mind. Another crucial aspect are the eyes: a sign of transcendence and spirituality, they are so large and deep that they can read the soul of any individual. These two particularities emerge in these works, as in “Fearing the Future”: two figures stand next to each other to encourage and give each other strength. While one of them leans her head down and keeps her eyes closed, as to try seeking protection and comfort, in the foreground emerges a character proud of himself, trying to get up despite the many difficulties of life, and determined to face any prejudice of ordinary people, represented behind him. Through the use of specific nuances such as red, pink, white and black, Maya invites the viewer to walk tall, without worrying about the future and the opinion of others, because we are those who build our destiny day by day. While in “Freya”, the same key elements emerge in the depiction of this creature typical of Norse mythology: she is the goddess of beauty, seduction and fertility. Moreover, she is an expert in the magical arts, devoting her body and soul to love songs, encouraging lovers to invoke her. Thanks to her supernatural powers, she is a symbol of strength and courage on the battlefield. One of her hallmarks is the sumptuous necklace called Brísingamen. These qualities are clearly visible in this work and Maya emphasizes the goddess’s jewel, as well as her bright pink mouth and large black eyes, so mysterious and bewitching. The viewer can appreciate the great elegance and ease of this character, letting himself be enchanted and lulled by the melodic sound of her voice. Finally, in “Hungarian Girl”, the artist emphasizes Hungarian folk costumes. From this country tradition, Maya accentuates both the dress and the different details, from the garlands or ribbons on the head to the jewel made of colored beads. The accuracy of the details and the beauty of the girl represent at best the artist’s style, emphasized by the vibrant colors that tangibly merge with the young girl’s personality.
“Color owns me. I don’t need to try to grab it. It will own me forever, I feel it. This is the meaning of the happy hour: color and I are one. I am a painter.” (Paul Klee)
Art Curator Alessia Perone
Maya Beck
FEARING THE FUTURE
Maya Beck
FREYA
Maya Beck
HUNGARIAN GIRL
Micaela Summers “The wealth I achieve comes from Nature, the source of my inspiration.” (Claude Monet) For the “Kromatic@rt” exhibition at the M.A.D.S. Art Gallery in Milan, the artist Micaela Summers is exhibiting a work that is absolutely immersive from every point of view: “Dawn at the Lake” conveys deep feelings and tranquility, and everything blends together in this dreamlike, fairy-tale atmosphere. For her representation of the forest and the lake, Micaela is inspired both by an unspoilt natural environment and by the places she has lived in or has visited through her travels. One of her exceptional qualities is to know how to skillfully blend different colors to give rise to different nuances to best express what she perceives in that moment of pure creation. Feelings and visual perceptions emerge like the multitude of flowering plants and trees in the painting. The work blossoms and emanates vitality and serenity thanks to the different perspective effects as well as the areas of shadow and light. Recalling Claude Monet’s Impressionist canvases, Micaela immerses herself in the rhythms of nature, as if she wanted to follow the course of the season, the blossoming, the mist and the angle of the sun. She invites the viewer to dive into that crystal-clear mirror of water, continuously intertwining all the shades, creating a connection between heaven and earth. Everyone can indulge in a visual experience: the shades mingle among each other, perspective and imagination come together as well to create the universal. The viewer can benefit from the lifeblood emanated from the place, broadening his perceptive cognitions until he becomes an integral part of that plant world. Moreover, the viewer can walk along a path traced by the trees on the sides of the lake until he reaches a beam of light: this warm and welcoming light acquires different meanings depending on the personal experience of the viewer, as for instance, it could be a symbol of rebirth or happiness. The path taken by the viewer is a journey into his own introspection and the surrounding environment helps him to detach himself from reality, seeking harmony and tranquility.
“Besides, I have nature, art and poetry, and if that is not enough, what more can I want?” (Vincent van Gogh)
Art Curator Alessia Perone
Micaela Summers
Dawn at the Lake
Miei Sato
In physics, space is an indefinite and unbounded identity that contains all material things. These, having an extension, occupy a part of it and assume a position in space, which is defined quantitatively according to the principles of geometry, and qualitatively, based on relationships of proximity-distance and size-smallness. It is assumed, therefore, that space is a certain, exact and measurable element and every change to which it is subjected is objectively visible and estimable from the outside. Yet there is something else, something that goes beyond the tangible reality. Incalculable and indefinite elements that cannot be perceived from the outside and with empirical method. They are factors of different nature, characterized by heterogeneous time lapses that arise and take shape within our soul and are part of the composite phenomenon of sensation. RenĂŠ Descartes, analyzing the complex issue of the distinction of sensory qualities, indicates sensations as the language of nature, the means by which it communicates with us, acting on the sensory organs. There is not, however, a relationship of similarity between nature itself and sensations, that is, the senses do not present nature as it really is, as they are only subjective modifications to external stimuli. These mutations caused by our soul, allow a distortion of reality and of what surrounds us, formulating a world that - perhaps - is not so objective. Mieiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s painting grasps with both hands the sensation, the emotion, the feeling generated by her own soul and throws on the canvas images of what is perceptible only within her. Through this creative process reality is assimilated, reworked and reproposed in new forms and colors.
Miei Sato
Reality is discombobulated, new forms come to life and daring and objectively incongruent tones are mixed to formulate landscapes and excerpts of unprecedented views. Scenarios existing in the ordinary world are wisely distilled, decanted in their real objectivity to compose a sublimated image, originated by Mieiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sensations. And so it is that the usual views of the city of Kobe are shaped. Cherry trees with pink flowers in bloom flood the surface of the canvas, hiding behind them a peculiar structure of high voltage power cables: two elements that rise from the ground majestic, one natural the other artificial that blend together in an eurythmy of shapes and colors mirroring the memories and feelings of the artist. And it is nature again that takes the upper hand in B three, the protagonist of a composition that owes much to the legacy of Ukiyo-e. Here the planes of depth mix, split and intersect, formulating a landscape with dreamlike tones: behind silent tree trunks, the intersection of vertical and horizontal lines suggests the presence of Shoji doors which, at first glance, seem closed. Yet among the weave of the panels we can see the majestic shiluette of Mount Fuji which, flooded by a mystical warm and golden light, is located in the deepest plane of the composition. Mieiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s painting is a voyage of discovery between views and vistas, between elements of real reality and emotions.
Art Curator Lisa Galletti
Miei Sato
B three
Miei Sato
Cherry Blossoms - p.m.13ï¼&#x161;00
Miei Sato
Flat #1
Miei Sato
Sunlight filtering down through the trees
Miroslava “Real things in the darkness seem no realer than dreams” ( Murasaki Shikibu )
Miroslava is an artist born in 1993 in Chiclayo, Peru. Graduated in architecture at the Universidad Católica Santo Toribio in Mogrovejo, she has always accompanied her studies with a passion for visual graphics and art. Observing this triptych entitled “Seduction of the dark” the intention is to analyse a depressive process from start to finish through the use of intense colors that represent strong feelings such as emptiness, sadness and pain creating a seductive bond between the work and the observer. In four-color process, black is the set of all colors, while in the spectrum of light it corresponds to the total absence. It is the color of mystery, of attraction. In the opening work “Apathy” Miroslava investigates the perception of time and the movement of the body in the seductive echoes of emptiness and silence. Absence of passion, state of stasis and indifference where there seems to be no room for emotions. Continuing we find “Broken” a consequence of this status where strong emotions emerge in a violent way, the pain is unmanageable, the darkness breaks you and the encounter with the flames of your soul is inevitable.
Miroslava
And finally, “Awakening”, the moment of awareness that oblivion is consuming you, transforming that feeling like a drug that is difficult to fight. By sinking into the depths of the soul, sooner or later the moment comes when “the bottom is reached”. Having allowed oneself to be sucked into a condition of personal and psychological degradation. And this is a brief but very precious moment, in which a faint light illuminates the darkness in which one is immersed for a few moments. These are moments to be seized, in which you have to quickly decide whether to lie down on that backdrop awaiting the death of the soul or, otherwise , to transform that same backdrop into a launching platform from which to start again and emerge. Through Miroslava’s color palette we understand the brazen contrast between the sterility of days spent as prisoners of one’s life, and the great fertility of the moment one decides to start living again.
Art Curator Erika Gravante
Miroslava
Apathy
Miroslava
Broken
Monarisa
Monarisa is a young Japanese artist, based in Los Angeles. She has recently started painting and her artistic production is entirely realized with the blue palette. This can be compared to the blue period of Pablo Picasso who, between 1901 and 1904, made monochromatic paintings in blue. The motivation that leads the artist to choose blue as the dominant color can be sought in the meaning of this color: often associated with tranquility and calm because of its association with the ocean and sky. Blue can also refer to sadness as the saddest day of the year is commonly called “Blue Monday.” It is therefore possible to say that Monarisa chooses blue to seek tranquility through art. Furthermore, this motive is apparent by the gestures of her paintings that are totally immediate and instinctive. The artist in fact creates circles through a single brushstroke full of gestures; other times vertical lines, in which her conceptual research is clearly perceptible. Monarisa presents at M.A.D.S. art gallery the monochrome painting entitled “Paradox” in which a single concentric stroke of blue composes what appears as a rectangle. Actually, the paradox lies in the fact that the lines begin concentric, forming a square, but overall by hand takes the rectangular shape to become eccentric. The realization through a single line comes close to the teachings of Zen Buddhist monks who chose never to detach the brush from the paper to have no possibility of change, thus showing the expressive movement of the spirit at that precise moment. Monarisa’s art is apparently simple and linear, but it conceals behind it a conceptuality that reveals her emotions and captures them at the precise moment of realization.
Art Curator Giorgia Massari
Monarisa
Paradox
Montana Moore â&#x20AC;&#x153;The voice of the sea speaks to the soul. The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace.â&#x20AC;? (Kate Chopin)
Montana Moore is an artist originally from South Africa, now living in Sydney, whose the main subjects of the works are the seascapes of her beloved Australia, the painterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s magical source of inspiration. Her paintings are created drawing inspiration from photos taken at the ocean using various drones. In this case, Montana decides to present an alternative work that confirms her versatility and her willingness to constantly test herself, always obtaining the excellent and hoped-for results. The subject is a nice parrot, an animal dear to the artist as, in addition to stand out for its beauty, it is typical of the place where she lives. The work is painted with the technique of acrylic on canvas and it is characterized by a strong and surprising chromatic contrast: the white feathers of the bird and the grey of the background distinguishes from the bright yellow of its comb. The rockatoo is represented in profile: we can see its body from the head down, only one eye looking straight at its, the grey beak and the colorful crest. The animal pleasant-looking, is excellently depicted so that it looks real, just like the parrots that we can admire in the many photos taken by Montana and the videos she made. The artist with many skills and the great joy of living, through her works manages to express her strong and unique personality: determined, ready to achieve her dreams, and endowed with a surprising imagination. Montana is undoubtedly an artist who, through her works, takes us into her magical world touching our hearts.
Art Curator Camilla Gilardi
Montana Moore
Rockatoo
Motoo Saito Motoo Saito is exhibiting five works at the “Kromatic@rt” exhibition at the M.A.D.S. Art Gallery in Milan. The artist underlines different elements that merge together, such as the chromatic element, which is dynamic and fantastic. He reworks images taken from reality or from his subconscious, extrapolating key concepts reminiscent of the famous Fauves and Futurists: color and movement spread over all surfaces, becoming the absolute protagonists. As in Umberto Boccioni’s “The rising city”, Motoo seems to represent in “No1 Fantasia movement 1” and “No2 Fantasia movement 2” the structure of houses and buildings overlooking a stretch of water: from the sky to the architecture, everything is dynamic, and the viewer’s attention is captured and drawn into the painting. While in “No3 Fantasia movement 3” and “No10 Fantasia movement 5” the color is accompanied and enveloped by energetic white strokes that follow the chromatic and gestural flow. Finally, in “No5 Fantasia movement 4”, the viewer is taken into a parallel dimension where rainbow shades dance on the surface of the painting. Motoo Saito goes beyond the traditional artistic concept of naturalistic imitation of reality. The primary colors are used in a strong and pronounced manner, according to an inner coherence placed exclusively in the harmony of the composition. The sense of depth is produced by the overall view and the contrast given both by the simplification of forms and the immediacy of tones. The freedom and imagination in the use and choice of elements creates a strong color contrast, energetically releasing an instant expressiveness. Each nuance, therefore, is conceived as a structural element of the artist’s vision but also of the user, who is called upon to immerse himself in these colored universes full of vitality. Motoo develops something new with respect to purely traditional art, which is why he uses alternative and interactive tools. Another crucial point in his aesthetic and artistic practice lies in the idea of movement, tending to transform the contours of the figures, as if they were fleeing from the moment, in order to allow the viewer to pay attention to them. Gestures do not turn out to be a stopped instant, as everything moves and evolves. This introduces the concept of simultaneity, which determines the dynamic effect: for this reason, in Motoo’s works a form is never stable in front of the observer but appears and disappears incessantly. Objects multiply and follow each other like vibrations passing through space. There is an interpenetration of images, through which each figure is released into numerous chromatic fragments.
Art Curator Alessia Perone
Motoo Saito
No1 Fantasia movement 1
Motoo Saito
No10 Fantasia movement 5
Motoo Saito
No2 Fantasia movement 2
Motoo Saito
No3 Fantasia movement 3
Motoo Saito
No5 Fantasia movement 4
Mudmouth
Mudmouth is an American artist whose identity is not known. An extremely recognizable and emblematic artist from whose artistic production various influences emerge, on the one hand the abstract expressionism of Franz Kline and Asger Jorn and on the other the postmodernism of Jean-Michel Basquiat. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The universe is gay as fuck, prove me wrong.â&#x20AC;? it is a reflective, controversial and impactful work. A face that is anything but realistic, appears as divided into two parts, one side more realistic with one eye clearly visible, the other side, it contains different interpretations and mental representations. The artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s intent is to investigate and express the deeper aspects of the human being and they do so by emphasizing or eliminating some elements, the somatic features are marked or almost missing, for example the extremely red lips, or the lack of eyebrows whose function is normally the representation of expressions on a face. The use of colors is emblematic, the black, even if not uniform, is central in the work, it is a non-color with incredible emotional power, it is considered as the absence of color or as the very set of all colors. Often, it is used to convey opposition and protest, but not only, it is the color that, most of all, is connected to the mystery, to the part of us that we do not know, our unconscious. If one takes possession of the work and covers the realistic half of it, what emerges from it seems to be an animal muzzle, like a monkey, but if you look at it as a whole it could also seem a bruised face. This is how Mudmouth describes the pressures of society to comply with certain standards: aesthetic canons, social standing, sexual orientations; pressures that, at times, can lead to violence. But if we go back to the monkey, what the artist communicates is the universal presence of drives that belong to all human beings and that inexorably lead us back to the primordial instincts, without any distinction.
Art Curator Martina Viesti
Mudmouth
The universe is gay as fuck, prove me wrong
Nacho Peinado “Colors speak all languages” ( Joseph Addison )
Nacho Peinado is a self-taught Spanish artist who was born in A Coruña. He is a painter, a sculptor, a ceramist and also a photographer. Nacho’s multifaceted and multidisciplinary creative journey starts from the idea that every blank piece of paper is nothing more than a path towards new discoveries; a process in which it is not important to desperately seek for new things, but the essential element is to always have new eyes and to keep an open mind. His artistic research leads him to create a new language, or style, which is uniquely his and it’s easily recognisable. The color palette finds its own dimension by enhancing the space and enriching the work. The continuous research of Nacho still leads him to new evolutions of this language. Furthermore, the works are not ends in themselves, but communicate something in a hidden or evident way. Each painting should be understood, revealed or left for a free interpretation. He has a strong impulse in the creative process where he investigates and tries to establish a link between himself and the work and like an endless cycle, his imagination begins to create a world without borders. Experimenting with various techniques, he feeds his imagination by giving birth to an art without barriers, his colors change, expand into a thousand palpable vibrations on an intimate and personal level.
Art Curator Erika Gravante
Nacho Peinado
Color against darkness
Nacho Peinado
Judgement
Nacho Peinado
Tribal
Natalie Hayn
An experimental artist, capable of ranging from painting to collage, Natalie Hayn expresses herself and her art. Soft and delicate colors characterize the work “two pearl boats”, obtained by mixing cold wax and oil, so as to make the paint very pasty. The work symbolically recalls sea shells with a circular and sinuous shape. The shell, which has always been an element linked to water, has been used in the figurative arts since ancient times. In Ancient Greece the shell had a symbolic function related to the female reproductive organs. It is no coincidence that Venus, goddess of beauty and love, is almost always associated with the shell by Renaissance artists, from which it seems to have been born according to one of the first pictorial testimonies found in a fresco of Pompeii dating back to the first century BC. In the western world, this gradually becomes synonymous with fertility and life. Ideally it represents something new that is born and takes shape, just like “two pearl boats”, in which the artist through the nuances and the material of painting expresses the stages of life, whether bitter or happy. A material work capable of stimulating the imagination of the viewer who can finally dig deep into the human soul and, through the nuances, understand the importance of life and its precious moments.
Art Curator Federica D’Avanzo
Natalie Hayn
Two pearl boats
Nathalie Grünwald Figurative art tends to tell a story that is behind any image of which you can imagine the moment, before and after. It is a natural concept that we can easily understand. You enjoy a different image formed by lines and colours, something that does not flow instantly but that is still in time, from which you feel a sort of poetic and completeness of the image. There’s an emotional force of its own. The indissoluble bond between life and art makes the figure of an artist so fascinating and his painting so touching and so full of life to be nourishment and pure stimulus. A painting is able to tell a story, with a beginning and an end. “Colour your life”, “Downstream”, “Start of something new” tell the story of Nathalie Grünwald, an artist who makes abstractionism her artistic poetics. The surface of the canvas is entirely occupied by spots of polychromatic colour, some are more fullbodied and attract attention, anchoring the composition to itself. More intense and decisive brushstrokes are integrated with darker marks and spots to form a homogeneous whole. The dominant colours chosen by the artist are purple, blue, orange, all softened by white, whose rhythm and the arrangement of the signs give meaning to the composition. Abstractism is considered an artistic avant-garde that characterized the entire twentieth century, born from the demand for works of art that were “pure”, abstract, non-figurative, non-objective and unrepresentative. The roots of contemporary abstraction can already be found in Romanticism, Impressionism and Expressionism, where artists place greater emphasis on the visual sensation of things than on the representation of them. This search for “perceptions” of reality in the representation of images in art leads directly to the construction of the artistic language of abstract art. The First Abstract Watercolour by Vasilij Kandinskij opens a new chapter in Western art. Artists express themselves through the fundamental elements of figurative language, as it happens in Nathalie’s paintings.
Art Curator Federica D’Avanzo
Nathalie GruĚ&#x2C6;nwald
Color your life
Nathalie GruĚ&#x2C6;nwald
Downstream
Nathalie GruĚ&#x2C6;nwald
Start of something new
Nene Tatsumi “Who told you that one paints with colors? One makes use of colors, but one paints with emotions.” (Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin) Nene Tatsumi is a Japanese artist who became interested in the art world while studying law in Keio, Japan. Since then, she has received several awards and her works have been shown in many exhibitions. Her works are inspired by Japanese manga, especially in their figurative synthesis and in conveying a message. His works offer a kind of modern reinterpretation of the Japanese painting style and this can be seen in the use of bright and striking colours. The work “Fairies” is able to tell a story but without captions, only with the power it gives off. In the centre are clearly visible eyes attributable to a human face, extremely realistic and intent on looking at a fixed point. The face is camouflaged, thanks to the use of different shades of red and pink, among natural figures and animals. The tiger, a symbol of strength and perseverance, is easily recognisable. The painting is a harmonious mix of warm and cold colours that alternate and create regular geometric shapes. A sort of loom in which evocative images are woven with a constant reference to nature. “Fate” appears as an enigmatic and curious composition. In order to fully grasp the concept of the work, it is necessary to dwell on the details contained within it. Not only snakes and tigers are contained in the work. If you pay attention, you will notice other faces, hands trying to grasp something and flowers. Everything is extremely well thought out down to the smallest detail and evokes a natural, pure environment. It is as if Nene were taking the viewer into a dreamlike dimension where man is guided by fate and destiny. A vision. Countless elements intertwine in the fervid human mind. Colours camouflage the weave of the background design but also play a central and fundamental role. They convey the viewer’s perception of the painting. They express strength, creativity, courage and passion. Elements which are part of human nature and which everyone possesses to a different degree and which the work encourages us to investigate. Reds, pinks, purples and blues are mixed with yellow and green. The stroke is fluid and in some parts more pronounced. The light is well balanced and emphasises certain fundamental elements, creating realism and three-dimensionality. Fate guides every man and it is impossible to predict it. Man cannot decide his future, but he can decide to colour it, to enrich it. With “Fate”, Nene gives the viewer new emotions that only colour, masterfully used by the artist, can give us.
“Great things are done by a series of small things brought togheter.” (Vincent Van Gogh)
Art Curator Ilaria Falchetti
Nene Tatsumi
Fate
Nina Dzido “One really beautiful wrist motion, that is synchronised with your head and heart, and you have it. It looks as if it were born in a minute” (Helen Frankenthaler)
Nina is an incredible artist from Poland now living in Belgium. Her art breathes unanimously with her femininity and her idea of beauty and emotions: “My best creating time is activate by feelings. There, and only, I am able to catch my thoughts” she said, as we can see from her creations. Nina’s canvases are covered by intense colours; acrylics but especially inks bathe the artworks by a veil of sadness and melancholy, a mood that does not want to delete the possibility of finding peace and serenity, as demonstrated by the choice of the colours range: pink, yellow, orange, red and violet. An expressionism way to explore the human condition and life, and an abstract approach to representing the refiguration distinguish Nina’s style. Although some images refer to real figures - as the Trans Avantgarde accustomed us in the second twentieth century- the way Nina treats colour is reminiscent of Helen Frankenthaler’s emotionality. Colour fields take over the pictorial space making us immerse ourselves in her delicate and intense world. Nina’s canvases are an intimate tale of a human state, of a faded image that blends with the emotions and feelings of the artist in the moment of maximum aesthetic creation.
Art Curator Cecilia Brambilla
Nina Dzido
Angel
Nina Dzido
Believed
Nina Dzido
Too emotional
Nina Enger
At the “Kromatic@rt” exhibition at the M.A.D.S. Art Gallery, the artist Nina Enger exposes five exceptional artworks in which the light and shadow effects and the carefully chosen colors, create a bond between the artist, the viewer and the paintings. In “Compassion”, the color red immediately brings to mind strong emotions, immediate stimuli, active creativity, introducing a new vision of the surrounding environment. A symbol of dynamic feelings, it emphasizes mental and physical energy, bringing all kinds of perceptions to the present moment, in the “here and now”. Within this painting, red creates a vigorous mixture with orange, giving the viewer a sense of warmth. The viewer is immersed and involved in this chromatic harmony, where the paint is skillfully distributed on the surface, giving the canvas a feeling of expansion and aspiration to an otherworldly dimension. While in “Drama”, the artist emphasizes the immensity of this work: infinite nature becomes an expression of moods and emotions, other than representing a crucial theme for shaping a new artistic sensibility. The magnificence and grandeur of the landscape seem to give the viewer a sense of awe at the vastness of the panorama, but the contrast among cold, dark nuances and that glow in the top right-hand corner of the artwork, provides the viewer with an extremely pleasant escape route, like a beacon of hope or a rainbow after a storm. Admiration for the beauty of such nature becomes a way of emphasizing its importance and greatness as compared to human beings. In “Duality”, instead, orange and blue create a marked chromatic tension. There is a strong luminescence that is released by the two elements placed in the corners of the canvas, which encourage an immense source of energy that also radiates the viewer. This symbolizes the birth of a new day and the end of another, accentuating the many nuances of an ancestral dimension by connecting fantasy and imagination to the artistic creative process. The work gives an impulse to harmony and balance, bringing out an indissoluble link between body and soul. With “Revealed cave”, the artist invites the viewer to plunge into a mysterious but very cozy place, to have peace of mind thanks to the quietness that this cave can transmit. It is a stimulus to have a journey into one’s own being, with the aim of bringing out the fire that burnt in our spirit and to set apart all kinds of fear and dread, by filling the heart with pure and timeless happiness. Finally, with “Rivals”, the artist uses bright and vivid colors, combining them with such harmonious and delicate nuances, creating a remarkable chromatic contrast. The two elements depicted seem to mingle with each other, calling for a liberation and purification of the emotions. Moreover, a mystical sense of infinity emerges, capable of making the viewer participate in the rivalry, evoking strong feelings that resurface in the mind. The greatness of these five works is even found in the Nina Enger’s ability to make the viewer become an integral part of her work, arousing new and interesting emotions in each canvas.
Art Curator Alessia Perone
Nina Enger
Compassion
Nina Enger
Drama
Nina Enger
Duality
Nina Enger
Revealed cave
Nina Enger
Rivals
O. H.
In 1950, the material of which the work of art is constituted plays a fundamental role and not distinguishable from the image, as it itself image, bearer of communication and meaning, effectively representative and expressive. In this regard, the currents of surrealism, dadaism and futurism do not remain indifferent, as shown by the exponents J. Pollock, Tapies and Burri, some of the greatest interpreters of the research, with autonomous and peculiar modes of expression. The material art in those years represents, therefore, a real break with the traditional parameters of the time. Its meaning does not emerge because of the revolutionary and impetuous force that does not allow time to absorb the provocative aspect. The “poetics of matter” is the leitmotif of the artist O.H.’s painting, according to which she applies on the canvas thick and wrinkled layers of color, with dense, rough, irregular, bright, languid, cold tones - the blue, the red- that emerge from the surface of the picture, with an effect of solidity and three-dimensionality sculptural, breaking the boundary between two-dimensional image and plastic image. The creative inspiration of the artist is expressed in the ability to arouse lively feelings and emotions beyond shared canons and models related to figurativism. “Un Drops Pops” by O.H., seeks a new communicative force, transfiguring reality in material and chaotic atmospheres, through which the artist proposes a work of delicate beauty and expressive power, abstract and medium-format; a lyrical painting of high value and suggestion.
Art Curator Federica D’Avanzo
O. H.
Up Drops Pops
Patricia Fonseca “The creative process is a process of surrender, not control.” (Julia Cameron)
To Patricia Fonseca art has always played a crucial role in her life, representing a fundamental impulse. After accomplishing her studies in Visual Arts she continued her career as art teacher in different parts of the world. Alongside, she kept creating her own artworks by using various techniques, such as acrylic, alcohol ink, soft pastels and water colours, allowing her to create symbols, mandalas, squiggles. She experimented different kind of paintings: mostly abstract, but also portrait with natural depictions. Among them, “Gold Touch”, is perhaps the emblem of her creation and creativity. In this case, the mix of colours, shades and shapes obtained by ink makes everything more captivating and extremely fascinating. Although the title may refer to a particular meaning, it can indicate either an extremely skilled person or a very lucky one. Paradoxically, “touch” invites us to think of something tactile, concrete, which has to do with manual skills, rather than figurative. It could take on different meanings: it could refer to a divine abstraction, a blessing for the religious one or for those superstitious a “stroke of luck”, a sign of destiny. In fact, Patricia, realized the piece by following the free technique, letting herself be inspired by impulse, feelings and sensations. She states that flow is an essential element for her, a means of expressing and representing “one another” without constraints, conventions and convictions. Accordingly, Gold Touch, remains emblematic and full of meanings, which is up to us, as observers and spectators, to unveil its arcane.
Art Curator Ylenia De Giosa
Patricia Fonseca
Gold Touch
Paulo Cavalca “Do not be afraid; our fate Cannot be taken from us; it is a gift.” (Dante Alighieri, Inferno) The word “symbol” refers to a concrete element, object, animal or person, to which the possibility of evoking or signifying a further value, broader and more abstract than what it normally represents is attributed. Paulo Cavalca, a contemporary artist from Rio de Janeiro, appropriates the symbolic language, characterizing every detail of his paintings. Large canvases of almost two meters on each side, become the perfect place to stage his works. The traditional oil on canvas technique embraces a totally contemporary and unconventional imagery, while maintaining a firm bond with an older religious iconography. Adopting a strongly caricatured figurative language, he forces the viewer to question himself about what he sees, challenging him in the research and subsequent translation of the symbols, which he has distributed in space. Lily in Rio shows a woman sitting on a bench, behind her a flock of seagulls stir over the stormy sea. The sky is gloomy. Lily sits in front of us with a small dog on a leash and the only clothes she wears are slips and mismatched heels. Its head surrounded by a halo, is bent back and seems to be being sucked into the sky. Her skin is scarred and her knees are peeled. A tattoo says “NO T-SHIRT”. This is how Paulo tells us about the need for transgression, the need to undress, showing one’s body in its beauty and flaws, regardless of appearance. The painting seems to be divided into two parts: a lower one that communicates a sense of heaviness, given by the bench and the floor made with stone materials; the other, superior, screams instead the desire for freedom, for connection with oneself and with one’s own primal self. This work talks about the inner conflict between reality and freedom, which has always been experienced by man over the centuries. A conflict that often leads to deep personal loss. A general sense of restlessness and disturbance emerge from this painting, but the little dog, a symbol of fidelity, is winking at us with a smile.
Art Curator Francesca Brunello
Paulo Cavalca
Lily in Rio
Prerna Sharma
The artist Prerna Sharma draws inspiration from all aspects of life, bringing out her artistic skills through painting till to show a purely abstract vision of her subconscious. Through the three works presented at the “Kromatic@rt” exhibition at the M.A.D.S. Art Gallery in Milan, Prerna is always discovering new color connections, different techniques and new expressive concepts: everything is aimed at capturing the viewer’s optical perception and involving him in a broad expanse of tones. She indelibly fixes emotions and moods on the canvas, enlivened by the dynamic vision of the brushstrokes, releasing a charge of energy and vitality. Recalling the artistic movement of Abstractionism, she wants to represent a revolutionary artistic language which has even the power to improve the complicated human condition. In this way, the expressive and symbolic function of color prevails, emphasizing the viewer’s feelings and suggesting a close link between the viewer and the artwork. Exactly as in “Entangled”, where everything emphasizes the creativity of this artist, where the red shades turn into white and blue, representing contrasting feelings of a quiet soul, and suggesting a new representation of dimensional spaces, apart from the perceived reality. The gesture totally defines this painting, by guarding itself a collateral reality, testifying the making and being of the matter and the creation, as if the artist was painting with a simple act full of energy which pervades her. While in “Identity”, the artist wants the viewer to embark on a journey to find his or her own identity. In fact, the contrast between the straight lines is clearly visible. One might allude to the dutiful behavior that each person follows, while the others on the right-hand part of the work full of dynamism, invite the viewer to perform an act of purification, to free himself from his difficulties, in order to enjoy every moment of his life. Finally, in “Stairway to heaven” Prerna wants to find a paradise, an oasis of serenity and peace of mind, and she decides to share it with the viewer. A strong surrealist charge also emerges, which strikes the viewer and draws him into the painting, into that sensory vortex composed of chromatic nuances, pictorial density and the mysterious atmosphere provided by the color purple. With her brushstrokes, she creates contrasting lights and shapes: in this way her style manifests itself through the intensity and movement of her strokes. The resulting energy brings out all the artist’s concentration and determination; this union brings the work to a fine line between the figurative and the abstract. By imprinting her subconscious, Prerna seems to go back to the origin of the painting’s creation to emphasize a strong gestural and dynamic charge.
“My art has provided an outlet for my inner creativity and a relief from stress. I see art as a second voice, expressing what I feel, and it allows me to give to the viewer a pathway which lead directly to my soul.” (Prerna Sharma)
Art Curator Alessia Perone
Prerna Sharma
Entangled
Prerna Sharma
Identity
Prerna Sharma
Stairway to heaven
Rebecca Light “A single day is enough to make us a little larger or, another time, a little smaller” (Paul Klee)
Canadian Calgary based emerging artist, Rebecca Light is a multi-disciplinary fine artist, silversmith and visionary. A passionate student of life, insatiably curious and adventurous, the desire to serve in a renaissance of sacred art is what gets her up every morning. “Conversation with my Higher Self” is born by a journey made in Puerta Valharta, Mexico. During the vacation, with her extremely surprise, Rebecca discovered that in the heart of the old town there was an old church known as Our Lady of Gaudalupe Parish, which is her patron saint. One day Rebecca found herself in this beautiful and silent church “with the golden sun streaming through the stain glass windows bathing the domed white and gold interior in coloured light I felt a sense of the surreal on me. An elevation of my senses and peace so bright and golden it was like champagne bubbles all over inside and me”. This moment of spiritual gathering allowed her, subsequently, to create the artwork. Her style is distinguished by vivid colours, where human figures are surrounded by geometric shapes and abstract elements. A visionary art that sees the spiritual and symbolic world interact with the real one. A conversation with a divine ideal is central to Rebecca’s work. Viewing the imagination as a doorway to a rich inner world of lessons, dreams and possibilities her challenge and inspiration is to bring meaningful messages through the veil of inner vision to share. As Rebecca suggest: “This piece is about cleaning the soul, listening to the heart and trusting in the incredible magic of life! It’s meant to be fun, joyful and not to be taken too seriously as there is always plenty enough of that to go around. She is wise ethereal and super bright!”.
Art Curator Cecilia Brambilla
Rebecca Light
Conversation with my Higher Self
Réna King
Réna King is a young Caribbean artist based in Long Island, New York. About herself she said: “My Barbadian roots enforce my commitment to sharing how the narratives and artworks from across the Diaspora have impacted my creative vision. My dot work aims to convey the complexities that exist within our lives.” These words are translated into her dot works: Réna in fact realizes works through the use of colored dots on the canvas. This inevitably leads us to think of the French artists of the ‘70s of the ‘800, who gave life to the artistic movement called Pointillism, in particular to its major exponent George Seurat. Unlike these artists, who aimed at reproducing landscapes through the union of dots, King uses points as if they were stars, creating orderly constellations opposed to chaos. In the case of the canvas “Space” this dualism is evident: some points are arranged in an orderly manner, forming perfect lines or circles, others are arranged randomly, thus emphasizing the complexity of life. At first glance the canvas brings joy to the viewer, thanks to its bright and vivid colors, but a careful look leads the viewer to reflection, getting lost in the colors and dots. The work “Space” is therefore a journey within the soul of the artist that involves the viewer, pushing him to get lost among the colored points. The psychedelic effect of the work can only make us think of the Psychedelic artists of the ‘60s who, through their art, aimed at an estrangement of reality.
Art Curator Giorgia Massari
ReĚ na King
Space
Renata Łempicka “To the leg of every bird that flies, it is tied the thread of infinity.” (Victor Hugo) Renata Łempicka is an artist who is passionate about everything that surrounds her, focusing on her impressions and abstractions of numerous elements, so that everything converges into a creative, energetic and idyllic atmosphere. She draws her inspiration from the pure and unspoilt natural environment, vividly depicting landscapes, the passing of the seasons and exotic animals. As one can appreciate in “Flight in the garden of love”, Renata depicts two parrots in love flying in search of a nest in which to cultivate their romantic love. Always considered as to be pet animals, capable of speaking and therefore superior to others, these birds are clever and can feel when a change is happening, both if it comes from the weather or emotional from an individual. Their dynamism emerges from the painted surface and the light green background, immersing the viewer in those bright, dense shade contrasts. The thick plumage is rainbow-colored, and the artist manages to emphasize each shade of their body and wings to the fullest. Their hovering seems to reunite them in a kind of hug, generating a slight movement, while the sharp strokes on the feathers highlight the dynamic circling of these parrots. Through this colorful world, Renata captures the meaning of the work: faithful, lively and loving, this animal manages to communicate with both nature through its graceful flight and with the viewer through the use of verbal and symbolic language. Energy, feeling and color are fundamental aspects of this painting, and the viewer is invited to fly and let himself go, chasing the two birds to that oasis of peace and serenity, where everything is luxuriant and immaculate. Each element is depicted with its expressive and sensory freedom in mind, so that even the viewer can get himself out from the difficulties of everyday life.
“Nothing makes me so happy as to observe nature and paint what I see.” (Henri Rousseau)
Art Curator Alessia Perone
Renata Ĺ empicka
Flight in the garden of love
Robert John Geng “Nature is not only all that is visible to the eyes... it also includes the inner pictures of the soul” (Edvard Munch)
Robert is a wild, enthusiastic and dynamic artist who created a simply and immediate way method to see the nature. His artworks reflect his pure and genuine mind, embracing spontaneously the beauty of life in its primordial form of existence: fluid water, burning fire, rocky mountains and exploding colours are the favourite representation of Robert who demonstrate always sensitive to the empathy and the sense of communion with the world and the people. His creations revelated the importance of the chromatisme, the releasing power of nature and the energy of art in transporting everything into paintings. This reflection of the world took the abstract expressionism essence. Like Rothko and his followers, Robert also uses matter as an expressive function, leaving it to it to unleash emotions: the fragility of memory and the force of imagination. The materials used by the artist to create paintings are acrylics, sand, plaster of Paris, glue, silicone and everything Robert founded out during walked in the forest. The technique utilized it’s simply as efficient: pouring colours and letting it dance on the support. His approach to the aesthetic experience it’s totally free, positive and reflexive. “Everything I create is an expression of my joy and should be a gift to posterity... I wish everyone to immerse themselves in an indescribable world of emotions while looking at my pictures”. Pure as the nature, Robert wants to give the possibility to everyone to have an immersive experience in the human’s mind, reflecting the sense of the existence and the human conditions in the magic planet that we’re used to call Earth.
Art Curator Cecilia Brambilla
Robert John Geng
Esce da me svegliati
Robert John Geng
Giallo eĚ&#x20AC; il mio colore preferito
Robert John Geng
La calma
Robin Maria Pedrero
“Without Hesitation” is the work that the artist Robin Maria Pedrero has chosen to exhibit at M.A.D.S. art gallery. It shows the skillful use of colors with which Robin creates unique paintings in acrylic on canvas where geometrical figures of different dimensions hide deep meanings.Realized during the difficult 2020, “Without Hesitation” is a wish for everybody from the artist herself that invite to act in a lighter way precisely as she does depicting her works of art. This abstract painting – that calls to mind the Italian contemporary artist Alberto Burri and his collages - shows a defined use of color that just in some spots presents ‘dirty’ gray spaces. In its entirety the work is made up of cold colors: white; light blue; grey and black. This icy atmosphere is broken by the red stain on the low right corner that is recovered by two brush strokes on the top as if they wanted to contrast with the purity of the dirty gray and white space. Throughout the determined use of figures and colors, the whole artwork represents the artist’s behavior towards life that is of Trust and Confidence: <<Being renewed with good lives, without hesitation moving forward in faith and confidence>>
Art Curator Martina Stagi
Robin Maria Pedrero
Without Hesitation
Rory Odom “Art cannot be separated from life. It is the expression of the greatest need of which life is capable.” (Robert Henri) The American artist Rory Odom creates works that, although representing nice and funny characters, hide deep meanings able to surprise and making the viewer reflect. The artist’s incredible ability lies in painting the subjects in detail, making them extremely realistic. In addition to the fantastic drawings, Rory is able to give even more character to his works thanks to the skillful use of color: light and dark colors, thick and thinner brush strokes create contrasts of great effect. “Watchers II” was painted with the technique of oil on mixed media paper in 2021 and its protagonist is a curious monkey who, with the mouth wide open in amazement, tries to understand what is happening around. Pink and purple clouds are scattered in the red sky - the color of the sunset - but it is not the beauty of nature that leaves the protagonist speechless: her gaze, incredulous and perplexed, is turned to the ufos flying above its head. The title, therefore, can take on a double meaning: the ufos observe the world from their position, but also the monkey admires, doubtful, but at the same time fascinated, what is happening. The animal is reproduced so precisely in its physiognomy that it seems real; its colors, brown and beige, contrast with those of the background creating a fine view. When you admire Rory’s works, the reaction is the same as the protagonist of “Watchers II”: one is amazed, pleasantly surprised. It is incredible how seemingly funny paintings can hide deep meanings: observing is important, having the ability to be surprised is essential. Through his works, the artist invites us to join of his magical world where where reality and fantasy merge to tell new stories.
Art Curator Camilla Gilardi
Rory Odom
Watchers II
Sanna Stabell “If you add something to a painting, never let it be for aesthetic reasons. Only let it be for reasons of expression” ( Asger Jorn )
Sanna Stabell is an artist who grew up in the United States, spent her childhood in Minnesota and later moved to Arizona where she currently lives and works. Nature and animals were the essential key to his happiness and creative process. Her art speaks and touches the audience through the bold use of color that spontaneously helps her to open that window on her emotional center at the moment of creation. As far as I am concerned, art transcends the definition of “beautiful” and approaches the sphere of the emotional, conditioning our mental state, just like Nature does. Man has always been attracted to the environment that surrounds him, to be able to reproduce or interpret it in a personal way, as if to celebrate the place to which he belongs.
Sanna Stabell
And it is precisely in the places of Sanna that unique works are born, in a mix of desert, wind, sun and creativity. Works that arouse feelings of ecstatic contemplation. Spontaneity, imagination and singularity are the direct expression of the artist which manifests itself in the context of an experience similar to irony where it therefore becomes a means of probing a meaning. An entertaining but at the same time strong reading, a form of art that guarantees great freedom that somehow cancels distances and creates a relationship between Sanna and her counterpart.
Art Curator Erika Gravante
Sanna Stabell
Dance party at Harryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
Sanna Stabell
Glitter and fruit is always better after midnight
Sara Burnard
Sara Burnard is an Australian multi-material artist with a unique and distinctive style. Influenced by all the places she has visited, she creates works that are energetic and full of life. The many places she has visited, such as Scandinavia, Africa and the Middle East, have left a recognisable imprint on her utterly creative style. The use of materials, the strength of the colours, the marks on the canvas undoubtedly recall the journeys that have remained in her heart. In Sara’s work, “Crystal Nebula”, it is possible to see the weave of a snake that dominates the background and which, like the animal, changes at every hour of the day thanks to the play of light of the metallic acrylics used. The work is reminiscent of the nebulae in space, reworked with the multicoloured hues taken from the artist’s travels; the colours are mixed together as if to recreate the colours of the sky or those of a forest; everything is then embellished with real Swarovski crystals, a real touch of class, applied in a precise and studied manner. With their many facets that change colour with the light of day, they are the perfect point of light, sparkling beautifully. They seem to float in space, in your inner self. “Passion Smolders”, on the other hand, reflects the artist’s most intimate emotions; the colours used are strong, passionate, energetic and evoke a riot of emotions that can be read directly inside the soul of the person who painted the work. It is impossible not to be struck by the energy of this work. Finally, “Lightning Love” encapsulates in an abstract way a concept of lightning and psychedelic love, as strong and disruptive as it is unexpected and fleeting. The semi-crinkled texture contrasts with the birch sign used as a support and the tacky, fluorescent colours. A colourful love, rich in facets represented by the different shades used. A unique and abstract love, open to a multitude of emotions, some of which remain deliberately unexplored. Sara invites us to explore them and make them our own. The feelings expressed in these works are intense and deep. The colours she uses are powerful and play the leading role. The originality that Sara expresses through this play of colours and materials is astonishing. What the three works have in common is their shiny, glossy finish, reflecting a clean, studied work down to the smallest detail. Key words: light, colour and pure emotion.
“Mere color, unspoiled by meaning, and unallied with definite form, can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways.” (Oscar Wilde)
Art Curator Ilaria Falchetti
Sara Burnard
Crystal Nebula
Sara Burnard
Lightning Love
Sara Burnard
Passion Smolders
Sarah Darke “The richness I achieve comes from nature, the source of my inspiration” (Claude Monet) Sarah Darke is a Photographic artist living in England. Her story started with a career in Psychiatric Nursing, successively she chose to return to her love art through the form of photography. Her creations are called “Lumen”, a Lumen is essentially like a photogram which uses the sun to develop the image on monochrome, and colour photographic papers, combining new and vintage papers of up to 50 years old. The subject is placed directly onto the paper, covered with glass, then exposed to the sun. Over the last couple of years Sarah has been further experimenting by adding certain ingredients, like salt and lemon juice to enhance texture and depth, the prints are left out for up to 10 days in all weathers. Once the exposure has finished the unfixed image is then scanned and a digital archival image produced and the original stored. This creative process recalls the photographic experiments of the early 1900s when overexposure and mixtures of ingredients, during the development phase, allowed to understand the artistic potential of the photographic instrument. Sarah’s research comes from the most pristine and pure world: the nature dominated by plants, flowers and beautiful colours. These flowers are represented as real works of art, and recall the organic-analytic study that Karl Blossfeldt had done in the early 1900s. Sarah gives a sacred emotion to the world of botany, her process returns a small and microscopic object that is ennobled by the artistic experience. The colours of tulips are soft and delicate, such as blue, purple and light blue while the flowers are surrounded by gold, a choice that confers preciousness and elegance to these creations. This enthusiastic technique, which always produce different effects and creation, give to Sarah the perseverance and the energy to continuate to produces “Lumen”. As she revealed “I’m constantly fascinated by the never-ending variety of results from this process” and so are we, eager to see her next creations.
Art Curator Cecilia Brambilla
Sarah Darke
Tulip I
Sarah Darke
Tulip II
Sarah Darke
Tulip III
Saribel Holland Alvarado
Composing her creations, the artist Saribel lets herself be inspired by the memories of her origins, not only concerning feelings and emotions but also in a visible way. The brilliant colors with which Saribel creates her pieces refer to the places of her life: Mexico, Germany, Spain and her local land Panamà. Using colors in order to spread feelings was the main concept of the expressionist artists of the early XX century whose aim was to intensify the emotional reality instead of the objective and visible one. Both the pictures exhibited during “KROMATIC@RT” exhibition, organized by M.A.D.S. art gallery, have the same subject: a leaf repeated more than once as to represent a thick foliage. However, it is possible to differ the works thanks to the color’s hues that, in “Locura al Anocheser” realized on canvas are colder and almost opaque, maybe to call to mind her German origins.
Saribel Holland Alvarado
Hotter and dynamic are the colors used in â&#x20AC;&#x153;Intensidadâ&#x20AC;?. This work referring to the Hispanic origins shows a different use of colors that instead to be fixed on the support seems to move from a leaf to another almost referring to the dynamism of the Italian futuristic artists such as Boccioni; Balla and Russolo. The artist works making her carry by natural movements given by the lights that become the main character of her pictures. What is important for Saribel is to let people be emotionally inspired by her artworks in order to let everybody create its personal interpretation and image.
Art Curator Martina Stagi
Saribel Holland Alvarado
Intensidad
Saribel Holland Alvarado
Locura al Anochecer
Shogo Shibata Purplish pink, sandy ochre, bright blue. An off-white, pale gray, and a deep, unchallenged blue that stands in the middle of the composition. The color is earthy, opaque, built on layers of color juxtaposed on top of each other. The various patches of color are indefinite, their blurred, smoky boundaries blending together in an excited dance of tones that are daughters of the aforementioned patches of color. The chromatic result is muted and expertly balanced through the use of natural, dusty tones. It is a tribute to the typical chromatic palette of the subject of still life, a theme that Shogo holds dear since his years of study. Peculiar is the pictorial rendering of the spreading of color. Indefinite stains, formulated at first through the use of a thick brushstroke that exudes dense and opaque color; then light touches, gradual releases of evanescent colors, light and impalpable, watery in their consistency and expanding on the paper following the constitutive texture of its fibers. Yet, something stands out in this earthy landscape. Something extremely bright, luminous, engaging. An intense blue rises from the surface of the support, from the calm and quiet swamp below. A blue applied with an aggressive gesture, instinctive and strong in its speed of application stands out in the middle of the composition giving it a sense and a wonderful completeness. It is the power of color to dominate the work of art, the supremacy of its intrinsic expressive force over silhouette, line, form and all the elements that dominate our daily vision of reality. After all, Shogo has created an â&#x20AC;&#x153;invisible landscapeâ&#x20AC;? in this painting, an excerpt of space-time which is the result of a distillation of reality, of a decantation of the superfluous in order to arrive at the constitutive core of every form, of every element that contributes to the composition of our daily vision. It is a landscape that cannot be objectively traced back to something existing and yet, in the artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mind, this scenario is very clear and present. It is the result of his sublimation of reality, of the transformation of everyday life to a higher degree of understanding, to a qualitative level that excludes every superfluous element, every superabundant detail, every element that distances us from the assimilation of a pure and uncontaminated reality.
Art Curator Lisa Galletti
Shogo Shibata
Catch the invisible landscape
Shubhangi Singh Srivastava
Shubhangi Singh Srivastava has a degree in Fine Arts in Delhi, specialized in Abstract Art and Interpretation. From her studies, we can understand the origin of her art. In her painting “Meera”, abstraction prevails over the rest and love is the absolute protagonist of the work. It is based on the myth of “Meera” or “Mirabai”, considered one of the greatest holy women by the Indian community. She falls in love as a child with Sri Krishna, to whom she promises eternal love. Even if she is married to a prince, she will never stop expressing her feelings for Krishna by writing poetry and singing songs, which are still famous throughout the country today and used by devotees of Krishna. Meera is also important for the influence she has had on the women of the Hindu community, to listen to their voices and enforce their thoughts. In fact, the profile of a woman and the stringed musical instrument with the appearance of a sitar, underline precisely the elements of music and femininity. The Lotus flower painted is a clear message of strength. In fact, it symbolizes tenacity and it is an invitation to never give up on finding one’s inner joy, as Meera tries to do every day of her life by declaring her love for Krishna. It reveals strength and divinity. The use of gold foils, well distributed on the canvas, are a clear homage to mythology and the divine and the aim of the Indian artist is to mix colors giving life to feelings of love and passion, strongly emphasized by the mixture of warm and cold colors. Meera therefore, chooses Krishna as her lover who fully reciprocates his feeling to her, to the point of finding happiness in each other, giving born to a mystical ecstasy. Love brings peace and happiness in this case with the help of color.
“That love is all there is, Is all we know of love.” (Emily Dickinson)
Art Curator Elita Borgogelli
Shubhangi Singh Srivastava
Meera
Silvia Garcìa
Silvia García is a Spanish artist, born and based in Madrid. Garcia creates her own style using a wide variety of colors. Her artistic output is formed for the most part by women’s faces in which the eyes are the main focus. The artist creates works in which the eyes are full of emotion, mostly melancholy. The two works on display at M.A.D.S. art gallery are entitled “MADNESS” and “BLOOMING” and they best represent what can be called Silvia Garcia’s “blue period”. The artist, in fact, creates a large amount of work using only the blue palette, just as Picasso did between 1901 and 1904. García, in these two works on display, inserts red and pink, thus creating a strong visual contrast. The work “MADNESS” portrays a woman in the foreground with large blue eyes and intense red lips. The title suggests the prevailing emotion of the painting: madness. The woman stares with intensity at the viewer, who is kidnapped by her gaze.
Silvia Garcìa
Here madness is not to be understood in a negative way but with the positivity that lies behind this feeling: “madness is the union between fantasy and reality, people need madness to be free”, in the words of the artist. Totally opposite is the sensation that “BLOOMING” provokes in the viewer: the blue contributes to evoke calm and peace while the pink alludes to rebirth. Silvia García, with her acrylic paintings, comes straight to the soul of the spectators, managing with mastery to play with a single-color palette. The eyes of her women can be compared to those of the American artist Margaret Keane who, just like Silvia Garcia, made eyes her trademark.
Art Curator Giorgia Massari
Silvia GarciĚ&#x20AC;a
Blooming
Silvia GarciĚ&#x20AC;a
Madness
Sindhuja Galipalli
Sindhuja Galipalli uses color in her works to express the joy of childhood, that carefree and playful moment of everyone’s life. Through these canvases, the artist brings to the surface the freshness, spontaneity and freedom of childlike design, outlining a path of art without artifice, authentic and pure. Children are among the favourite subjects of the art world. Disheveled, funny, sweet or mischievous, seeing them portrayed while playing puts great joy. If “Paulo dressed as Harlequin” by Picasso is one of the best examples, there are countless canvases crowded with children in the act of the game. Playful, smiling, curious or mischievous kids, then. From those dominated by impressionist brushstrokes to the sharp and defined strokes of genre painting illustrations. An opportunity, in short, to illuminate the eyes with the joy and the carefree of the youngest and to return a little’ children in the first person.
Sindhuja Galipalli
Great artists have given life to masterpieces that have left an indelible mark over the centuries and a testimony of the child’s condition, from the portraits of noble families to the frescoes of children in the fields, from games to poverty, from childhood denied to privileges, from art and music lessons to the most tiring and humble jobs. Painting has thus given us a cross-section of childhood and adolescence that can be equated with a sociological and anthropological treatise. The childish images in “Laugh” and “Blossom”, in fact, with their liveliness and their naivety capture aspects of reality, which are perceptible only by a “pristine” mind. Great faces with disenchanted expression but at the same time funny and lively, gigantic eyes that instill emotions and push towards distant worlds. For children and for the artist, discovering how facial expressions can express so many different moods it’s a fun game.
Art Curator Federica D’Avanzo
Sindhuja Galipalli
Blossom
Sindhuja Galipalli
Laugh
Snjezana Cirkovic
“Color is the keyboard, the eyes are the harmonies, the soul is the piano with many strings. The artist is the hand that plays, touching one key or another, to cause vibrations in the soul.” affirms Wassily Kandinsky in his text Concerning The Spiritual In Art. Similarly, in The Colors of My Soul by Snježana Cirkovic colors are vibrations touching the viewer’s heart. Through a multicolor palette, whose tones have a deep connection with the artist’s soul, Snježana proposes an emotional trip into her inner self. Inspired by Jung’s idea of collective unconscious, according to which a part of unconscious is common to all human beings, this painting is an autobiographical work that at the same time intends to explore the archetypes of the human psyche. The viewer is therefore called to immerse himself in this exciting and multicolor universe of emotions and feelings which compose the artist’s personality. The pictorial style, that uses a selection of fluorescent tones, perfectly interprets the concept of this exhibition. After a first layer of pink, yellow and green, the three colors closest to her soul, the artist spreads a second layer of darker tones, introducing red, purple and blue. Afterwards, Snježana introduces in this painting a figurative element representing a novelty of the artist’s recent works: an artistic motif consisting of multilayer circles, realized through the help of palette knives and rulers. According to Snježana’s words, these multicolor circles in connection with her soul, represent an idea of antiquity that echoes the concept of Jung’s archetypes, pushing us to identify ourselves in the image represented on the canvas. In fact, the dynamism created by these hypnotic circles and a palette of bold and contrasting colors not only catch us in the charismatic self of the artist but also immerse us in a sensational and exciting visual experience leading us to feel a deep empathy for the represented emotional universe.
Art Curator Marta Graziano
Snjezana Cirkovic
The Colors of My Soul
Sonnhild Kost “In nature, light creates the color. In the picture, color creates the light” ( Hans Hofmann ) Sonnhild Kost is a self-taught artist who lives and works in Germany. After working for 35 years as a designer, she decides to devote herself to her own artistic path aimed at the free expression and manifestation of her own inner world. The artist’s intent is mainly to create compositions capable of radiating light, love, power and vital energy in the environment in which they are inserted, like reflecting mirrors of its luminous psychic and emotional dimension. Sonnhild’s art, which ranges from traditional to digital painting, is experienced as a practice that aims to translate the feelings and innermost tensions of the soul into images and colors, too overwhelming to be expressed in words. In the three works represented she is totally immersed through the use of colors, shapes, her emotions and sensations. By analysing her works, we can see how optimism is the key to her creative process. In the “Tightrope walker” for the artist, it is us who every day have to escape and fight against the uncertain period we are experiencing no longer supported by our inner balance and only after overcoming this pandemic will we be able to return and actively participate in a life made of colors. While in “shapes and colors - color magic” she wants to express the concept that life is made of colors and Nature is its teacher. And finally we explore “Architecture”; work that intends to mix thoughts by building an imaginary where everything is allowed, there are no borders, right or wrong. Here her research takes on the connotation of a journey that has as a destination a place where the spiritual universe finds a synthesis with real life stories; it is a process of continuous experimentation which makes use of various techniques and materials and which transcends any academic rule or limitation.
Art Curator Erika Gravante
Sonnhild Kost
Architecture
Sonnhild Kost
Shapes and colors - color magic
Sonnhild Kost
The tightrope walker
Stella Chang
Stella Chang was born in San Jose, California and grew up between the U.S., Taiwan, and Canada. Her art is a visual experiment that explores the different points of view of the viewer. Stella’s art is neither realistic or figurative, fully embracing the idea of creating the unseen “so that each piece becomes a visual exploration for viewers to experience a phenomena, be it social, racial, spiritual, historical, or political.” This may be the result of her upbringing spanning three countries and cultures. The work presented at M.A.D.S art gallery on the occasion of the exhibition “Kromatic@rt” is entitled “Look at me” and is made through a special printing process on acrylic glass, originally digitally painted by the artist. The choice of using glass as a support gives the work a sense of mystery, probably dictated by the reflections of light on the glass and the nuanced technique that reproduces the effect of smoke, as if the work could disappear at any moment. Iconographically the work represents a female face transformed into a skull, in which the focus is definitely the eye of the subject that looks straight to the viewer. The skull is embedded in a heavy black background and surrounded by white, orange and golden koi carp. The work can be seen in different ways: deep waters populated by carp in which emerges the skeletal face of a woman or as if the real image is the woman and what is around is only a figment of the imagination. The artist therefore succeeds in her intent, leaving free interpretation to the viewer.
Art Curator Giorgia Massari
Stella Chang
Look at me
Stephen Linhart “Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.” (Albert Einstein)
By the 1730, the English word manipulation is a method of digging ore. It comes from Old French manipule (“a handful” - a measure used by pharmacists), which comes from the Latin term manipulus also meaning “a handful”. The sense of “handling something skilfully” is dated back to 1826. This term is often used in the photographic field with reference to the modifications made, which alter the original shape of an image. The combination of photography and reality has always been a much debated topic. In 1839, the photographic medium became part of our life and is now an integral part of our daily life. Photographic images are for us confirmation of reality, namely, that what we see exists or really existed. Stephen Linhart, is an American contemporary artist, who places his artistic research precisely within this binomial. His art, in fact, aims to galvanize the complex link that has been created between photography and reality, through the use of mathematical algorithms and vector art. Surreal and psychedelic visions are offered to our eyes full of colors and details which, changing shape, lose their original meaning. In Light and Shadow, a girl in a seductive pose turns her gaze in our direction. The whole becomes hypnotic thanks to the subsequent manipulation intervention carried out by the artist. The surface of the space is filled with many small swirling details and the photograph loses its three-dimensionality and the function of reference of reality. Everything flattens out under the light of bright colors, which become the protagonists of the work. Stephen delves deeply into his photographs, making mathematics his magnifying glass. He digs in search of a new reality, which can better describe what he himself sees.
Art Curator Francesca Brunello
Stephen Linhart
Light and Shadow
Stephen Linhart
Secret Life
Stephen Linhart
Whirl
Suji Miyazaki “We are like islands in the sea, separate on the surface but connected in the deep.” (William James) There are many artists who have portrayed the sea, between tempest, storms or in the light of dawn. Many have sailed it, many have been swallowed by its waters, all at least once have been mesmerized by the sound of the waves breaking on the shore. The most sensitive have sung it, some have portrayed it. Artists of all ages have made the sea their inspiring muse: Katsushika Hokusai, Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, Edward Hopper, William Turner, Caspar David Friedrich, Paul Cézanne, are only a part. The peculiarity of Suji Miyazaki, a Japanese artist, is to sink into the depths of the Kerama Islands to tell the sea from another point of view. His paintings look like real en plain air, but underwater. The light that filters from the surface, illuminating the backdrop, captures our gaze, leading it to get lost in wonderful shades of blue, which suddenly invade the entire field of vision. Every detail is told with hints of color showing clear references to Impressionist art and great mastery of the painting technique. Meticulously designed color touches, describe marine life in the smallest detail, where corals, fish and turtles move gently following the rhythm of the water. Miyazaki’s paintings accompany the observer to immerse himself in the marine world of these Japanese islands, along coral reefs, whose colors shine when illuminated by the sun, which is dispersed in the water. Intense blue backdrops, tell of distant depths, where the light rays find it hard to reach, while they fade towards hypnotic blue, approaching the surface. All this gives a sense of peace and silence. The same quiet that surrounds us, at that moment when the water enters our ears, suddenly throwing us into a pleasant silence.
Art Curator Francesca Brunello
Suji Miyazaki
Artmonius
Suji Miyazaki
Celebration
Suji Miyazaki
Rising Sun
Taerim Kim “Art sweeps our soul away from the dust of everyday life” (Pablo Picasso) The work and all the artistic production of Taerim are a continuous research, with the aim of growing, to peer into itself and to improve itself. Art becomes a means to express one’s identity, it is the way to undertake a journey towards the search for oneself. The abstract art of Taerim is completely free of lines, shapes and figures, it totally escapes from reality, it is instead purity of color and exaltation of color tones .Color plays a fundamental role, it is the protagonist of the work and the medium through which the artist intends to express herself. Taerim’s artistic work has strength and character, certainly it is the description of the artist herself. The colors that the artist chooses are undoubtedly characteristic of his person. Gold, blue and green blend, sometimes they mix, others prevail over the other, creating a continuous change, the gaze moves over the whole work in search of intersections, colors, exchanges and what it encounters it is vitality. Taerim’s work is a concentrate of energy and at the same time it is an invitation to reflection. The observer in front of the young artist’s work, especially where the colors are concentrated, where they dominate, creating layers and layers of intense and full-bodied colored thickness, the look is overwhelmed by thoughts and doubts. The encounter with Taerim’s artistic work represents for the viewer a sort of exchange of ideas, not only that, the intensity of the shades are like the door to look inside oneself. Abstract art has a great task, that is, to escape reality to go and creep into more hidden corners, to bring out moods, emotions, memories through pure forms. The artist succeeds perfectly in this, her work is characterized by her great skill in the use of colors, but also and above all by the great ability to express herself. Definitely, Taerim’s work represents the escape from reality, a total abstraction that coincides with the extreme abstraction of feelings, emotions and thoughts.
“In nature, light creates color. In painting, color creates light” (Hans Hofmann)
Art Curator Vanessa Viti
Taerim Kim
[ PROJECT - BREAK THE MOLD REGARDING MY INNER SELF ] #64
Tahara Mio
The artist Tahara Mio is exhibiting an emblematic work in the “Kromatic@rt” exhibition: in “Wisteria ticking time”, vibrant and vivid colors emerge from the surface of the painting, giving the whole work an energetic dynamism. The key subject is the wisteria, an extremely unusual climbing flower native to the Far East: through its shape, it is as if it were bowing down before the viewer to pay homage. A symbol of sensuality, femininity, gratitude and friendship, this plant has the ability to climb anywhere, in a fanciful spiral movement, like a graceful dance. It is precisely this characteristic that makes the wisteria represent longevity and, in some cases, immortality. In addition, it creates ideal conditions for the manifestation of all ideas, both on the creative and practical sides. Exactly as in the works of Claude Monet, Tahara expresses every aspect of wisteria through the use of bright colors, which engage the viewer in a perceptive and sensory way. There is a special feature that makes the work unique: Tahara depicts an evolution of the flower, as if it were transforming into a pretty young woman. For this reason, it can be appreciated a radical change in the perception of the various elements in the painting: in this way the artist defines the flow of the many colors, opening the door to a new vision of the world. The triumph of brushstrokes is reminiscent of the great work of Jackson Pollock and Action Painting: in Tahara’s work as well, there is full freedom of movement, underlining her way of framing art and nature as an unstoppable force. The strong gestural charge is clear with the use of a spontaneous sign full of energy, representing an extension of the action itself. Those thinner strokes also recall the technique of “dripping”, through which the color is dripped directly onto the canvas, ensuring the artist an immediate result and allowing her an instant contact with the work itself. There is an absolute concentration and determination in Tahara Mio’s work, and she manages to convey a key message to the viewer; the one to appreciate every single moment of life, while admiring a precious gift of nature such as the wisteria. Everything around us is light, joy, but above all color, so powerful that it strikes directly at the soul.
“Color is a means of exerting a direct influence on the soul.” (Vasilij Kandinskij)
Art Curator Alessia Perone
Tahara Mio
Wisteria ticking time
Taija Mäntylä
Finnish artist Taija Mantyla presents at M.A.D.S. art gallery five works that perfectly reflect the theme of the exhibition: the power of colors. The artist uses a wide palette of different shades of colors to fill her five wonderful abstract canvases: “Magic forest”, “Music of colours”, “Celebration”, “To the sea” and “Together”. The peculiarity of Taija Mantyla’s art lies in the search for details. Apparently, her works appear as the set of spatulate and brushstrokes immediate, instinctive; but what is hidden behind them is a world to discover. Characters, faces, animals hide behind the spots of color. Let’s consider the work entitled “Together”, a first glance notes just vertical lines in a predominantly pink composition, but a careful observation leads us to note some characters, especially the woman on the left, the most defined. The work is therefore a group of people, who mingle with each other symbolizing union. The other works follow the same pattern, although the most difficult interpretation is the work entitled “Magic forest”: the canvas is left white and the colors are concentrated in the middle. The title suggests that it is an enchanted forest, probably seen from above, as if the whole world around it is flat, empty and devoid of colors and all the magic concentrated within it. What is certain is that Taija Mantyla’s art contains mystery, magic and positivity. Her art comes from the soul and the colors guide the artist in the creation of works that tell a story.
Art Curator Giorgia Massari
Taija Mäntylä
Celebration
Taija Mäntylä
Magic forest
Taija Mäntylä
Music of colours
Taija Mäntylä
To the sea
Taija Mäntylä
Together
Takahiro Ueda “Art is an evolutionary act. The shape of art and its role in society is constantly changing. At no point is art static. There are no rules” (Raymond Salvatore Harmon)
A Japanese artis who’s been deeply impressed by Cubism and Surrealism. Takahiro started being creative in early age and cultivated his passion during life exploring the transition “from reality to unreality”. His past belongs to graffiti’s world, street art, but during the exploration of the country Takiro decide to move his creations from walls to canvas. The reference of his art is the life, the real life dominated by absurd laws, unimaginable rhythms, distorted angles transported in a dreamlike dimension where images, words, colours, scratches dominate his pictorial representation. A mix between Basquiat’s sign and surrealist and symbolic iconography permeates Takiro’s canvases. “Covenant”, “Will I feel good?”, “Magnet”, “Blook”, “In bloom” are the phrases that participate to the aesthetic refiguration, where a fantastic figure (half human, half bull) is positioned in front of the viewer, called to have a direct comparison with the subject of the artwork. Takiro transport to canvas the street aesthetic, the raw and pure reality of everyday life turning this iconography into a “unreal reality” yet to be discovered.
Art Curator Cecilia Brambilla
Takahiro Ueda
Vision Quest
Tina Lundberg
Soft and delicate colors mark the stylistic signature of Tina Lundberg. The pastel tones are the protagonists and, just mentioned, emerge from the whiteness of the backgrounds. The convincing technique that the artist uses to paint the painting leads the viewer to engage in the search for a rational meaning, so as to attract him into the irrational realm of Surrealism. The shape of the painting is square and finds harmony, compatibility and balance with the female body in the foreground dominated by shades of blue, blue and white that, along with the dress by the light train, achieve a subtle harmony of curves. An intelligent coherence of the colors harmonizes the foreground with the background and with the whole composition. The Swiss psychologist, psychiatrist and philosopher Max Lüscher, in 1949, with his “Color Test”, allows access to the language of the same making it possible to access the emotional reality of each individual. The colors speak of us, they scream desires and needs, they manifest fears and negative moments but also joy and positivity. The blue of the female breasts conveys calm, harmony, deep relaxation and sense of fulfillment. An ethereal work, therefore “Reborn”, aimed at seeking a meeting point between dream and reality, of a higher, absolute, free reality. Artists such as Breton, Dalì, Magritte, Miró, Ernst have embraced these precepts, expressed in all likelihood by the current of Surrealism. The latter, based on the exaltation of the unconscious and the subconscious within the creative process, according to which man is free to express the most authentic part of his being. Images, rather than words, are a privileged tool to best represent what happens in the dream, and so the surrealist artists, learned this teaching to create the basis of this new artistic current.
Art Curator Federica D’Avanzo
Tina Lundberg
Reborn
Tyler Bennett “Color directly influences the soul. Color is the keyboard, the eyes are the hammers, the soul is the piano with many strings. The artist is the hand that plays, touching one key or another purposively, to cause vibrations in the soul.” (Wassily Kandinsky) The word “abstract” comes from the Latin abstractus, past participle of abstràhere, which can be translated as “to drag away, detach, pull away, divert” and consists of abs, that is “away from” and tràhere, “to draw”. The fundamental image of the abstract is that of the separated, of what is drawn or taken away - implied by its context, by reality. And in fact, all its articulated meanings are declensions of an isolation. It is interesting to investigate the origin of this term, especially in relation to art. Abstract art was born in 1910, when the Russian painter Wassilj Kandinskij painted a watercolor, considered the first abstract work in the history of art. A year later, together with Franz Marc, he founded the group called “Der blaue reiter” in Munich and he will always be the main theorist of this artistic movement. From this moment, abstractionism became for many artists the means to free their imagination, without the constraints and conventions that, until then, the rules of artistic practice imposed. References to reality disappear, and completely new forms and images will be part of a language aimed at expressing the artist’s inner feeling. This is the artistic language that Tyler Bennett has chosen to adopt to express himself. A language that he translates into the contemporary, intertwining with his past, in the world of graffiti. At times spray paint glazes are mixed with greasy and textured brushstrokes, at others with light shades. Acid and mainly cold colors blend on the canvas, tracing a vertical dynamism in the space at times interrupted by swirling signs. Thus, feelings of restlessness and trembling arise in the viewer, the same that the artist probably felt when creating these paintings. In the world of art, therefore, abstract is not only the painting or the style adopted, but it is also the artist himself who, isolating himself from the surrounding environment, withdraws into his intimacy, telling his ego through the work of art.
Art Curator Francesca Brunello
Tyler Bennett
Anxiety
Tyler Bennett
Patterns
Tyler Bennett
Vibrance
Valerie Feo â&#x20AC;&#x153;The world was not created once, but every time an original artist came along.â&#x20AC;? (Marcel Proust)
Valerie Feo, aka So Val, is an American artist whose works are distinguished by an extremely original and recognizable style among many others. The subjects she represents are characterized by faces with almost stylized features, but their refinement lies precisely in this: through a few simple lines, the artist is able to give the face magical expressions that make us understand the emotional state of the characters represented. These are works that, in addition to demonstrating the artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s great pictorial skills, can also identify the viewers in the subjects she designed, provoking strong emotions in them. A tool that Valerie uses with great command is undoubtedly the color: chromatic contrasts of great effect, never chosen randomly, create works of great character that cannot go unnoticed. The protagonist of the work analyzed is Jade, a woman with a strong, severe, and particularly intriguing personality. From the right side appears the neck, very long and blue, which supports the head, of realistic proportions and of several colors. Quite lengthened face, fleshy mouth, two rather spaced and hypnotic eyes make room for the straight and rather wide nose. Short, neat hair does not even reach midneck. Jade looks at us, with a melancholy and thoughtful gaze and, even if she had the opportunity to speak, she probably would not tell us anything: her mood is too sad to talk, she prefers to be silent. The warm and cold colors of the face blend perfectly, leaving behind a homogeneous sky-blue background. Valerie is a young artist whose unique personality and deep soul are perfectly reflected in her masterpieces, lively and full of meaning at the same time.
Art Curator Camilla Gilardi
Valerie Feo
Jade
Valerie Graniou-Cook “I can only note that the past is beautiful because one never realises an emotion at the time. It expands later, and thus we don’t have complete emotions about the present, only about the past.” (Virginia Woolf)
“Memory” comes from the Latin memor, that means “mindful, remembering”. Remembering the past allows our personality to form day by day, defining who we are. Each memory carries with it, as well as a visual memory of the past, also a memory of the feelings and emotions experienced at that particular moment. Valerie GraniouCook uses the energy that flows from these memories, conveying it to her paintings. Listening to herself, she arranges the pigments on the canvas, letting her past tinged with memories move first. An explosion of colors unfolds before our eyes. Our gaze is overwhelmed, and then we are gently accompanied towards the center, resting on the face of a young woman, absorbed in a moment of ecstasy and peace. It looks like a spring’s tale. A whirlwind of colors tells of trees in bloom, sunrises and sunsets, where the sun warms up giving a sense of calm and serenity. Meditation, tells about that moment of peace when thoughts dart in front of us, without however touching us. We are surrounded by thoughts and memories, but this does not interrupt the harmony. Valerie’s art is intended as a warning not to forget the fundamental moment of recollection with oneself, thus making memory a sacred temple. By mixing figurative and abstract language, her thoughts and memories fade and disperse one color into another, giving us a moment of calm too.
Art Curator Francesca Brunello
Valerie Graniou-Cook
MEDITATION
Varda Levy “In a painting, one color builds bridges, stairs and secret passages to join with another color. We only see the final design and we do not imagine the fatigue of this search. “ (Fabrizio Caramagna)
Colors, that seek, overlap, meet themselves, create the work “Red Bloom” by the artist Varda Levy. The red color, that dominates the entire work, is bursting, red like passion and red like the flowers that are given to the person you love, to show our passion. But disruptive in this work are, first of all, the thousand colors of nature, which bloom in spring and release all their beauty. Thanks to the artist’s painting technique, it seems to be in a forest, to make their way through the branches covered with a thousand flowers, among their colors and their scents. Each color is then able to convey different emotions and sensations. And this is evident in Varda’s work “Three hats”, in which the same image, repeated three times, but each dominated by a different color, blue, yellow and red, expresses a different emotion, we enter in a different atmosphere for everyone. And symbolic is also the choice of these colors, the primary colors which, meet and mix themselves, give life to all the other colors: thanks to them we color the world with a thousand shades. And we often showing our mood through the colors we wear. We also show traits of our character, such as the protagonist of the painting “Linda”, who through the color of her long and voluminous hair, shows us two opposite sides of her personality: the seduction of fuchsia and the mystery of purple. Both colors, however, come from red, like Linda’s lips, which also returns to represent the passion and sensuality that this work releases.
Art Curator Silvia Grassi
Varda Levy
Linda
Varda Levy
Red Bloom
Varda Levy
Three hats
Veronika Slívová “So many ideas spring from an inside response to form: for example, if I see a woman carrying a child in her arms it is not so much what I see that affects me, but what I feel within my own body. There is an immediate transference of sensation, a response within to the rhythm of weight, balance and tension of the large and small form making an interior organic whole. The transmutation of experience is, therefore, organically controlled and contains new emphasis of forms. It may be that the sensation of being a woman presents yet another facet of the sculptural idea.” (Barbara Hepworth)
The word “form” comes from the Old English gesceap which means “external form”, mixed with sceppan, “create”, of Germanic origin. We usually think of shape as something recognizable to our eyes. In this work by Veronika Slívová, a contemporary artist from Prague, it seems impossible to recognize such a form at first glance, but a more attentive observer cannot help but notice something familiar. A reflection on the graceful and delicate movements of a dancing body, which describes trails in the air that remain imprinted and motionless over time, enveloping everything in a soft fog. The nuances that surround the subject lead our gaze towards the bottom, and then cast it upwards in search of an answer. The directionality of this work is not accidental, but it brings with it something mystical. Sinuous brushstrokes accompany our eyes towards the top, where all the energy of the painting flows. The black lines give depth by mixing with blue, magenta and white. The whole takes on a greyish dominant which becomes more and more uniform as you reach the edges of the painting. The three-dimensionality given by the combination of colors tells us of the tranquility and serenity of a dance performed only for oneself. That cut of time where no uncomfortable thought interferes with our mind, but where we are alone. What is the form if not something that can also be created? Veronika has created a new form, she has revealed what is not visible to the eye.
Art Curator Francesca Brunello
Veronika Slívová
Who is she?
Vicenç Masdemont Punset
Vicenç Masdemont is a Catalan artist who, through his artworks, expresses himself; his emotions and feelings but who also uses his passion and job as a way of deepening and researching. This relation between personal ambitions, emotions and the artistic result can be seen in the artworks exhibited at M.A.D.S. art gallery, during “KROMATIC@ RT” exhibition. The technique used by Vicenç is close to the one used by the contemporary Italian artist Alberto Burri who, with his collages has brought to light a new aesthetic and a new way of making art with the use of non-conventional materials. Less colourful but with the same technical concept in “Compositional Arrangement to Create a Landscape” Vicenç communicates his geometrical and abstract art by using a spontaneous way of creation. This collage realized on wood is full of fragmented lines made with a black pencil that seem to represent little trees, or some geometrical polygons that in some cases are filled with soft yellow and blue hues that suggest water. The same subject can be seen also in the second collage here exhibited: “Blue Birch”. In this double piece, the artist seems to have worked with the intention to create a symmetrical scene but making of the little figures visible in the blue part, the miniatures of the white one with the addition of another colour, the red ochre, that as a mistake, seem to have trickled down the pencil and stained the work from the right edge of the blue part. With the third work “Rain Before Fall” Vicenç has left the use of black broken lines in favour of white and straight ones, more visible on the colourful background that characterizes this collage realized on canvas. Here the little trees have become thinner and the polygons have been replaced by composed figures. In this last work the technique of the trickled colour seems to prevail with the orange spot. The passage from an almost colourless picture to a colourful one is the result of deepening and research that the artist is attempting. In its totality, the artist tries to reflect its concern for the general erosion that nature is undergoing. Also, to pay homage to the living landscape sculptures, which are the trees, and that conform a great collage on the Earth’s Surface.
Art Curator Martina Stagi
Vicenรง Masdemont Punset
Compositional Arrangement to create a Landscape
Vicenรง Masdemont Punset
Blue Birch
Vicenรง Masdemont Punset
Rain Before Fall
Victor Gonzalez alias Ideaman
Victor Gonzalez aka Ideaman is a Puerto Rican artist, based in San Juan. The artist paints mainly with neon fluorescent colors, thus seeking a connection between the canvas and the space, dictated by the lights. The lights in fact influence his paintings, which change color, becoming fluorescent, with neon lights. Gonzalez’s production is closely related to Abstract Expressionism, recalling in particular Hans Hartung as regards the power of zigzag strokes. Victor Gonzalez presents three very similar works at M.A.D.S. art gallery: “Gleaming night in San Juan”, “2077 love nightfall” and “Neon purple devotion”. Take the latter example, the work in natural light is presented with bright colors, in which predominates the multitude of colors used while, turning off the light and lighting the neon, the work becomes entirely purple and fuchsia. The artist fits perfectly in the wake that is influencing contemporary art today: many artists starting from Lucio Fontana, passing through Michelangelo Pistoletto and Dan Flavin, use neon lamps in the realization of their installations; Gonzalez instead chooses to use the paint to make his works shine. Neon is undoubtedly a contemporary and striking element for people, who are constantly bombarded by the lights of billboards, cars, discos, bars, and who find no respite even within the home. For this reason, neon aims to attract the attention of the viewers, to capture their gaze and convey a message. The artist himself states: “I like to think of a cyber future where different kinds of lighting illuminate our world, in which we can get lost in the positive thought of a bright future. A neon psychedelic future. I hope.”
Art Curator Giorgia Massari
Victor Gonzalez alias Ideaman
2077 love nightfall
Victor Gonzalez alias Ideaman
Gleaming night in San Juan
Victor Gonzalez alias Ideaman
Neon purple devotion
Victoria Marsie Victoria Marsie is a self-taught emerging artist born in Oahu, Hawaii, whose passion and ambition for art started at the age of 3 years old. A traveling artist herself who has travelled in and outside of the country where the emergence of new cultures and people influenced her view in life and inspired her to spread that beauty in her art. Along with her past travels, nature, music, and color remain as her main source of inspiration for her art. Victoria is known for her careful detail in pyrography with a combination of colorful and expressive brushstrokes done with oil paint which she claims “is a way to bring wood back to life.” Along with having wood as her canvas, she also loves to experiment with other mediums like watercolor since she believes creativity is limitless. Victoria Marsie presents at M.A.D.S. art gallery three paintings on wood with detail in pyrography that are connected to each other by a use of bright and strong colors. The first painting analyzed here is entitled “I promise”. It’s an emotional piece about a love story, a promise. It’s a love between two souls deeply bound but divided by adversity: the note of suffering is clearly visible by the expressions of the two leading faces, which avoid looking at themselves as escaping from pain. However, they are surrounded by a multitude of colorful flowers in which pink prevails, a color that instills hope for a future reunion. Equally exciting and engaging is the painting entitled “I surrender” in which a woman is portrayed in a position of freedom. It is approached to a swan, as if it were her guiding spirit. The two protagonists are surrounded and almost transported by the flow of color that sinuously runs through the wooden support. It represents strength, freedom and resourcefulness is clearly perceptible. With great skill and attention to detail, Marsie realizes her last canvas shown here: “Primavera”. The title refers to the Spanish and Italian word that literally means “spring” referring not only to the season itself but to everything that refers to rebirth. A new life, a new beginning. This is also reflected in the choice of Marsie to use a black background as to emphasize a dark past, but now left behind. The face in the center, surrounded by colorful flowers, recalls that of a Buddha, spreading peace and tranquility in the viewer.
Art Curator Giorgia Massari
Victoria Marsie
I Promise
Victoria Marsie
I Surrender
Victoria Marsie
Primavera
William Atkinson
During his work for many years as a street artist under the pseudonym “Insurgency Inc”, William Atkinson sought to use his distinctive blend of Abstract Expressionism, Street Art, and Graffiti Assemblage to anonymously create public discourse. As his artwork migrated to the gallery setting, the artist began labeling the paintings with his name, William Atkinson. The artist is influenced by the process of street art, both for the aesthetics and for the studio time: Atkinson creates his works in a single studio session, choosing not to review his pieces, capturing the energy of a single moment. Working in this way requires tremendous mental preparation that begins when inspired by a word, phrase or image it encounters. This inspiration becomes a driving force and when he enters the studio he is ready to perform a piece. Undoubtedly, the works of William Atkinson are a perfect combination of different painting techniques and different styles, in which the technique of collage prevails over all combined with the insertion of words, writings, phrases, sometimes written by him, other times cut from newspapers, or printed by himself. Sometimes it recurs in the use of tags, as in the work “Burn”. The Assemblage used by Atkinson is clearly found in the works Neo-dada, in particular the artist visually approaches the works of Robert Rauschenberg, although his masters are Franz Kline, Dash Snow and Jack Kerouac. The influence of Franz Kline is evident in the heavy black lines, as in the work presented at M.A.D.S. art gallery, entitled “Literally”, in which a thick curved line invades most of the composition. William Atkinson realizes emotionally charged works through a vast amount of images, as in the case of the work “Cisco Dream” in which the artist selects nine photographs ideologically and visually opposed to each other, decontextualizing and redirecting them towards new meanings. This pushes viewers to consider new paths and perspectives for critical thinking. The aim of the artist is in fact to direct the viewer towards the commitment to critical thinking, sharing his personal comments on society, highlighting its vices and imperfections. William Atkinson fits perfectly into a contemporary context in which many artists combine street art and collage, such as the Turin artist Arcangelo, or Mimmo Rotella and Eduardo Recife regarding the use of the Assemblage, but what differentiates Atkinson’s works is a clear intention to social reflection, through the use of sentences that are interpreted in a subjective way. An example is the phrase inserted inside the work “Burn”: “Dark eyes seek no false praise”.
Art Curator Giorgia Massari
William Atkinson
Burn
William Atkinson
Cisco Dream
William Atkinson
Literally
Willie Smink “Every new morning, I will go out on the streets looking for the colors”. (Cesare Pavese) One could easily imagine that artist Willie goes out of the house every day to capture colors, to trap them in the shots. In fact, the photographs of Willie appear as a large palette of colors and light. That of Willie’s artworks are alive, lively, shining that bring to mind the world of Pop Art, so extremely colorful. The artist produces this series of photographs in a very difficult historical period for everyone, in which a pandemic has seen us forced to stay at home, to review priorities and to manage a completely upset life, certainly a dark moment, this is where the need to search for color arises. The search for color becomes an aesthetic metaphor for the search for beauty, in fact the artist combines two important elements, what is colors and nature. It is precisely in nature that man traces that primordial beauty to which he belongs, depriving himself of the magnificence of the natural world is an act against himself for man. The colors, the different shades, are a source of well-being for man. Willie’s artistic work becomes a therapy for the observer who is totally lost in the intensity of the colors. The artist gives us a kaleidoscope, before our eyes appear images that escape from reality to find refuge in the dream, an altered truth that becomes the means to evoke sensations. Enveloped by the whirlwind of colors that move in a whirling way as in the work “At the beach”, the viewer can not help but try to fly with thoughts and feelings, a flight that leads him to discover the enthusiasm and joy that only light and color can give. Seeing in the trees an immensity of colors that awaken memories, colors that shake the soul and shake off the torpor that the historical period we live has imposed on us. Willie’s artistic work brings to mind pop art in some works, but surreal echoes are certainly found in almost all works. Sensations that call to mind the works of the great masters of surrealism, where through colors and extreme real shapes, loses the truth and there is a dream dimension, within which it is possible to trace lost feelings and memories. Willie’s works assert themselves as a “renaissance”, the starting point to start a new path, from which to revive our everyday life, they are freshness and joy, they become the emblem of a society that cannot stop, that must not give up but continually seeks new stimuli.
Art Curator Vanessa Viti
Willie Smink
At the Beach
Willie Smink
Flower-art
Willie Smink
Morning sunset
Yuki Tagawa Color is the visual perception of the various electromagnetic radiations included in the so-called visible spectrum. Yet, departing from the physical definition, we can indicate color as something material and real capable of arousing within us an infinite spectrum of sensations and emotions. The experience of color is subjective and can refer to the culture of belonging which suggests personal perceptions about a specific color. Yellow, notoriously considered as the shade that contains within itself the light of the sun, is a color that expands, radiates on the surface; on the contrary blue, a reflective color, that arouses calm and characterized by a centripetal motion. Red is endowed with a great expressive force, passionate and sensual in its tonality it seems in constant movement within its own being. The word Kiraku in Japanese language is formed by the kanji KI and RAKU, respectively meaning the words “energy” and “fun”. The affinity with the shades of pigments in the artwork is palpable. A swirl of colors stand out on the canvas. They are undefined stains, with heterogeneous contours; patches of pure pigment that build with their expressive power the pictorial composition. Yuki Tagawa’s art is instinctive, sure of the emotional strength of her color. It does not require pre-packaged forms derived from the real world and from geometry: it assumes meaning in the very moment of its creation thanks to the power of pigment. A dark orangey yellow dominates the surface of the canvas. Centrifugal color that welcomes between its limbs other smaller spots of color, more timid and calm. Red, blue and violet specks, white splashes that contrast with imprints of deep black overlap in an excited dance expanding along the entire surface of the canvas. And yet, this multitude of colors that, by compacting, finds its own meaning, does not present nuances, points of fusion between two colors, tones arising from the encounter of two or more pigments. Each pictorial stain is its own, born and finished within its own physiognomy. Shades are not allowed, color is intended as pure pigment and as an element characterized by a force all its own, peculiar to its tonality. Kiraku is a living organism, composed of small organelles, of cellular units that form a new creative entity, complete and carrying its own meaning, happiness.
Art Curator Lisa Galletti
Yuki Tagawa
Kiraku
Zlatan Woszerow
Zlatan Woszerow is an abstract digital artist constantly searching for means to best express a perceptual process that aims to the infinity. His works are made from his drawings, photographs or physical acrylic paintings which he wisely changed them by using interactive tools. The use of technology highlights the multimedia, versatility and transversality of Zlatan’s artistic practice, allowing for a greater dialogue with the viewer, by making him more active in the communication process. He emphasizes and connects numerous elements, such as form, light, color and energy, all of which communicate with the viewer. In his visual language he extrapolates his own emotionality with the aim of making it available to the world and to capture a sensory and personal development within the interlocutor. The artist depicts dynamic figures and lines in constant motion, in a continuous sway that gives rise to other new forms that merge into one another. This trait comes out clearly in “Disappearing pattern”, where the colors convey a sense of calm and serenity, taking up every shade of a rainbow in an increasingly vivid and electrifying way. Those who admire this work can let themselves go completely, by joining in the energetic flow released by all these color contrasts, arranged as if it were a beehive. In “Flash” the different abstract shapes catch the objective and visual attention of the viewer, as if they were emerging from that deep black abyss, making the optical-perceptual experience unforgettable. The artist succeeds in shifting the interest towards that frenetic movement that changes dimension, alternating the various colors till to create a spatial relationship between them and the very essence of the work. While in “Still ahead of me” Zlatan offers the viewer the opportunity to immerse himself in a new reality, helping him to absorb all the imagination and fantasy of the place; in “Writing on the sky” numerous dynamic strokes branch out in every direction, playing on the visual superimposition of changing surfaces, both in tone and form, creating a three-dimensional effect. The whole captures the viewer’s gaze in this continuous illusion of perspective, which derives from a projected and multiplied vision of depth, until it reaches a dimension fluctuating in space and time, as if they were musical notes on a pentagram. Finally, in “You will never know” the infinite is at complete disposal of the viewer: a parallel universe, a galaxy studded with a myriad of floating stars, where a bright pink crosses diagonally over the violet, which gives the work a sense of spirituality and transcendence. Here art becomes almost a dreamlike and mysterious metaphor, defining a magical moment and uncovering the famous “quintessence”. Zlatan’s works shine with a light of their own: they succeed in highlighting a harmonious dynamism, offering the opportunity to immerse oneself to contemplate an alternative dimension and facilitating the union between body and mind.
Art Curator Alessia Perone
Zlatan Woszerow
Disappearing pattern
Zlatan Woszerow
Flash
Zlatan Woszerow
Still ahead of me
Zlatan Woszerow
Writing on the sky
Zlatan Woszerow
You will never know