Chianciano Art Museum
Critical Analysis Artist: Beddru Art Critic: Karen Lappon
ICAC
International Confederation of Art Critics
Critical Analysis Artist: Beddru Art Critic: Karen Lappon
The Museum The Museum of Art of Chianciano hosts a series of collections ranging from Neolithic and Asiatic to Contemporary art. There are approximately a thousand works on display. Visitors are able to view paintings and sculptures by artists such as Tom Nash, Salvador Dali, Sir Henry Moore, Frances Turner, Mario Schifano, Damien Hirst, Brian Willsher and Albert Louden, drawings by the likes of Magritte, Guttuso and Munch; historical works from Royal Collections and original etchings by masters such as Dürer and Rembrandt. The museum is known for organising annual international events, including the Chianciano International Art Award and the Biennale of Chianciano.
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) “Joachim and the Angel” Original woodcut, circa 1504
Sir Henry Moore (1898-1986) “Head” Bronze Sculpture
ICAC
International Confederation of Art Critics
The Critic
Karen Lappon, born in Santander, Spain, is an Italian art critic and essay writer that operates in London, UK. Although an expert on the Italian Renaissance period, Lappon is also great admirer of contemporary art. Karen studied at the “I Liceo Artistico in Via Ripetta” and at the “La Sapienza” University in Rome. A book of great interest curated by Karen is the “2nd Millenium”, the publication of an important exhibition at the Lord Leighton Museum, in which the talent and art of the prominent painter, Frances Turner - selected 5 times in a row for the BP Award at the National Portrait Gallery in London - is highlighted. This artist has been spotted and appreciated by another great critic, Normal Searle, that wrote an article in the Evening Standard on one of Frances’ paintings. “Vita e Opere di Antonio Sbrana” is a publication in which Lappon ties the activity of Sbrana and his influences on the “Macchiaioli” of the 19th century, like Natali and Fattori. A publication that illustrates the continuity of this movement and how it is still present in Italy today. Besides being a consultant for the Chianciano Museum of Art, Karen Lappon is part of the Board that selects artists for the Biennale, a difficult task that she has undertaken since 2009, along with other curators, to choose 100 artists out of 2000 applicants that will be part of the Chianciano Biennale. Karen is part of the jury of the London Biennale where 120 artists, selected from 40 different countries participate, and has been chosen by the organisers to accompany the Mayor of Kensington and Chelsea during the opening of the biennale.
“The Diver” - Mixed media on plexiglass by Beddru
The Artist Beddru is an Italian self-taught artist originally from Sicily. His first formative years are spent in Agrigento, where the painter absorbs the influence of traditional Greek art, its mesmerizing attention to beauty and the imposing volumes of human bodies. Beddru brings all these elements to life on his plexiglas panels or canvas, through a palette of vigorous colors and rich Mediterranean textures derived from the reminiscences of the former Arabic domination on his island. His distinctive approach to painting awakes memories and experiences from an apparent state of sleep, conveying them to the present time where the observers discover his unconventional world of art. Beddru paints not to change the world but the way we look at it, our perception. Painting becomes a medium to represent his visions and beliefs, a way to represent humankind in a large scale of portrayals, from joy to sorrow, as all emotions deserve to be represented. His brushes break social conventions and clear out useless sophistication, leading our attention to the essence: humankind in its whole. The artist represents those who are considered “different”, or part of social minorities, thus, rejected because of prejudice or, simply, ignorance. Servants, day-dreamers, homosexuals, prostitutes, atypical characters populate his artistic world and speak up loud to make their voice heard. They are there. They exist. After having admired and studied the works of the great masters, in the 90’s, the artist decides to leave Italy and move abroad. It’s a no-return trip. Beddru currently lives and paints in his studio in Brussels, exhibiting internationally on a regular basis in venues spanning from well reputed art-fairs to museums with both solo and collective exhibitions. His artwork is part of international contemporary art private collections. He is currently preparing his first American show in Los Angeles in January 2016 (ART LA).
“Man with Sunflowers” - Mixed media on plexiglass by Beddru
The Critique
Beddru, née Giuseppe Bellia, is a remarkable self-taught figurative painter whose origins have strongly influenced his work. He was born in Agrigento, Sicily where he developed his love for ancient Greek art, absorbing the beauty and harmony of the human body, while from the Arab domination of the island he perceived the rich variety of colour. Beddru’s subjects dominate his paintings and are representations of the more marginalised members of society, which he paints with a matter-of-fact candour and naturalness, letting the viewer share audacious themes, dear to the artist’s heart, with serene acceptance and comprehension. Beddru uses various techniques, from drawing and watercolour, to painting on canvas and plexiglass. Colour is central to convey his visual and at times controversial message. His vibrant chromatic effects are the result of a deep “osmotic” relationship with his pigments. As he himself admits: “I work without gloves on purpose so that my inks can penetrate my skin while painting, and I can feel the colours”. His figures conceal a beauty and liveliness that remind us of Kees van Dongen and the Fauvist movement, along with Alexej von Jawlensky and Franz Marc of Der Blaue Reiter. The bold outlines, dynamic brushstrokes and contrasting hues exude passion and enthusiasm. Beddru relies on strong clashing colours to construct his images, thus evoking powerful emotions of sensuality and expressive depth, juxtaposed to a lightness of spirit that captures and enthralls the viewer with its calm, unobtrusive serenity and pictorial clarity of speech. Marlene Dumas said: “I have always been interested in how you can depict suffering without being heavy-handed”. With Beddru we finally have an answer.
Karen Lappon International Confederation of Art Critics
“Alter Ego” - ceramic shoe installation by Ayhatun Ateşin
“Love me” - Mixed media on plexiglass by Beddru
International Confederation of Art Critics www.international-confederation-art-critics.org