If it weren’t for Enzo, who allowed me to set up my easel and paint, I would have no choice but to sleep on the deck chair. The Apuan Alps watch over me from above, while in front of me, the beach stretches out before a shimmering sea that fades into the horizon.
My daughter-in-law posed as a model, and my son, as a photographer, captured this scene, which I then transferred onto the canvas.
TITLE:
The beach bores me
SUPPORT:
Cotton canvas on frame
SIZE:
50 x 60 cm
TECHNIQUE:
Oil on canvas
DATE:
August 2024
SERIAL N.:
20240802
NOTES:
Entirely created with a palette knife, except for the face
ART EXCHANGE: ITALIAN AND AMERICAN ART MEET IN NEW YORK
Sponsored by the Rambaldi Foundation under the umbrella of the 2025 centennial celebrations and organized by the Rambaldi Promotions Cultural Association in collaboration with the Culture Lab of Long Island City, the exhibition “Art Exchange: A bridge between Italy and America” is a one-of-a-kind event that aims to unite Italian and American talents, creating an artistic dialogue that embraces cultures, styles and visions.
The exhibition was curated by Daniela Rambaldi and Tess Howsam, with the collaboration of Simona HeArt for the artistic coordination of the Italian artists and Giuseppe Lombardi.
The exhibition, which will be held in New York at the Culture Lab in Long Island City, from March 6 to April 20, 2025, will be an unmissable opportunity to admire works of the highest quality, discover new talents and reflect on the power of art as a tool for universal connection.
ITALIAN ARTISTS ON SHOW
The Italian participation in the exhibition is represented by a heterogeneous group of 75 artists, each with their own stylistic signature and a unique contribution to the contemporary art scene.
AN EVENT OF SOLIDARITY AND CONNECTION
In addition to celebrating art, the exhibition stands out for its commitment to supporting emerging artists and cultural activities. The proceeds from the sale of the official exhibition catalogue in the United States will be donated to the Culture Lab LIC, to continue supporting artists and their creative initiatives.
TOWARDS ITALY
After the success of the event in New York, the exhibition will continue its journey in Italy, where American artists will have the opportunity to exhibit their works, further strengthening the cultural exchange between the two countries.
The Milan Cathedral and the spires are a recurring theme in my works.
I particularly love this great work of man, created in over 400 years by a multitude of Lombard artists and artisans. I compose this grandiose Cathedral about 3400 statues, 135 spires, 200 bas-reliefs, and 96 gargoyles. Each angle, each photograph, offers a different spectacle of the masterpiece that is even more fascinating at night.
In this photo the Madonnina is framed from below, relevant and valuable compared to a Milanese moon, slightly red due to the city air very compromised by pollution and modern debauchery.
After a couple of Friday nights I really wanted to try to paint a subject by myself, which I took from the folder of postcards intended for watercolors and which I usually buy during my travels.
Lisbon Trams are certainly a fun element, on which to play and practice the use of color. My idea was to make the tram appear from the fog, from the front and in one of those small uphill streets that characterize this poetic and highly inspiring City.
Obviously, it is not easy for a neophyte to invent from scratch.
Every year, the Medical Evidence Division of MeTMi S.r.l. (ECM Standard Provider n. 5 of the Italian Ministry of Health) produces 8,000 copies of an identification card, sent to each healthcare professional who has participated in the Refresher Courses.
The cards, which reproduce each year the work of an internationally renowned author selected by a jury of experts, have become a collector’s item over time. This is also thanks to their personalization with the name of the participant.
In 2024, the work depicted on the cards was the painting “Giardini BAM – Gae Aulenti“.
It’s a surprise. A green meadow in bloom in the center of Milan, all to be discovered and appreciated. A walk that, after an unlikely square crowded with glass buildings and spires, leads you to the heart of a park that you don’t expect to find in the center of a metropolitan city.
A spectacular view of nature where the soul unfolds and people stop in surprise to admire a nature that until recently had been forgotten.
This work was used in 2024 for the printing of the “Attendance Cards” of the participants in the ECM Courses of Medical Evidence – Milan (see link)
This lighthouse is built against the Vauban military fort of the same name and aligned with the Portzic lighthouse. It is 26 meters high, reaching 34 meters above sea level, and stands on a giant rock jutting out into the waves. Its main role was to ensure entry to the port of Brest, and for this reason, the French Navy requested its construction in 1839. The lighthouse is built in cut stone extracted from the Aber-Ildut quarry, under the supervision of Louis Plantier, an engineer who participated in the installation of about fifteen lighthouses in Brittany.
My painting reproduces a photo that takes the lighthouse from a very low angle, capturing the moment of sunset inside the arch of the stone bridge.
I chose to do it entirely with the spatula and I discovered how important it is for this tool to be flexible and of the right size to enhance each detail. The effect of the spatula is important, especially in the modeling of bodies and masses such as rock and stone.
I chose a canvas that developed the painting horizontally and in large dimensions, which required much more time and work, with particular attention to capturing and replicating the colors in their right temperature.
I also loaded the lighthouse light with color, more than it is in reality, because I like to highlight the importance of its function in navigation and in life.
December 2023 – I look out the window and the blinding white light is a solid background that highlights the profile of all the houses that surround me. This Milanese winter erases all the details. I am surrounded by objects cut out from a newspaper and glued onto a white sheet.
Nostalgia di Sole is so strong and harks back to the months of August, where the sky rivaled the sea and a tenacious lifeguard ensures that this enchantment remains safeguarded.
Marsaxlokk is a fishing village located in the south-east of Malta. Its picturesque harbor, decorated with colorful boats called luzzu, has become an icon of the island. The Marsaxlokk fish market, held every Sunday, is an unmissable culinary experience. On the evening of July 31, a procession dedicated to Madonna Ta’ Pompej takes place, which is very suggestive.
That evening, sitting in the last restaurant of the walk, we admired the fireworks that light up the black sea and the Maltese fishing boats that are an unforgettable sight. (photo by my wife Luisa)
On August 3, 2022, my wife Luisa and I spent 10 beautiful days in the Gulf of Naples. Naples, Procida, Ischia, Capri and Sorrento. A tour in total tranquility, interspersed with ferry trips, walks, romantic dinners and above all lots of photography.
In the beautiful Procida we were accompanied by APE taxi by Mr. Peppino who helped us discover the most fascinating corners of the island.
This winter I then extracted from my photographs of that day perhaps the most classic one which I then reproduced in a painting, all color and depth.
TITLE:
Procida – the mosaic of the Gulf
SUPPORT:
Cotton canvas on frame
SIZE:
50 x 80 cm
TECHNIQUE:
Oil on canvas
DATE:
June 2023
SERIAL N.:
20230601
NOTES:
Done entirely with a spatula, except for the two planes of sea.
