“. . .All Aboard!!!”

The Train

I took a day off the other day to go into Florence, something that is getting to be rare for me. What I mean is that I went into the city just for me, just to wander around. . . to window shop . . .and to meet a friend. Its fun just to do nothing in particular and let things happen without a plan.
The idea was to go to the flower market that’s held every Thursday in the center. It turned out that we went to an art show instead and then on to a long, chatty lunch.

A visit to Palazzo Medici Riccardi, a museum that features temporary exhibitions,  was  the real surprise of the day. We found three exciting exhibits, each totally different. One was the show by an Irish sculptor, Paddy Campbell, whose large bronze statues were in the courtyard as well as in the garden. But the pieces that struck me most were three realistic and funny Scenes placed in a small room off the main gallery: the Train,(see foto above) the Market, and a Bedroom. They were scenes of daily life populated by wax figures 1/3 of the natural dimensions, including hundreds of small objects, accessories and costumes of the period, all narrating  stories of normal, everyday people. The largest scene represented the Market of Sant’Ambrogio, Florence’s bustling central market place, full of stalls, customers buying, the salespeople hawking, plus all the natural surrounding caos; dogs barking, babies in buggies, etc., etc.

Sant'Ambrosio Market (part.)

Sant'Ambrosio Market (part.)

Sant'Ambrosio Market (panaramic viiew)

                                           Take a close look at these photos to see the details

          The second show was a three room exhibition  by an “unidentified” artist.

mixed media on paper, wood panel

tempera on paper, wood panel

     That is, the artist had refused to put his name on the exhibition forcing us to go back to the bookshop for info. Armodio is his name, an artist of international fame.(He participated in the 2011 Biennial in Venice) His work has an aura of metaphysical silence and whimsical irony that is incredible and fascinating.

Then the third show. Not a “show” as such because it is a visit to the second floor of the Medici Riccardi Palace which is always visible.  I  just hadn’t been for years.
The highlight, after seeing the decorative rooms and  furnishings, was seeing the frescos in the chapel done by Benozzo Gozzoli entitled “The Procession of the Magi”. Breathtaking!! really. (visit the web site to see all)

Will do this more often.

detail of the fresco

fresco in the Magi Chapel

http://www.palazzo-medici.it/mediateca/it/index.php
http://www.palazzo-medici.it/

I Knew . . .

When I posted the paintings that concluded my wax and nail series  I knew that one, "Magenta", was not at all finished. Something was missing.  So I kept it in front of me for days, turning it round and round, examining the balance, the darks and lights, the composition. There were interventions, not many, but some... and this is now the end result. (I think!)

       "Magenta"

The balance was off and therefore the composition suffered.

                                 
                                     Now back to the studio and preparations for making monotypes.

Finishing the Series

"Magenta" - 8"x8"- pigments oil, wax, gesso, nails on paper

"Russet" - 8" x 8"- pigments, oil, wax, gesso, nails, on paper

I finished the last two small works on paper using cold wax, oil paints, dry pigments, nails and gesso. Quite a mix of materials that have taught me a lot. The only problem are the  nails which, being heavier than the paper, have caused a buckeling that I hadn't anticipated.  Once framed or mounted that should disappear. NOW. I'm ready to get back into the studio to start working with other materials and techniques.  An idea to do  monotypes has been gnawing at me for a while so that's what I want to tackle. I will still use cold wax to see how that perfoms under the press.  Should be just fine. Will let you know.

Playing Hookey!

It's been pretty obvious I immagine.  I admit, with a little guilt, that for the past couple of months I have shamelessly  played hookey, yup, I have been unjustifiably absent from the studio. Summer has made me into a lazy, undiciplined being that would rather flip flop from chair to sofa, melting into the heat that has suddenly struck with torrid temps and sipping lemonade in a futile attempt to quench the fire.

But, thank goodness, the absence was only physical.  Those of us who paint know that we're never completely far away from our studios. There is always a mental presence that is constantly working. Everything we see, feel, encounter  daily is  stored in our minds for use in a more profitable future. Even my virtual tour with you to the Biennial Art Expo in Venice has been a precious stimulation as well as a preparation for my visit to Venice in the fall.

8"x 8"- gesso and rusted nails on paper

8" x 8"- gesso and rusted nails on paper

Months ago, I started a series of small works with cold wax on paper using  rusty nails. (see post "New . . .and Already Rusty") Four were finished but I had also prepared two others which have been there waiting. ( see above photos ) Using the same  paper (8" x8") primed with gesso in thick layers, I embedded my rust coated nails into the pasty surface. I created texture in  the gesso by raising and adding more material around the nails with a spatula intending to anchor the nails and to add interest around them. . . When the surface dried however, less rust was released from the metal probably because the gesso neutralized the effect of the acidic vinegar so I used coffee to obtain areas of light and dark.

These two pieces have been on my mind all these months and are now in the working!

A few steps away to. . . SPAIN

  We  are now in the Spanish Pavilion  featuring artist Lara Almarcegui. Her artwork  stems from a heightened awareness of the city, using its wastelands and buildings to reflect on the evolution of the city itself and the elements that comprise it. Almarcegui brought two related projects to the Italian exhibition that continue in the same line as her previous works. One tackles the physical space of the Spanish Pavilion in the Giardini, while the other explores an empty plot of land beside the island of Murano.

In the pavilion a large sculpture installation interacts with the architecture of the building constructed by Javier de Luque in 1922, occupying the entire interior. This intervention consists of mounds of different construction materials, of the same type and quantity used by workers to construct this very building in the early 20th century.

The installation revolves around a huge mountain of cement rubble, roofing tiles and bricks smashed to gravel which occupies the central room, making it virtually impossible to enter this space directly. Other lesser mounds, each of a different material (sawdust, glass and a blend of iron slag and ashes), were located in the side rooms, which visitors are able to walk through and so circle around the large central mound.

With regard to her project, Almarcegui explains, “The materials are the rubble from demolitions which, after being recycled, have been transformed into gravel by means of the treatment process currently used in Venice.”

The artist’s idea is to make people look at the city, its wastelands and its buildings through mountains of rubble so that they can reflect on the evolution of the city and its component parts. Almarcegui said " it explains the idea of a building’s ingredients. I have used this idea to present the pavilion before it was built and how it would look if it was destroyed. It’s a sculpture that speaks about volume and that also refers to the future of construction”. Edition 55 of the Biennale, entitled “Il Palazzo enciclopedico” (‘the Encyclopaedic Palace), also features  another work by Almarcegui, “Guía de la Sacca San Mattia, la isla abandonada de Murano, Venecia”, an investigation into an abandoned island formed from glass waste from the Murano glass-making industry.  Lara’s work  represents essential problems of the world we are living in.