NEW YORK, NY.- The Robin Rice Gallery will present Daylight, an exhibition of 20 paintings by Giacomo Piussi. Come to meet the artist, all the way from Florence, Italy! The opening reception will be held on Wednesday March 29, 2023, from 6pm to 8pm, at 325 West 11th Street, New York, NY.
Daylight explores a playful world where dreams and reality meld together to create surreal moments. When engaging with Piussi's work, we enter an arena where we are immersed in childlike delight. We experience snapshot images of a world reduced to its essence, in a seemingly comic-book style that has echoes of Giotto and Paolo Uccello, and even of medieval illuminations.
My work is simple: the subject matter is stripped to basics, so all that is engagement, controversy and links to reality is taken away, and what remains is an icon with an aura of philosophical suspension, and a window into the enigma of existence. Piussi’s work is directly influenced by artists Alex Katz and David Hockney, and his style reflects a comprehensive understanding of the work of Giotto and Paolo Uccello.
In "Girl on a Rock with Mask”, the figure represented in this painting conveys a blank mood, such that the viewer is invited to examine their own intimate feelings that arise when observing the image. Piussi creates a universe of more profound truths in his examination of the tranquility of everyday life: he reminds us of our need for reflection, shows us a fearlessness in the face of stillness and the passage of time.
The broad repertoire of his paintings, with their naturalistic color and semi-abstract shapes, presents us with Piussi’s views concerning our contemporary lives. Rather than mimic the appearance of nature, Piussi reaches for its essence, in visions that are devoid of distracting details. Women stand on the shores of quintessentially peaceful seas; they are self-contained, at ease. These women are unwitting replicas of classical goddesses. Or we see a proud diver echoing Neptune, holding his trident.
Piussi was born in 1967 in Udine and raised in Florence, where he majored in sculpture at the Institute D’Arte. He completed his artistic education at Milano's Brera Art Academy where he majored in painting. Piussi went on to live in Florence, where he now pursues his passion for painting, bronze, terracotta sculpture and bas-reliefs. Giacomo Piussi has exhibited in Florence, Rome, Milan and Berlin. After numerous group shows at the Robin Rice Gallery this is his first solo exhibition.
To view the exhibition, please visit –
https://robinricegallery.com/giacomo-piussi/2023/1/7/daylight
