FRANCESCA STRINO
Universal Representations
Italian artist Francesca Strino focuses her newest figurative paintings on images of women who are finding their strength in fragility. The human form, both male and female, is inspiring to Strino because she finds it to be understood universally and a representation of life itself. Her pieces are often derived from photographs she takes of friends, relatives and students. The photos allow her to study the forms in detail.
From January 3 to 31 Strino’s latest paintings will be on view at Lotton Gallery in Chicago. Gallery director Christina Franzoso says, “The Italians use the word incantevole to describe something lovely, delightful and enchanting. Incantevole is the perfect word to describe Francesca Strino and her new series of paintings.”
The compositions are highlighted by distinctive colors, as well as unique interactions of the light and shadow. The artist adds, “I choose the light that fascinates me and allows me to see in the shadows.”
Among the pieces is Naples Gold, which depicts the golden hues that the artist says are predominant in her hometown of Naples, Italy. She explains, “[The color] is so beautiful that the production companies of oil paints manufacture it, calling it ‘Naples yellow.’” Another of her pieces, Soft Feathers, which shows a young woman with a feathered boa looking wistfully off the canvas, “tells of an escaped glance, a private moment.”
Infinity is a painting Strino describes as the culmination of all her research, since it reveals part of the painting process through an “unfinished” corner. She explains that the work also touches on the notion that a painting is “never to be completed.” Strino shares, “Infinity is a philosophical and stylistic game that sees me finish a work and then delete it (bringing it back to origin) and start over again.”