Autorizzazione Tribunale di Roma n. 378 del 30/09/2005
 
Rivista bimestrale -Anno III- Nov./dic. 2007, n.12
NOTIZIE ed EVENTI  






A Lesson in Bleu



“Bartolomeo Gatto: a Lesson in Blue”

Bartolomeo Gatto met Salvador Dalì in Madrid and Giorgio de Chirico in Milan. At the end of the 70s he visited Sardinia and was struck by the beauty of the island , which was to influence many of his future paintings. He has made himself known to the general public through many solo and collective exhibitions both in Italy and abroad.
Mainly colors and simple shapes express Gatto's work. Rounded and solid figures on canvas are the main characters in his art pieces: they represent the stones of beloved Sardinia, the island where the artist has spent long periods of time and has created his personal style.
Talking about Sardinia, Gatto says: “…every time I get back I find its best aspects. I don't think anybody has ever understood what Sardinia means to me, what does a color or a stone represent to me”.

Although stones recall an idea of hardness, the color that fills them up suggests the sweet feeling that has been linking Bartolomeo Gatto to this extraordinary land. Stones, even as objects made of raw material, are the reflection of the artist's deepest and most intimate thoughts. Even if the subject used can seem repetitive, color shades evoke always something of new and unexpected. Colors of nature, sunrise or sunset are mixed to tell about the artist's intimacy, in many different poetic ways.
For his exhibition at the Italian Cultural Institute, Bartolomeo Gatto shows about 20 artworks where blue is the main color. It is the first time that the artist has used this shade in such a total way. His early artworks were full of red, violet, turquoise and yellow. Right now Bartolomeo Gatto seems to want to bathe in a deep blue dimension: blue like the sea, like the sky and the natural shadows on the surface of stones. He wants to give to the viewer “a lesson in blue”.

Bartolomeo Gatto was born in Moio della Civitella, near Salerno (Italy), in 1938. In the 60s he attended art classes at the Accademia di Brera in Milan, and eventually opened the art gallery “Il Cigno”, which became a meeting point for some contemporary intellectuals. His formation as a painter was enhanced by travels in Central Europe, which enabled him to get in touch with the artistic environment still influenced by German Expressionism.

“Bartolomeo Gatto: a Lesson in Blue”
La Galleria Italian Cultural Institute, 686 Park Avenue, NYC - 212 879 4242 ext 371


For further information email: planning.iicnewyork@esteri.it



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