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Ruggero Vanni
Struggle of Color and Matter - Abstract Expressionist Painting, Purple, Yellow

2024

About the Item

Ruggero Vanni's "Struggle of Color and Matter" is a 48.5 x 61.5-inch abstract expressionist landscape with the primary colors being purple, yellow, and green. The brush strokes are very thick and gestural, with swirls of yellow, purple, and blue colors flying around the canvas, creating sweeping motions as if the brush strokes were moved by gusts of wind. The juxtaposition of purple, yellow, and green colors is very much reminiscent of French post impressionist painter Pierre Bonnard. Growing up in Rome and now based in New York, Vanni's work beautifully captures the transition from classicism to contemporary art, emphasizing the importance of color and light in his visual practice, with each stroke and hue intricately weaving a visual narrative that captivates the viewer. Whereas Vanni's older paintings are more rigid in their spatial construction and clearly marked by references to classical masters like 18th-century painter Gian Battista Tiepolo, Vanni has evolved through the years towards freedom of gestural expression. This painting is part of his most recent works, where he achieved a balance between these different aspects of his practice, creating canvases where "classical" compositions are born from instinctive thick brush strokes that are first cut out and then carefully reassembled one by one on the surface of the canvas. Whereas the expressionist nature of Vanni's brush strokes anchors him in a contemporary context referencing American Abstract Expressionism, the classicist roots of his pictorial practice remain evident in his concept that painting is an extension of architecture, intended not only to enhance the aesthetic appeal of the surroundings but also to create a unique and immersive experience for all who interact with the space. Vanni's work is figurative in that it depicts a three-dimensional space, but it is also non-representational, avoiding any form that could be clearly recognizable. His paintings allude, in Vanni's words, "to natural phenomena, in a raw state, devoid of the limiting constrictions of literal representation. Nature is there as a landscape, a view looking up in the air or plunging down underwater. Imagery is kept on the edge of recognition, so the final association is created in the mind". Ruggero Vanni was born in 1958 Paris, France, and lives and works in New York. Private collections include the Pinacoteca of Aosta, Italy; Irving Cancer Center, Columbia University, NY; Yale Eye Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT.
  • Creator:
    Ruggero Vanni (Italian)
  • Creation Year:
    2024
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 48.5 in (123.19 cm)Width: 61.5 in (156.21 cm)Depth: 1.5 in (3.81 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    New York, NY
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: RV24041stDibs: LU249214398572
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