Three Italian abstract artists draw on the past for inspiration in an upcoming exhibition at Singapore’s Opera Gallery.“Italian Contemporary Art” features work from sculptor Gianfranco Meggiato, painter Marcello lo Giudice, and mixed media artist Umberto Mariani, who have created pieces influenced by classical Italian art or the physical history of their homeland.As a child, Mariani became fascinated with marble statuary, particularly the elaborate drapery classical sculptors carved into the white stone. His fabric and metal creations are an homage to that sculpture. For his working process, he mounts fabric onto canvas, folding and pleating the material to create three-dimensional forms with ripples of light and darkness. In recent works, including those on display in the show, he places sheets of lead beneath the fabric, forming discrete shapes that disrupt the folds of the drapery.Meggiato draws upon an even older artistic tradition. While his sculptures are contemporary in appearance, with their interconnected lines and geometric shapes, the artist casts them using the ancient the lost-wax method. In this method, the artist creates a wax model, which is then turned into a mould. Molten metal is poured into the mould, which is then removed, revealing the cast sculpture.Lo Guidice takes a more impressionistic spin on looking backwards. Trained as a geologist, his work is inspired by the strata of sedimentary rocks found in Italy’s caves. The artist brushes thick layers of paint on his canvasses, and then scratches through the paint to reveal hidden layers.“Italian Contemporary Art” runs June 3-19 at Opera Gallery Singapore.
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