Video-painting on view in Ubud
Video-painting on view in Ubud
Fabio Scarpello, Contributor, Ubud, Bali
It seems somehow incongruous that in Ubud, famous for its traditional painting, one should suggest a visit to Gaya, a gallery of modern art, where Filippo Sciascia's one-man exhibition is currently running. Nonetheless, one does it.
In entering the wide, white and bright exhibition room, the eye is immediately attracted by the red, black and grey that constitute most of the superimposed colors of the large paintings. The color is only the first of a rapid, three-step passage needed in order to settle, and appreciate the artwork in its entirety and its fine detail.
The second step, which follows soon after, is the emotional impact of the paintings. Asian women are the main subjects portrayed, and a subtle sensuality is projected through their expressions. Gazes, faces and smiles are reproduced by the artist with such a masterly skill that it almost fools the eye. If truth be told, it is quite easy, from a distance, to believe that the exhibition is about photographs rather than paintings.
"The theme is not the face, it is the technique," said Sciascia, who is also the designer and curator of the gallery, and can often be found sipping a coffee in the upstairs restaurant. Appreciation of his technique is the third step.
Sciascia followed his initial remark by explaining the philosophy behind his artistic endeavor, which started in Florence where he spent the early years of his career before moving to Bali in 1998. He was born in Palma di Montechiaro (Italy) in 1972.
"I want to create a link between the digital medium and oil painting," he said.
Sciascia does not just sit and paint. He does not use models, at least not directly. Video and photography are his starting points and the sources of his inspirations. "I film short movies, then freeze one image, print it and start on a creative journey," he said. The frozen image he referred to is often a gaze, or an expression that would otherwise be lost by the naked eye in a tenth of a second's exposure at a movie's real speed.
The way he finds a face is by painstakingly going through a movie, frame by frame. When he finds one, it becomes merely a structure, a base to start from and not the end product of his paintings. This is a concept he stressed time and time again: "The final product is not a copy of the photography or the reproduction of a frozen video's image, but an original artefact with its own identity, which is then reinterpreted by each and every viewer."
Looking at Sciascia's art it is clear that his approach to painting is another link to the video camera, or photography media for that matter.
Sciascia paints with a freedom to experiment normally granted to digital video and photography but not allowed in painting. He works on an image time and time again. He applies different effects and finishes, as one would in a digitally-enhanced picture. Not surprisingly, the same face is often the common denominator in a series of paintings otherwise different in presentation and message.
Also, through experimentation and inventiveness, Sciascia has managed to replicate some of the common imperfections and technical problems that one would normally associate with video (digital and analog) and with the processing of pictures.
For example, he has reproduced the effect of overexposed and underexposed film strips by using red, blue and yellow as overlaying colors in paintings. He duplicated the harsh effect of an old Xerox photocopier by juxtaposing strong white and black contrasted figures. He reproduced the corrosive effect of the chemicals on film strips with scratches and vertical lines that cut the image in different ways. He reminded us of a malfunctioning video that keeps looping vertically with paintings that portray two half-faces, one on top of the other. And he imitated the effect of pixels on a computer screen with artwork created only with tiny, simple geometric figures, like squares and rectangles, a device that sometimes requires a squint in order to see the image clearly. "It's like a camera zooming in on a subject," Sciascia said, drawing a parallel between the human eye and a zoom camera, and enforcing his point by gesticulating passionately, as only an Italian would. Even in Bali.
The exhibition, titled File 98-04, represents the body of work produced by Filippo Sciascia between 1998 and 2004, and will run until September 11 at the Gaya Fusion of Senses gallery.
Gaya Fusion of Senses Jl Raya Sayan Ubud, Bali +62 361979252 www.gayafusion.com