Between introspection and discovery
March 25, 2011 Filed under Expat news
A charcoal drawing from Galliani's Oriental Sketch series.
By Chu Meng
Omar Galliani, a 57-year-old Italian, is a sketch artist. He draws. As art constantly tries to reinvent itself, Galliani has stuck with the basic, though the medium belies the complexity of his works.
In the last decade, he has shifted his focus from Italy to Beijing. He has dabbled with Chinese painting techniques and tried incorporating them with his sketching, an art brought to the world by Italian Renaissance artists.
Omar Galliani/Photos provided by Ruo Rui
Galliani’s solo exhibition, Chinese Diary, opened at the Italian embassy’s Cultural Center on Wednesday.
The exhibition features many drawings of diverse sizes and were all inspired by the female world.
Galliani’s sketches are done with pencils, charcoal or crayons on xuan paper, a surface normally reserved for calligraphy and wash painting.
“It’s evidence that I was influenced by the Chinese sense of beauty and Oriental painting culture,” he said. “I believe I was born with an affection for xuan paper, though I didn’t know it. I love its plain texture and natural color so much. It provides my sketches with a unique feeling that no other paper can provide.”
A red dragon is stamped onto each drawing. The red, rarely seen in sketches, makes a bold impression on viewers.
“People around the world know that dragons were royal and auspicious symbols in ancient China,” Galliani said. “But it was also a dominant pattern in ancient Italian alchemy. I love this stamp for it represents my understanding of cultural fusion.”
Galliani said his favorite work is “To See the Colors,” a crayon drawing. It consists of three small-scale drawing boards. Female portraits from the left to the right are drawn lightly with green, blue and red crayons.
“The colors were inspired by Hangzhou silk,” he said. “The sketches are faithful to light theory.”
The three women face the colored boards and have been caught in the exact moment when color invades their minds. They seem lost in contemplation.
