ART CITIES:Paris-Salvatore Emblema

Salvatore Emblema’s work was strongly influenced by his environment. Born in the Terzingo on the flanks of Mount Vesuvius, where he spent most of his life, He attended the Art School and the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples. From an early age he devoted himself to painting inspired by the nature that surrounds it, and ready to snatch the essence: uses, in fact, all the natural elements to produce colors and atmospheres.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Bugada & Cargnel Gallery Archive

Salvatore Emblema’s was also inspired by the work of his American Contemporaries, whom he mixed with from 1956 to 1958, in his visit in USA. There he developed an appreciation of the work of Mark Rothko, who became a close friend and whose work was an undeniable source of inspiration. These early meetings shaped the artist’s entire career. Ignoring art trends, he spent his whole life attempting to capture transparency in painting. In this sense, he played an important role in the post-war Italian avant-garde, and his work was selected for the Venice Biennale in 1980 and 1982. The exhibition “Trasparenza” shows the richness of the work of this Italian artist, whose practice was developed at the frontiers of Arte Povera and Land Art, and was inspired by abstract expressionism. His canvases, whose weave he opened up, or his outdoor sculptures and installations exposed to the sun and wind, testify to his desire to capture transparency. The pictorial journey offered in this exhibition emphasises this attempt to get as close as possible to transparency by subtly playing with the material’s shadow, a plastic approach as an oxymoron. Through transparency, the artist’s installations and paintings interact with existing light and space. He attempted to depart from the conventional plane by making the flat surface transparent. Abandoning shadows to focus solely on clarity, he invited ambient light to enter his paintings and installations without artifice.

Info: Bugada & Cargnel , 7-9 Rue de l’Équerre, Paris, Duration 28/11/15-16/01/16, Days & Hours: Tue-Sat 11:00-12:30 & 14:00-19:00, www.bugadacargnel.com