| Wessel Huisman at the Florence Biennale 2011 |
 I met Wessel Huisman at the hotel reception. I knew he was exposing at the Florence Biennale and so I asked him how it was going. This way we started a very pleasant and engaging conversation about art in general and contemporary art in particular. He proposed me to come and see his paintings at the Biennale, and so I went. What for an experience! I work at the hotel but I am also a tour guide and when I am in front of an artwork I explain what the artist wanted to say, what he was thinking, I describe the historical period in which he lived in order to be able to find influences in his works, I describe the colors and their shades ... .. I am very often asked if the artist really thought about all these things when creating. I naively have always answered with a simple yes. With this visit I have realized that an artist not only thinks of all that but much, much more. It 'a work of creativity and of extreme precision at the same time. In particular with Wessel we looked at his painting from the distance to catch the general scene and the "flavor" of what he had represented: a postcard from the past with these people that seem almost motionless while walking and then we looked at the painting from close to see the swirl of light and geometric shapes that wrap the same people so to focus the gaze in particular on two of them. And finally we have drifted back again to get to see the overlap of the two plans: the promenade and the central vortex. How beautiful! What I love in Renaissance art is the possibility to see different, opposed aspects so to always be able to choose and have and feel conflicting emotions. I found it wonderful to see the same also here! I was given the chance to recognize the been fast, as my life usually is, but also see the slowness characterized by a little bit of poignant melancholy of the people that are calmly walking along the river. Wessel Huisman explained me in a passionate way his creative moment but also the technical difficulties of color balance: I do not know how many different types of white he has used, and how many coats of paint has given to reach exactly the shades of gray that he was looking for to give harmony to the painting. In short, a masterpiece of emotions that reach you deep in your to the heart! I invite you to go to the Biennale and discover his incredible work. |
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