A path in which space becomes a concept and light becomes an emblem of the mystery of human life.
BARNABA GHISLENI was born in 1957 in Sotto il Monte (BG). He trained at the Carrara School in Bergamo and entered the artistic world in 1969. He has won prizes in drawing and painting and, his works can be found in galleries, public and private collections in Italy, and abroad.
With “Tagli di spazi e di luce” Ghisleni inaugurates a path in which space becomes a concept and light becomes an emblem of the mystery of human life.
The attempt to tune freedom and existence, universality and individuality, past and future acquires a unique and original dimension in his recent artistic experiences: the finite space of his canvases is metaphorically charged with the infinity and fullness of human and natural space, thus becoming a silent bearer of profound ontological values that lead anyone who dialogues with his works to reflect on the importance of harmonising values such as essentiality, simplicity and silence in their lives. It is in this human itinerary, even before the artistic one, that colour becomes life, and light evolves from a simple emotional element into creative and productive energy: in the finite space, allegory of the infinity of thought, the vibrations of colour and light refer to a profound dialogue with one’s Ego, through which each of us is brought back to our human and spiritual depth.
The cuts of colour and light are the key element that enriches the abstractness of Ghisleni’s language. They sublimate his mature reflection on the inflections that punctuate the lives of men in modern society: it is the aesthetics of the wound, of the mistake, of the break – and last but not least – of the discard that reminds us how important it is to renew daily, despite the difficulties, the unrepeatable beauty inherent in our lives. Those who are touched by Ghisleni’s light and colour return to hope and believe in the beauty of existence: even in the impetuous and changing flow of time, man rediscovers the awareness that every life has a specific purpose; for the artist, the search for beauty does not say what the purpose of every life is, nor does it ensure existence.
SHARE or “to share, to share, to participate”….
A single word, the common thread of several works, is a key to understanding Ghisleni’s works on several levels. Through the discovery of what we are, of our being, and thanks to the awareness of our inner wealth, a need arises, a need for protection. The more we realise how important what we have inside us is, the more we feel the need to protect it, to guard it.
So what can we share?
Sharing with the outside world what we hold within us: must always be an individual’s choice, but sharing nourishes our inner richness. Our being, that is, our inner dimension, is imagined and depicted by the artist as a series of coloured squares, almost as if there were small windows through which we could glimpse the true nature of what we are protecting… everything is wrapped in a sort of subtle coloured ‘fragments’: red, green, yellow, black… the peculiarity of our inner dimension is that it is depicted with a material that would normally be discarded: remnants of paint that in Ghisleni’s works acquire new forms and new consistencies… just as in real life: the one who does not emerge, who is not ‘adequate’ is pushed to the margins, but in his arduous journey he can meet the one who, like the artist, does not see with his eyes but with his heart and can bring him back to life, to acquire new life… he can relocate him, making him part of a true work of art. Infinite and timeless.
(Michela Delprato)
