Il Gioco Delle Eleadi 2015

Roberto Ferri's painting, Il Gioco Delle Eleadi, pulls you into a world of classical technique, but with a dark contemporary twist. You can see it in the way Ferri builds up the form of the figure and the tree, with layer upon layer of thin glazes. I love how Ferri uses the muted color palette to create this ethereal, almost dreamlike atmosphere. Look at the way the light catches on the woman’s skin, and the contrast with the dark, gnarled branches of the tree. The surface has this incredible smoothness, almost like porcelain. But then you see these subtle brushstrokes, these little imperfections that remind you it’s all handmade. The way she’s perched there, so calmly, amidst the tangled branches, suggests Botticelli, but twisted by Caravaggio. It's this tension between beauty and decay that really grabs me, that reminds me that art doesn't have to give you all the answers. Sometimes, the most interesting thing is the questions it leaves you with.