Cronaca (Autobiographia) 1953

Afro's Cronaca, or Autobiographia, is a painting where muted blues and grays meet flashes of yellow and pink, as if the artist was trying to find a balance between melancholy and joy. I imagine Afro in his studio, layering these colors, scraping back, maybe even wiping away parts, a dance between control and chance. You see how the paint isn't laid on thick but stained into the canvas, making it feel like a memory, something just beneath the surface. That yellow circle, slightly off-center, feels like a burst of hope, or maybe a question mark hanging in the air. It makes me think about the conversations painters have across time. Afro's mark-making feels related to someone like Bram van Velde but with an Italian sensibility, warmer, more human. Ultimately, it’s about how we feel, and how paintings let us feel without needing to explain. They embrace our uncertainty and keep the conversation going.