Chianti Hilltops 2017

Giuliana Lazzerini painted this 70 x 70 cm oil on canvas, called "Chianti Hilltops", sometime after 1951. Looking at this, you can tell Lazzerini understands that painting is a process. I love how she's built up the painting with a mosaic of marks. From a distance they give us a recognizable scene, but up close, each dab of color is doing its own thing. The paint isn’t too thick, but you can feel the texture, almost like tiny tiles. Notice the vines in the foreground. They're built with these pinky-red clusters of grapes, juxtaposed with vertical strokes of blues, yellows, and greens. Each one a deliberate choice, each one contributing to the overall harmony. It’s this balance between representation and abstraction that makes the painting so engaging. The colors and bold forms remind me a bit of Milton Avery, particularly the way he used simplified shapes to create a sense of place. Ultimately, it reminds us that art is an open conversation, a space for endless interpretation, and, most of all, a joy.