Chianti Hilltops 2017

Giuliana Lazzerini painted this canvas of Chianti Hilltops, and you can tell she’s having a great time. Look how she’s daubed each section of the vineyard with little stabs of paint. There’s an amazing tension between the formal structure of this landscape and the sheer joy of applying paint. The Tuscan light is hitting the terracotta roofs, which she renders with such simple directness. And those cypress trees! They are so upright. I know that feeling of wanting to create something solid out of something intangible. It's like she’s asking herself: how do I make this experience of being here, a permanent thing? Painters are in an ongoing conversation, and it’s reassuring to see her so confidently picking up the baton. Lazzerini’s painting reminds us that painting is about life; about capturing the joy of being in the world.