Colori E Sentieri, 2004 oil on canvas, 22.3125 x 27 Private Collection Roberto Bernardi Giardini Di Cristallo Frank Bernarducci and Louis K. Meisel are pleased to announce the second solo exhibition of new works by Roberto Bernardi. Edward Lucie-Smith, in his essay "Roberto Bernardi - Seeing More Than the Camera Sees", writes "In the work of Bernardi we see the world, and the everyday objects he chooses to depict, with much greater intensity then we would ever be capable of unassisted... Forced by Bernardi's virtuoso skills to see much more particularly and intensely than we are normally capable of doing, we experience a feeling of disorientation, even hallucinating." It is in this space, hovering delicately between the real and the hyper real, where Bernardi's images flourish. They occupy a space where nature is improved, where he can capture a moment, study and celebrate it. Fundamentally self-taught, Bernardi began his artistic career working in the studio of a restorer in Rome, and influenced by what he saw there, Bernardi's earliest works carry in them the moody and romantic aesthetic of the early Dutch and Italian still lifes. These dark and evocative images soon gave way to a new and crisp aesthetic, a clear and modern direction that makes his art so visually unique. Though his art has been molded by many movements, from the Renaissance to Pop, his perfect faithfulness to reality and his unending focus on precise representation, ally him quite comfortably with the influential and avant-garde artists that brought the Photorealist movement to the forefront of American art. Bernardi's objects are part of an unending conversation between light and object and the reaction that these two entities have on each other and how that in turn creates the greater scene. The Precisionists simplified their scenes to allow them to pay particular attention to certain elements. Bernardi's menageries are similar in that he arranges them so that each object, each shard of delicate light, can be explored and perfectly transcribed. His representation of glass, perfectly modeled and uncannily understood, has become a trademark of his meticulous style. Like Charles Bell, Bernardi gives weight and depth to translucent objects, creating drama in the overlapping forms and infinite reflections that they create. The intricate works of Goings also resonate within the bold and dramatic arrangements of Bernardi's sharply juxtaposed forms. The stage-like use of the table is reminiscent of the works of William Bailey, where drama is revealed in the stacked and layered pieces of collectible ceramic. Though there are separating forces, such as time and distance, between these artists' works and that of Bernardi, perhaps the most differentiating aspect is the process that he follows to create this work. His attention to detail and his passion for the precise have led him to develop perhaps one of the most sophisticated artistic processes to date. Beginning with a grouping of selected pieces of glass and crystal, Bernardi arranges them on a reflective surface, and then arranges the light that they will be bathed in. Using both natural and studio light sources, Bernardi is able to isolate a shine, to perfect a reflection, to control every aspect of his created scene. Once the objects are placed, and the lighting is set, Bernardi photographs them, a usual practice for the Photorealist artist but in this case, slightly changed. Using an 8 x 10 camera, with a digital back instead of film, Bernardi is able to capture an infinite amount of detail. It is from these digital photos that he then works and is able to capture the crisp and impossibly clean lines of the image, onto his canvas. Since his introduction to the American art scene a year and a half ago, Bernardi has been chosen to exhibit his work at such prestigious venues as the Arnot Art Museum, the New Britain Museum of American Art (purchased), Herbert F. Johnson Museum at Cornell, and the Johnson Museum of Art. Exhibition: 2 - 30 April, 2005 Gallery hours: Tue-Sat 10 am - 5:30 pm Bernarducci Meisel Gallery 37 West 57th Strett USA-New York, NY 10019 Telephone +1 212 593 3757 Fax +1 212 593 3933 Email frankb@meiselgallery.com www.bernarduccimeisel.com |
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