Solo exhibition “Urban Visions in Progress” organized by the Italian Institute of Culture in Damascus
and
invitation to the international art symposium organized by the Syrian Ministry of Culture in Idlib.
Lauriola stops to observe reality and reflects on what stands before her gaze. However, the attentive and never satisfied eye also notices different individuals moving through space, seemingly unaware of each other.These are people walking. The artist’s gaze then slips downward, near the ground where the light seems to lose strength and no longer convey anything meaningful. The artist continues to observe, delving into that dimension where attention to the surrounding world seems to fade, and the daily automatism of frenzies and anxieties shifts interest exclusively within ourselves. Frantic steps alternate with strides, sometimes uncertain, sometimes determined. It is modern humanity ensnared by its own thoughts that doesn’t grant time to the vitality of the world; there are no more colors, everything is black and white. Giusy Lauriola opposes this notion, she wants to make us reflect on it. In the canvases of the Italian artist, human figures emerge within urban landscapes. They are headless silhouettes caught in the dynamism of a path where neither the beginning nor the end matters. They are actors who act with our minds in the urban epic. It’s us. A detail becomes the key to entering this world. Aesthetically captivating, these small icons take us by the hand and lead the observer into the painting. Some seemingly soulless details make us raise our heads to see beside us. The resin layered on the surface of the canvas enlivens the texture of the painting, spaces don the third dimension, and subdued colors become vibrant. In the Roman artist, the material, never homogeneous, covering the surface and revealing everything, configures itself as an invisible wall behind and through which we pause to ponder. (Carlo Ercoli curator)