Eden gallery to host first solo exhibition of contemporary art works by Kipao |01 February 2022

Arterial Network Seychelles has announced the opening of the first solo exhibition of contemporary art works by Kipao, one of the country’s most exciting and prolific painters.

The show – titled ‘Windows’ – will run at the Eden Art Space Gallery, Unit 13, Eden Plaza, from February 4 – March 5, 2022 and will feature more than 30 dynamic new works by an artist who fuses experiences and perspectives gained in his native Italy with those from a significant amount of time spent living in Seychelles.

The light and colours of the Mediterranean fuse with those of the Indian Ocean and the resulting paintings sing – or ZING – with energy.

Kipao paints (mostly) non-figurative compositions which are extraordinary compressions of movement, colour and emotion. A number of compositions are among the largest ever exhibited at the Eden Gallery.

Kipao has been exhibiting in Seychelles for several years, and successfully so within the context of a market which continues to favour more traditional figurative painting.

Martin Kennedy, who has written the essay for the fully illustrated catalogue which accompanies the exhibition, says this about the work: “People connect with these dynamic compositions, which communicate feeling and process through the creation of busy and frenetic gymnasia of paint. They – the gallery  visiting public – ‘get it’, whatever ‘it’ might be – and almost certainly everyone ‘gets’ a slightly different ‘it’, which is usual when looking at abstract art devoid of the security that recognisable forms or words provide and which unites collective perceptions and interpretations.”

When confronted by abstract art it’s every man and woman for themselves. Viewers are invited to make personal sense of what they see on the gallery walls. So, what can visitors expect from these compositions?

Well, many of Kipao’s canvases are devoid of even the most tentative figurative suggestions. A few contain explicit forms recognisable from the real world – usually the human body and/or buildings and architectural details. But mostly we are in the realm of the abstract, with often large gestural and expressive paintings which are impossible to ignore. They possess a lush painterliness, typified by loose, rapid handling of the oils – or the look of it – masses that blot and fuse instead of shapes that stay distinct, large conspicuous rhythms, broken colour, uneven saturation or surface densities, and explicit and obvious brush, knife, finger or rag marks. In short, an explosive constellation of visual elements.

They are also evidence of the manner in which these art works have been created and have come to life. Kipao has this to say about his working method:

“I have three options when I begin a work. I can have an idea already clear in my mind, and this happens usually when I want to put a figure in my painting, or I have only a colour scheme in mind – usually for abstract works. If I have a project or a plan, I can move away from it at any time during the process or I can move towards it and persevere until the result is acceptable. I can also stand in front of a blank canvas with nothing at all in mind and start making some brushstrokes. In the first case, I think; in the second, I feel; and in the third case I am only an observer of what is coming out from the canvas.”

The foundation of the work is creative integrity. Kipao is a serious and committed artist. Whether you like his work or not the fact that he is an authentic creative is inescapable. In the broadest sense Kipao ‘means it’.

Let’s us give the artist the last word:

“Art in general is definitely a force for life. The form of art at this point of my life that gives me the opportunity to express my feelings most immediately is painting. Nothing else for me can be approached and utilised better than painting. Of course, I am extremely touched if a viewer feels strong emotions from one of my works. Like everybody else, I also need to know that somehow my works are appreciated.”

Arterial Network and the Eden Art Space Gallery warmly welcome you to view (and appreciate for yourselves) these extraordinarily powerful works.

Press release from Arterial Network Seychelles and the Eden Art Space Gallery