Ulivo d'Oro

Comment

Comment by Resident Curator on February 27, 2015 at 8:43am

Curators Comments:

 

These paintings of singular trees are intriguing works of portraiture in a sense.  Ulivo d’Oro, or Golden Olive Tree appears to sway in a golden light.  I enjoy the way the gnarled trunk and roots anchor the tree to a warmly toned earth, while the small leaves fade into lighter tints.  It is a Romantic picture of a landscape, as the one large tree is singled out from many.  The small row in the background set up a rhythmic value pattern and balance of space, making the one singled out even more distinct.  The similar piece simply titled Olive Tree arrives at the same arrangement of a large tree singled out in the foreground.  I see this image as strikingly figurative, within the stylized relationship to the grove landscape.  The twisting of the truck offers a good deal of visual movement within an otherwise horizontally inclined, steady ground.