Classically trained artist Francesco Lombardo finds inspiration for his ethereal work from the Baroque and pentimento.
“The aspect of Baroque art that I draw from most heavily is the intentional use of dynamic folds to be found in the clothing of both painted and sculpted figures,” he says. “I want to employ this aesthetic and combine it with pentimento to convey a similar sensation of spiritual force that is unique to my own work…My goal regarding painting is to instill in the viewer a sensation of abundant spirit, to impart vitality, whether in the form of euphoric rapture or brooding struggle.”
The Annunciation of Mary, oil on canvas, 67 x 55"
Lombardo’s most recent body of work, Quantum Baroque, is a marriage of these concepts with his “pop culture understanding of quantum physics and existing in more states than one.”
Perhaps best representing the very essence of Quantum Baroque is The Annunciation of Mary—a 67-by-55-inch oil on canvas depicting Virgin Mary conceiving Jesus.
“The most time I’ve ever spent on one painting was for my Annunciation of Mary, and this piece marks a very important milestone for me in my career,” says Lombardo. “I really wanted to make it representational of everything that I was able to do at that time. I was kind of more obsessive about it than I have been over any other painting.”
Sy, oil on canvas, 75 x 48"Quantum Baroque also includes two more otherworldly works, Colette and Sy.
“The inspiration guiding [Sy], and the series as a whole, is formed from both historical and contemporary sources,” says Lombardo. “The accidental effect of pentimenti we commonly see in older paintings is something I wanted to intentionally bring into my work. I’ve always enjoyed detecting these ghostlike images in older paintings, and by incorporating pentimenti into my paintings I can create a kind of ceaseless movement as overlapping forms reveal and conceal themselves. Another important influence for me has been the marble sculptures of Bernini. He gives a power to cloth that I had not seen in other sculptors or painters.”
No matter what he’s making, Lombardo bring painstaking detail to the canvas.
Colette, oil on canvas, 48 x 75"“My larger paintings take a long time to finish, anywhere from six months to over a year, and I need to maintain a steady workflow as I sketch them out, compose them, and finally realize them with paint,” he says. “Rather than create paintings that adorn the world, I want my paintings to be able to create worlds all their own.” —
Quantum Baroque will be on view at Stone Sparrow NYC through December 7.
Stone Sparrow NYC 45 Greenwich Avenue • New York, NY 10014 (646) 449-8004 • www.stonesparrownyc.com
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