DAN'S PAPERS, July 17, 2009 Page 35 www.danshamptons.com
Giancarlo Impiglia, AMan for all Seasons
Despite Impiglia’s many identifying traits and sources, his sense of theatricality and stylized narrative is powerful. We are not surprised to learn, therefore, that he studied
cinematography as a young student in Italy. Is that the reason his images move across the canvas or wall, leaving in their paths plots about the people we are seeing? Is that why we identify with these figures, forming a bond with their joys and pain? In his latest nature images, Impiglia shows us something seemingly different: life unfolding before our eyes. On second thought, he’s always done that, and we’re better off for it. Giancarlo Impiglia will be having a retrospective of his work at Sag Harbor’s Christy’s Gallery. The opening is July 24; the exhibit will be on view for two weeks.
Sensational Sceneries Landscaping Inc. Sag Harbor New York Creating Beauty Since 1986
Mention code DP1 and receive 10% OFF on services
1196320
(631) 725-1394 • www.sensationalsceneries.com
1144560
By Marion Wolberg Weiss Among the hustle and bustle of John Street in lower Manhattan, there’s a 1933 apartment building that stands out for its Art Deco design and graceful, sleek interior lobby. On the walls, just below the ceiling, stands a mural with five images, vibrant with bright colors and scenes of New York, circa 1930s. According to the receptionist, Derek Rodak, people walking by are so attracted by the mural that they come inside for a better look. Rodak himself is a fan of the images, a bit unusual for someone who probably wasn’t even born in the 1930s and comes from Poland. The fact that he’s drawn to the mural proves a potent point: the artist, Giancarlo Impiglia, has captured a time and place that people still find relevant, even if they aren’t American. Perhaps it’s the diversity of the shops — like the produce stand and movie theatre. Perhaps it’s the mother pushing a baby carriage. Perhaps it’s the fun people seem to be having, interacting with the setting and each other. What’s especially appealing is that John Street today has some of these very same qualities — even young families are moving back into the neighborhood after all these years. What’s also unusual about this mural of American urban life is that Impiglia is Italian. Yet he “got” whatever was essential about New York when he completed the mural in 1975. Even then, the work contained Impiglia’s signature elements: faceless figures, geometric composition, movement and clothes or “costumes,” which defined an individual’s identity. (Society’s preoccupation with appearance is a recurring theme in his work.) Such aesthetic aspects, originating from several sources over the years, were always important to Impiglia. As a member of the Italian Arte Povera Movement during the late ‘60s and ‘70s, he used “poor” material like jeans to assemble images of faceless people. The movement also served as a protest of the Vietnam War as well as to create an outcry against social status. Impiglia’s move to New York in the late ‘70s, especially its geometrically styled buildings also influenced his art. “Such structures reminded me of Futurism,” he said, “and the sense of motion that is evoked by Futurism.” Impiglia’s first impression of America was a surprise and in some ways disappointing. “I saw America through film and the media,” he said. “Immigrants were coming by the millions. All this history was fascinating, but then I saw the impact of people sleeping on the streets in the Bowery. I couldn’t bear this. It wasn’t real. It was a total contradiction.” According to Impiglia, this contradiction further stimulated his paintings although this critic interprets such opposition somewhat differently than what the artist probably has in mind. While he is a strong advocate for aesthetic freedom and rejects what’s fashionable in the marketplace, his “characters” are constricted, caught up by hard-edged compositions that diminish their movement and liberation.