Llife and art, most recent works and exhibitions of some of the great artists with whom Studio Abba works. These artists are introduced and presented in a magazine article style, including several images of the artist’s work.

1. 1

2. StudioAbbaYearbook 2014
Editor
Vito Abba
Catalogue editing
Carlotta Marzaioli
Text translation
Lara Cox www.traduzioni-firenze.com
© 2014 Studio Abba
www.studioabba.com
Reproduction and diffusion of this catalogue
or any part of it by electronic storage, hard
copies, or any other means, are prohibited
unless a written consent is obtained from the
copyright holders.
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3. Introduction
Mary Brilli
Agneta Gynning
Evelyne Huet
Sumio Inoue
Sinae Lee
Giovanna Lysy
Marie Miramont
Sara Palleria
Marco Aurélio Rey
Kensuke Shimizu
Tiril
Max Werner
Sharina Gumbs
Peny Manavi
Maria Giannikou
Solveig M. Skogseide
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4
8
12
14
18
20
24
26
28
30
34
36
40
40
41
41
Index
Introduction
Mary Brilli
Agneta Gynning
Evelyne Huet
Sumio Inoue
Sinae Lee
Giovanna Lysy
Marie Miramont
Sara Palleria
Marco Aurélio Rey
Kensuke Shimizu
Tiril
Max Werner
Sharina Gumbs
Peny Manavi
Maria Giannikou
Solveig M. Skogseide
Index

4. Having the good fortune to meet many artists who come from many different countries and from listening to many
testimonies, I may say that economic crisis and all the emotions it generates, has dominated the art scene in 2013 (and will
unfortunately probably continue to occupy an important space in 2014). But I must say that the artists are never lacking
in energy or passion and I have seen many people roll up their sleeves and continue to work with great determination.
At Studio Abba we have done the same: we have stepped up the exhibition schedule, developed new strategies to
communicate via the web and social networks and visited the world of contemporary art fairs to promote the works of
the artists that we work with. 2014 will see us committed to continuing this journey that we have undertaken, starting
with the WAV Party Madrid, when this edition of the Studio Abba Yearbook 2014 will be presented. After the success
of the first edition of WAV Party Madrid 2012, we decided to organize an event to promote the art of a group of artists
during La semana del Arte (the Madrid Art Week), coinciding with ARCO and other important fairs. In addition to public
relation activities that we carry out on behalf of our artists, we organized a six-week exhibition in the “Centro Cultural
La Vaguada”, in collaboration with Manoli Ruíz Berrio, member of AICA, the International Association of Art Critics and
the art magazine Llei d’Art at the beginning of 2014. During this week of intense PR, Studio Abba also organises the WAV
Party to which gallery owners, journalists, art critics, art professionals and people of the world of culture have all been
invited.
In the Summer 2014 (13 June-20 July) the second edition of the Chianti Star Festival will take place in Tuscany. The
2014 edition will be larger than last year as we have been offered the unique opportunity to have three other incredible
locations as well as the Palazzo Malaspina in San Donato in Poggio: the historical abbey at Badia a Passignano, the
beautiful Fattoria Montecchio very close to San Donato and the spectacular Antinori wine cellar designed by Marco
Casamonti at Bargino that will be hosting the prize-giving Ceremony. Once again we will be collaborating with OpenLab,
part of the University of Florence, the Chianti Observatory and the Municipality of Tavarnelle Val di Pesa. The relationship
between art and science begins with the exhibition of contemporary art, while lectures, demonstrations and concerts will
enrich a calendar of collateral events. A jury made up of important figures in the scientific and artistic worlds, will award
three prizes to the artists for the top artworks of the 2014 exhibition.
Studio Abba Yearbook 2014
Chianti Star Festival 2013 - Carlotta Marzaioli and Vito Abba OpenArtCode Paris 2013
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5. In November 2014 (25th-30th) for the seventh consecutive year, we will take the OpenArtCode group once again to
exhibit at the Grand Palais in Paris, in the Salon des Artistes Indépendants. Each year ART en CAPITAL that includes the
Salon des Indépendants, attracts more than 30,000 visitors to the Grand Palais. Masters such as Paul Cézanne, Paul
Gauguin, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Camille Pissarro and the “Founding Fathers” Albert Dubois-Pillet, Odilon Redon,
Georges Seurat and Paul Signac, in 1884 created the Société des Artistes Indépendants (Society of Independent Artists).
Madame Chapelle, President of the Société des Artistes Indépendants, has said about the OAC Group: Devenu partie
intégrante de la Société des Artistes Indépendants dans le cadre de ART en CAPITAL, c’est un honneur pour moi, d’accueillir
les artistes talentueux du groupe OpenArtCode.
As soon as the exhibition in Paris closes we will be flying off to Miami, during the period of Art Basel Miami, where we
will join together with another gallery to participate in one of the important collateral fairs. Furthermore we will also be
continuing our collaborating with another Miami-based gallery that is currently showing some of Studio Abba’s artists.
I hope this second edition of our Yearbook will be of interest to you and I wish all the artists and readers a successful year.
Vito Abba
OpenArtCode Paris 2013 Miami 2013
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6. Mary Brilli
A woman of a thousand faces: Mary Brilli
Etiam si omnes, ego non. This could be Mary Brilli’s motto, eclectic and polyhedral personality, who conveys
through an efflorescence of artistic expression, a fundamentally humanist vision of the world.
Thus, Mary Brilli strives to capture a real panoptic gaze that she returns in its kaleidoscopic diversity.
In Mary Brilli, Italian by birth and French by nature, the pessimism of the intellect combines with the optimism
of the will. Inhabited by an insatiable curiosity for knowledge, this unclassifiable artist has surveyed all creative
paths with high expectations and a sense of challenge that are the hallmarks of her art, which ranges from
painting to sculpture, design for the Maison Hermès, to poetry and journalism.
Espoir virtuel “EVOLAVIA”
4

7. www.marybrilli.com
As rightly pointed out by writer and theatre director Jean Gilbert Adam: “ Her works - which look simple at
a first glance – are actually very rich in complex components and are the accomplishment of profound inner
peace and meditation. Her work is herself: with her thoughts, ideals, love and permanent dissatisfaction…
Only people who know her world, work, loves and passions, can analyse her behaviour which is free, critical
and nonconformist.”
Two books trace the history of Mary’s creative path: «Portrait hors cadre» and «Clin d’œil - Délire de soi (e)».
In 2012 and 2013 she wrote the collections of aphorisms and poems “Hyphen from A to Z” and “Me... when I
grow up” based on a dialogue of text and images that were published by «Le Scribe I’Harmattan».
The multi-faceted work of this “art lover”, engaged in humanitarian causes, was welcomed, among others, by
Jean d’Ormesson and Jacques Faizant. In November 2011, her talent earned her, the “Trophée de la Réussite
au Féminin” presented at the Quai d’Orsay in Paris.
Organised by the Amicale Régionale of the Renault Group Ile de France at the Salle des Arts Boulogne-
Billancourt exhibition location, the XXII International ARGR Exhibition paid tribute to Mary Brilli, guest of
honour in the presence of His Excellency, the Ambassador of Italy Giandomenico Magliano, the Mayor of
Boulogne Billancourt, Mr. Pierre-Christophe Baguet, President of IdF ARGR Mr. Frédéric Rollin, the President
of the FARGR, Mr. Michel Gornet and the Chairman of the Organising Committee, Mr. Daniel Poulin.
Espoir virtuel “EVOLAVIA”
marybrilli@marybrilli.com
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8. OpenArtCode Paris 2012 - Mary Brilli, Madame Chapelle President Salon des artistes indépendants, Vito Abba,
the Swiss Ambassador in Paris, Mr Jean-Jacques de Dardel and Sasha
Science, d’où prévoyance
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9. Clin d’œil
Mary Brilli, an honorary member of the association Poesia 2-Ottobre celebrated,
with the talent that we know, the XXV World Poetry Day, with a video, a “clin d’œil”
full of lyricism and sensitivity. The event, which was held on 1st December 2013
at the Salle des Fêtes in the town hall of the Paris’s XIV arrondissement, enjoyed
the personal support of His Excellency Giorgio Napolitano, President of the Italian
Republic and was under the High Patronage of the Ministry of the Francophonie and
of the City of Paris.
Member of the OpenArtCode group, this eclectic artist has shown to be one of the
flagship figures of the event Art-en-Capital “Salon des Artistes Indépendants” with
the last edition held from 4 to 8 December 2013 at the Grand Palais.
Thus, Mary Brilli, a polyphony of expressive techniques, never ceases to amaze us
and should be commended for her freedom of being, thinking and creating.
Written and translated by Giulia Bogliolo Bruna
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10. Agneta Gynning
How important are the viewer’s
interpretation of your art
and more specifically their
comprehension of the content,
for you?
I make my sculptures for myself.
It’s my way to express my inner
feelings. But it’s very interesting
to listen to and get to know how
my work affects others. Listening
to the viewers’ interpretation of
my work makes me see if I have
succeeded in transmitting my
idea for the sculpture. It also
gives me new eyes to look at the
world and possibilities to develop
a deeper understanding of how
others experience my art.
Power of life
Agneta Gynning is a Swedish sculptor who studied under Victor Praznik, a sculptor with roots in the former Yugoslavia.
He inspired her to specialise in bronze and marble and also introduced her to working in Pietrasanta in Italy, a town of
international importance and fame for sculpture, and where Agneta returns annually.
She works in bronze, marble, glass and silicone rubber and her art succeeds in fusing both classical and modern influences.
It is inspired by the subconscious and is full of movement; the lines she creates are elegant, graceful and transmit a feeling
of life and soul, with a free spirit that seems to inhabit the space both within and around her artworks. Rubber is the most
recent material that Agneta is exploring and working with and with which she reveals an instinctive talent to uncover the
emotionally evocative power of its colour and movement. Agneta is inspired by the ocean and goes for long walks along the
beach to find creativity; she travels regularly and is passionate about discovering art from ancient civilizations. Furthermore,
she regularly attends dance performances to find new inspiration for alternative movement in her sculptures; as the body and
human interaction are fundamental aspects of her sculptures.
Agneta had her first exhibition in 1995 and her work has now been exhibited all over Scandinavia as well as in southern
Europe and China. Agneta’s work has been shown at the Florence Biennale 2011, ArtExpo in New York 2012, OpenArtCode
Shanghai 2012, at the Chianciano International Art Awards in Italy 2012,where she won the Leonardo Award for Sculpture,
and at the Grand Palais in Paris. In 2013, she participated at the first London Biennale and won the London Art Award for
Sculpture and starting in 2013 she is showing her work at Art Fusion Gallery, Miami for a year. Also in 2013 Agneta opened
Studio Gynning in Malmö, Sweden that works both as a studio to create new sculptures and as a gallery. She is working
towards a solo exhibition that will be held in New York in 2015. In Sweden, Agneta Gynning’s sculptures can be found in both
public areas as well as in private collections.
Photos: Charlotte Strömwall
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11. www.agnetagynning.com
Love I made it
Photos: Charlotte Strömwall gynning@telia.com
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12. What were the inspirations and influences for your latest artwork?
AfewyearsagoIvisitedashowwithanartistwhousedsiliconerubberinhispaintings.
I fell in love with the expression of the material and got inspired to explore how I
could use this contemporary material in sculpting. After a while I got in touch with
Helsingborg’s Gummi AB, and through them I learned how to work with the material.
In bronze and rubber the colours are much more subtle, but now I have found a new
colourful world. Using the same forms as before, I suddenly experienced a new way
to express my feelings through colour.
Photos: Charlotte Strömwall
10

13. Flower LadyWe
Photos: Charlotte Strömwall
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14. Evelyne Huet
History of M Isis
How important is the viewer’s interpretation of your art and more specifically the comprehension of the content, for you?
Evelyne Huet was born in Paris where she lives and works. A mathematician by training, she also studied anthropology and
her painting is strongly influenced by the cultures and arts of societies seen as primitive. After having for a long time depicted
the courage that women and young girls display in the face of violent situations that many of them are confronted by around
the world on traditional canvases, Evelyne Huet has recently made the transition to digital painting and to conveying other
themes she is also interested in: myths, religions and the history of collective fears such as death and insanity in the West
since the Middle Ages. On canvas as on digital supports, she endeavours to simplify her representations to the extreme and
to paint emotions, avoiding the register of pathos and the explanatory.
A member of the OpenArtCode and WorldArtVision groups of international artists, her paintings are regularly displayed in
solo and group shows in France and abroad (in Italy, Spain, Israel, China, USA). She is also one of the artists of the Galerie
Teodora in Paris.
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15. www.evelynehuet.com
The psychiatrist, his insane and
psychoanalysis - The chemical straitjacket
Camp bed
Do you think that travel and getting to know different artistic styles and
techniques outside of your country enriches your art? Indeed, meeting other
artists? If so, how can we see this in your art?
It is of course essential, and in fact it is the wonderfully inspired and inspiring work
of my friend Roy Lawaetz, a member of the OpenArtCode and WorldArtVision
groups, on digital supports that made me want to try my hand at digital art and to
give free reign, notably, to the expression of my passion for myths. My encounters
with artists from around the world and their techniques, visions, sensitivities, and
obsessions are of course and immeasurable richness in which I draw, more or less
unconsciously, nutrition for my own creations.
Which were the inspirations for your latest artwork?
One of my latest series of digital paintings is entitled “The Damnation of Faust”
that includes two characters: Faust and Marguerite. “The Damnation of Faust” is
a legend built around the Devil (Mephistopheles) and carnal and spiritual love.
It’s the character of Mephistopheles (who I do not paint) who is the centrepiece
of my two-part series. When Mephistopheles refuses to let Doctor Faust give up
on life, Faust sells him his soul. Faust then gets carried away in the maelstrom
created by the Devil because of his love for Marguerite and the temptation it
causes him. But Mephistopheles intervenes in their love story before Faust can be
consumed and forces him to dive down to Hell to save Marguerite. It’s the story of
the temptation of the senses and the terrible punishment that I am interested in
here, maybe because it is reminiscent of the story of Eve and the forbidden fruit
in the Garden of Eden.
My two characters, Faust and Marguerite, seem to be transformed into salt
statues after this victory by Mephistopheles who has rendered them immobile in
death; literally when it comes to Faust and figuratively for Marguerite. I purposely
mixed the end of this legend with the mythology of Medusa, the Gorgon, who
turned anyone to stone who looked at her.
What people see when they look at my paintings is of course essential, and I
want them to be as free as possible. It is therefore rare for me to give a specific
answer when I am asked about the intention behind one of my paintings, not
because I don’t know, but because I don’t want to confine my view in my vision
or more specifically in my expression of my vision. Indeed, since my subconscious
plays an important part in the creation of my paintings and, on many occasions,
interpretations that I may have missed at first, resurface after some time. My
creative process is rarely under my strict control. I try to let myself escape at
one point or another in order to free my strokes and to become free from my
rationality.
evelynehuet@live.fr
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16. Sumio Inoue
Silenzioso n. 82
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17. Photo: Danish Saroee
www.sumioinoue.com
Silenzioso n. 52Silenzioso n. 83Silenzioso n. 64
Sumio Inoue was born in 1948 in Tokyo, Japan. He studied
photographic techniques at Tokyo Design Academy from 1968 to
1970 and at the Japan Design Center from 1970 to 1974. He began
his career working in commercial photography and in 1990 moved
on to artistic photography. He lives and works in New York but still
divides his time between there and Tokyo. Inoue has spent the past
years carefully developing a series called Silenzioso: images printed
on handmade rice paper, a process that takes several months. Church
interiors, important monuments, town and cityscapes are printed
with intensified focus and in infinitely monochromatic shades and
shadows. To see something where nothing can be seen, uncovering
and evoking unknown spaces with an antique pathos and to provoke
one’s imagination, are the primary goals of Sumio’s art.
He has had successful exhibitions in Tokyo, New York, London, Paris, Deauville, Florence, Barcelona, Greece and Mexico. He is
a member of the OpenArtCode group since the beginning in 2008 and also participated in WorldArtVision Cancun, Barcelona
and in WAV Party Madrid 2012 and 2014. In 2007, Sumio won the first prize for Photography at the Florence Biennale and won
the Prix du Jury at GemlucArt, Monaco 2009.
sinoue@sumioinoue.com15

18. Silenzioso n. 85
In his artistic statement, Sumio explains his working process and the
importance of shadow, “Shadows are fascinating to me. They exist
where light exists. They always follow people, sometimes enormous,
sometimes small, sometimes lighter or darker. Shadows are always
with us, close by, touching. They grow as people grow and disappear
when the person they followed passes away. From their creation
to the moment of their destruction, objects also have their private
shadows.
I am attracted to the mysteriousness of shadow. In a way, shadows
can be seen as reflections of the human consciousness; they seem
to change to match our deepest feelings. A shadow has width
and depth into which it draws passers-by with a gentle, cooling
gesture. The immeasurable width of a shadow seeks out the
incomprehensible universe; the shadow’s depth rolls out as the
roaring sea of imagination.
Shadows know no limit. They invite imagination to wild trips even in
their most monochrome formats. Where light hits surfaces, shadows
are sharp and strong but where there is a lack of light shadows lazily
define their existence. When printing a photo, determining the level
of darkness can be a trial.
16

19. Silenzioso n. 25
I create heavy sheets of Japanese paper (a kind of rice paper)
onto which to print my images. It has taken me over ten years
to develop my skills in printing onto irregular surfaces. Weather,
temperature and humidity all affect printing. For example, it
is almost impossible to print during the hottest summer or the
coldest winter day. I dye each heavy sheet of paper with colours
from tree barks and treat it with emulsion. Emulsion is applied to
some areas darker than others.
Although in photography it is the norm to produce multiple prints,
I only do one of each. To achieve the best result, I normally have to
try five or six times. The creation of a work takes about a month.
Only a few works can be made in a year. I use thick paper so that
the shadows can have more depth. However, because of the
thickness of the paper, the colour does not keep on the surface
but keeps soaking deeper into the paper. This makes it hard to
create black. In fact, it is very hard to create anything to look like
I initially imagined. But that’s the way I like it - as a challenge.
Often, my photos depict churches. They offer a certain silence of
the universe, width and depth for the shadows to rest.
I like to think of my work as creating unique paintings through
photography.
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20. Sinae Lee
Moonlight sonata
Born in Korea, Sinae lives in Toronto, Canada where she was educated and now works as
a full time artist. She uses watercolours and acrylics to paint images of inner and outer
worlds as they are intertwined in our lives.
Sinae regularly exhibits in North America, Europe, and Asia and her works are part of
private and corporate collections throughout the world. She is a member of OpenArtCode
group and has participated in the two editions of WorldArtVision.
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21. www.sinaelee.com
Dreamscape
After many years in painting what’s on the outside world, I’ve come to realize I have
more to paint from within. What’s within is so much like what’s on the outside, they look
chaotic, yet one can find order. Finding order is the subject matter of my painting.
When I am standing in front of canvas, it literally confronts me as the chaotic world
confronts me. The noise, colors, shapes and movements come across as thoughts and
memories. They challenge me to find the order to recreate them into colors and shapes.
sinae@sinaelee.com
19

22. Giovanna Lysy
Radici (detail)
For Giovanna Lysy her homeland in Tuscany, in the heart of the Val d’Orcia at La Foce is of fundamental importance: where
natural beauty has not been spoilt by man and time appears suspended. She chooses to use materials for her sculptures that
are taken from the agricultural instruments of the past, mostly made of iron, as well as travertine from the local quarries. The
contrast with today’s accelerated rhythm of life is accentuated in the verticality of her sculptures that derives mainly from the
addition of glass and the varied effects of marbled paper, playing with transparency and colour. Nature is the common element
that blends these assembled elements and light, essential and vital to each piece, becomes the variable element that offers a
constantly changeable view point in a globalized world, the discovery of a previously invisible detail, both in the sculpture itself
and in the surrounding space. Though most of her sculptures are large in size they are never intrusive, indeed they are meant
to integrate with the space in which they are set like silent spectators. Giovanna has participated in various solo and collective
shows throughout Italy, most recently in “The Naturalists”, curated by Peter Miller in the summer of 2013 and “Stanze MozArt”
in December 2013, which was another exciting installation project curated by Bruno Corà, international art critic and Director
of the contemporary art magazine MOZART.
20

23. www.giovannalysy.com
Bomba
giovannalysy@giovannalysy.com
21

24. Energia
In his well-known essay published in Domus in March 1928, Giò Ponti advised architects and interior decorators not to
underestimate the importance of light when furnishing houses. In particular he suggested using diffused lighting from
different sources, to avoid the flatness and monotony of central illumination: lighting that can design and reveal a new
and more modern concept of the living space, abandoning the method of a single perspective in favour of diverse and
simultaneous focal points. His concept has never been bettered, and indeed has since returned many times in the history
of Italian design.
Indeed, Giovanna Lysy has certainly studied with interest Italian design. She is, however, not a designer. Her method is
more in the artistic line, veering towards the aesthetic. Her vocation concentrates on the creation of unique sculptures,
each representing an original interpretation of the play between light and matter. The care she spends on the choice of
materials, experimenting and connecting, and her faith in sheer manual labour, combine together with such innocence
and disillusion that a poetic field is born, in which a new and vital work comes to light, inspired by the surrounding world
with its diverse and inexhaustible river of signs, continuously retrieved and interpreted according to a personal and au-
tonomous creed that brings everything together.
Giovanna Lysy’s personal history can help us understand the reasons that lie behind such an unusual and independent
choice of expression. She was born in an exclusive and cosmopolitan cultural milieu that must be taken into consideration
if we are to fully understand her artistic development and its inherent message.
22

25. Radici
23

26. Marie Miramont
Untitled
“Marie Miramont, is an artist who skilled in her use of black and white always searches for strokes. She is an energetic
and generous artist who loves playing with the unconscious. Her painting is a modern calligraphy and it reveals many
emotions. She reinterprets the tradition of writing and controls space by creating deep, vibrant and elegant strokes.”
Galerie BDMC - Paris
Marie Miramont was born in Toulouse in 1956. She began her working life as a physiotherapist but was forced to stop
due to failing eyesight. As a result, she became very interested in calligraphy, she studied at the Kitty Sabatier Atelier in
Toulouse and she is now an expert in black and white calligraphy. Indeed, her great ability to use tools and inks allows
her to create unique and powerful contemporary works of art. Marie won the Artist of UNESCO prize in 2011 and has
participated in various collective and solo exhibitions in both Italy, France and Spain. Furthermore, Marie Miramont has
recently become member of the OpenArtCode group.
24

27. www.mariemiramont.fr
Untitled
Untitled
Untitled
“Marie throws ink on the canvas so that the stain
plays with the unconscious and its spontaneity
becomes equilibrium.”
Michel Picard
“She gives free rein to the imagination by breaking
with traditional forms. The stylised lines and
sober colours of the calligraphy vibrate in inspired
harmony. A work of abstraction that in the strokes is
brave and bold.”
Galerie Le Scribe l’Harmattan – Paris
mariemiramont@yahoo.fr
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28. Sara Palleria
Nebulosa
The painter Sara Palleria was born in Rome, where she lives and works. She received her degree in Education Sciences and
still works in this research field in parallel to her artistic career, with particular reference to the world of colour linked to the
psychology of emotions. She collaborates with various institutions in the visual arts sector and runs education courses on images
and colour laboratories. She is one of the founding members of the artistic and cultural association “ARS arteromasedici”.
Her large-scale oils on canvas stagger the viewer for their intrinsic beauty, use of colour and nuances of texture and energy.
She loves to paint all that “the eye thinks it sees”.
In her artistic statement, Sara explains, The crossing of colour, alternating between heaven and earth, between light and dark
... the expression of colours and materials ... all that seems to be... and instead becomes something else, where colours and the
earth slip away and cling to uncertain boundaries in the nature of the underlying human journey.
Over the last ten years her abstract expressionism has become more complete, the space of the canvas refers to inner journeys
that the artist has taken drawing out a timeless reality that is vividly concrete. In the use of light and colour she suggests a hint
of a background and foreground, yet it is undecipherable with its uncertain boundaries of nature and imagination.
26

29. www.sarapalleria.com
SaudadesOltremare
The messages in my work are always of a spiritual and psychological nature and the attempt to convey to the viewer these
same feelings cannot always be interpreted in the same way that I imprinted them on the canvas.
I fully realise that every observer has psychological connotations and abilities to see and hear in a totally individual way and
which would of course be different from those of the author-artist; so I don’t think it’s indispensable for those who are looking
at a painting of mine to interpret it, it’s not necessary for me as each eye sees what it wants to see in this type of painting. The
viewer has to enter the painting, live it and “understand” if he wants to adhere to his way of “feeling”. It’s just a question of
emotions, an exchange between those who produce it and those who can enjoy it.
I think it is very important to get to know other artists, the different ways of approaching the visual arts and sharing these
experiences in painting. It is a fundamental collective dimension that any artist can enter into to find a new very personal
artistic path thanks to the discovery of and the direct comparison with, other ways other than their own, to create art.
“The expressionism of colours and materials, remind us that nothing is peaceful in nature and it unleashes forces with which
man is to be measured. Especially in the case of this artist, who lives in constant research, in constant tension. These works by
Sara Palleria, as indeed for most of contemporary art, are not a point of final destination, but rather a fundamental choice to
work with more changes, ideas and projects.”
Alberto Toni
s.palleria@libero.it
27

30. Marco Aurelio Rey
Brisa
Marco Aurélio Rey was born and lives in São Paulo, Brazil. He started painting with oils when he was a child and in the 1980's
he specialised in Industrial Design and Visual Communications. At this stage of his life, he stopped painting to work full-time
in the fashion world. In the 1990’s, he began to paint again using gouache on paper and his most recent series Ar livre shows
the relationship between memories and emotions. This latest style reminds one clearly of Gerhard Richter's works and they
are proud and elegant eulogies to nature and its intrinsic beauty. The artist has participated in various art fairs in Brazil,
Belgium, Italy, France and Spain where, in 2011, after three collective exhibitions, Marco Aurélio had a solo show at the
Aragon Gallery in Barcelona. In 2010 and 2011, he participated in the group show in Art en Capital at the Grand Palais in Paris
and has most recently had an important solo exhibition in Brazil. In 2012, he joined the OpenArtCode group.
28

31. www.marcorey.com.br
Esperança
Névoa
Ligados
Simples Assim IISimples Assim I
In my art I would like to make people think about good things
and feel positive vibrations and emotions. You can see the
good energy in my art but with daily life and routine you can
lose this; it is important to memorize constructive aspects of
life and optimistic feelings and this can be through my art. All
artistic expressions are based on what happens in the world;
if there are problems or moments of happiness artists
interpret this in their art. Now artists like to show the
new age and new influences are ecology and of course
the economy. In fact I am inspired by ecology and the
sustainability of nature; I wish people would take care of it
rather than destroy it!
marcorey@uol.com.br
29

32. Kensuke Shimizu
Are you going somewhere?
30

33. Photo: Danish Saroee
www4.ocn.ne.jp/~kensuke/sub1.html
Kensuke Shimizu was born in 1974 in Tokyo, Japan and currently lives in
Turku, Finland, having previously also lived in London and Minnesota. It
is in Finland where great opportunities started opening up for him and
that he has begun to exhibit more and more. In addition to being an artist,
Kensuke Shimizu is a researcher in European Ethnology at the University
of Turku.
Kensuke Shimizu gets inspirations or ideas for his art from many different
situations. Sometimes when he walks around a town, travels to new places
or when he visits museums, where he tries to imagine how the paintings
were made, this gives him ideas. Or it could be just from watching TV
or old movies; he draws hats as he likes to recreate the atmosphere of
old movies. Kensuke also often draws ballerinas and this idea first came
from his experiences of seeing a beautiful photo in a ballet magazine. He
is continually looking for new ideas and inspirations that can come from
completely different sources.
Indeed, words and humour play an important part in his creative art works,
where visual art and writing intersect each other to become one. His mixed
media works may include human characters sometimes ballet dancers or
musicians, that appear as part of a story in a dream-like atmosphere.
One can see a clear influence of Basquiat and his use of graffiti but without the violence of the American artist’s works;
indeed Kensuke’s colourful works, on the contrary, are full of humour and gentle and fun sequences with their characteristic
annotations. Bicycles may be seen as a nature-friendly ecological vehicle, expressing the relationship between human beings
and the natural environment and shoes and shoelaces in his art, are a recurring symbol of communication.
In addition to paintings, Kensuke Shimizu writes poems and stories, he has written three books, all of which have been
published. Kensuke has participated in European exhibitions (Italy, France, Finland, Spain, Austria and so on) and also in Japan,
China, Turkey and USA. He has had solo shows in Helsinki, Turku, Tallinn, Tokyo, Paris, and Rome. Kensuke is a member of the
OpenArtCode group and has also participated in WorldArtVision Barcelona and in the WAV Party Madrid 2012.
Literature and movement in art. I like to bring literature (story-telling) into my art. I often insert words and phrases and also
the human characters are like individuals appearing in some story for me and by my including bicycles, sport, ballerinas and my
way of drawing human characters, together with these texts, the viewer gets an idea of movement.
Life in foreign countries. I am Japanese, but in total so far, I have spent roughly 15 years of my life in places outside Japan
including USA, UK and Finland. The beautiful natural environment in Finland and its colours have a good influence on my art.
kenshi@utu.fi
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34. Mademoiselle dreaming in her room
“The short stories by Jules Supervielle that depict dreamlike worlds and thoughts, in
particular in the work, L’Enfant de la Haute Mer (short story taken from the collection
L’Enfant de la Haute Mer) have influenced me a lot. I read the Japanese translation of
this story in 1993 and it completely changed my views on fiction. After I had finished it, I
wanted to make creative works, in which visual art and writing were combined, as if they
were inside each other and continually intersecting each other.”
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35. Favorite cafe
Mademoiselle dancing at the theater Bon voyage
Dreaming meeting
Music has always played an important part
in my life and on occasion people feel music
in my art. I used to play the piano for about
20 years and so when I create my artworks, I
sometimes feel music in them too.
It is as if I play music in my art. Another
aspect that is important for me is humour
and in both my paintings and drawings, by
using lines, I create a joyful atmosphere, full
of fun.
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36. Tiril
Solomon’s temple
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37. www.artbytiril.com
Allegiance
Flight
As the dialogue begins there is an internal digging, mining, a stirring of
knowledgehelddeepwithinthepsyche,conceptsemergefromthesubconscious.
Colours evolve and then a singular prompting will rise to the top into the
consciousness. The canvas becomes receptive, fluid, light. All is one. I paint
with absolute faith. The experience of each painting illuminates by finding the
inherent knowledge instilled within, daring and challenging me to express with
an authenticity that leaves me inside out. Vulnerable and alive. No platitudes
and careful juxtapositions of strokes, but a raw, vital energy. A visceral
realization of available potential.
The external experience serves as the catalyst for the internal striving to
comprehend the connectedness of all on an energetic level. Is it not the quest
of the human journey to balance the life of matter to the life of spirit. The ego
to the true self. The experience of the painting is the microcosm of this eternal
struggle. Facing the tension between illusion and truth.
Tiril Benton was born in London in
1955 and lives in Alabama in the US.
She began to draw when she was
very young and now works with all
sizes of canvas, papers and boards
using oils, acrylics, watercolours
and gouache, as well as pencil, soft
pastels, pen and ink.
Tiril has had solo and collective
shows in the USA, France and
Italy. Her works belong to private
collections in numerous countries,
she is member of OpenArtCode
group and is currently represented
by Art Fusion Galleries, Miami.
tiril@knology.net
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38. Max Werner
Max Werner was born in Ghent, Belgium and he studied at the Slade School of Art in London. He taught printmaking in
the UK, has worked in the Art House Gallery in Buenos Aires, Argentina and currently resides in the USA.
Often triggered by a simple observation of his immediate environment such as landscapes, Max Werner seems to love
the challenge of an unusual composition, and the capturing of the diversity of light in the various places he travels to.
Perhaps to get a deeper understanding of his work, it helps to know that Magritte is one of Werner’s favourite artists.
Werner generally paints in his studio a few weeks after having seen his subject matter, using sketches and photos, but
never relying on recorded reality. The end result is an image which evokes a mood, and which conveys what the artist
felt at the time, rather than a faithful representation of the place described. This in turn invites the viewer to reflect
on what it expresses.
My work has been variously described as realist, figurative, descriptive and narrative. Sometimes even as having a
touch of surrealism. I don’t think it can be limited to just one of those adjectives, and yet each one of them has an
element of truth in it. The fact of the matter is that I seem to use a range of different ideas, which don’t seem connected
with each other at first. This sometimes creates a problem for the viewer, as often artists are categorised and presented
to the public with a “label”. I am not a landscapist, a surrealist, or a realist etc… yet perhaps, I am all those things at
the same time.
It is difficult to understate the popularity of Tintin, or Herge its creator, in Belgium in the 1950 and 60s. The adventures
of Tintin certainly had a strong presence in my childhood world, and never really left me. The amazing thing about
those stories, is that you can enjoy them first as a child and then later as an adult. But it is when I was at art school
that I discovered yet another element of Herge’s talent. I had always admired his drawings of course, but I came to
understand better why it was so good. The composition of each image is often a picture in itself, the use of light and
dark, the “clair obscurs” often used in the night scenes. It is especially those type of images which started influencing a
lot my own work. This is how I came with the idea of a series of fifteen etchings entitled “Hommage a Herge”. I selected
fifteen stories, and decided to try and condensate the whole book in one image, relying a lot on my childhood memories
as to how I felt about the story. Ten box sets were edited in conjunction with the Gallerie 2016 in Brussels, each etching
being numbered from 1 /10,in the first set, 2/10 in the second etc… The Herge Foundation owns the first set.
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39. www.maxwernerart.com
Worshipper of AnubisSands of time
maxwernernj@aol.com
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40. The little red man
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41. Looking for a trail
The connection between the images I create, is the approach to the composition, the way I
treat the light, the emphasis on the unusual, the angle, the humour sometimes… Each image
tells a story, and as such perhaps deserves the term descriptive or narrative. The landscapes
for instance are not always an exact representation, as I might add elements to it which were
seen only later on. Usually, they are painted in my studio, weeks later, after having spent a
lot of time sketching it, and photographing it, often on the move (sometimes on the back of
a horse as in Wyoming), so that I am totally immersed in it, and that way it is stills fresh in
my memory when I actually start the painting. As in the landscapes, the other categories of
images are also based on observation.
An idea starts in my head, I follow it up by going sketching in public places, like museums,
libraries, cafes, etc… which in turn feed my imagination, and steers me in a direction I had
not always anticipated. It is a part of the work I really enjoy, as it is a bit like going on an
adventure, not knowing what’s at the end. The final result of all this, is an image which I hope
conveys what I felt at the time, suggests a story, and invites the viewer to reflect, smile, and
basically enjoy him or herself watching my work…
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42. Peny Manavi
Sharina Gumbs
Erruption
Conquering
Arrival
Seduction
Outofcontrol
WarriorI
Peny Manavi was born in in Sofía, Bulgaria 1968 and now lives and works in Athens. In 1992 she completed a degree
in Physics at the University of Athens and in 1994 an MSc degree in Radiation Physics at University College, London.
Between 1996 and 2000 she worked as a Medical Physicist in KAT Hospital and the Onasseion Cardiosurgery Center.
In 1999, Peny began to study at the Athens School of Fine Arts under Professor Y. Psychopaidis and from where she
graduated with distinction in 2004. As the artist herself says,
Nature for me constitutes a source of inspiration, a stimulus and an object of admiration with its diversity, its wealth
and beauty, its oddities and mysteries. The dream element and the factor of imagination transform the realism of the
representation process. In my artwork a balance between realism and abstraction can be found. One can recognize the
motifs and themes, however, subject and space are often unified, as are light and colour, as one defines the other.
Sharina Gumbs, also known as Peepsqueek, was born in Aruba. She immigrated to the Netherlands at the age of seven
and grew up in what always seemed like a foreign country to her and where she felt like a visitor. She always longed to
return home. Her father had remained in Aruba with his wife and family and it would take thirteen more years before
she saw him again. Growing up without a father made her into a thinker and a wonderer and she has always explored
the meaning of love, family, identity and relationships. Unable to express her emotions in spoken words as a child, she
found an escape in drawing and writing. Her main purpose as an artist is to see and show people as they are, from the
heart but without judgement. She searches for a universal language through art, a language which is able to unite people.
Sharina’s interest in the human character led to her study behavioural science and to her initial profession as a social
worker. It was not until her early forties that she allowed herself to unleash the artist within and as a result, her abstract
art is a very dynamic and intuitive reflection on her own being.
shapagu@gmail.com
penymanavi@gmail.com
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43. Solveig M. Skogseide
Maria GiannikouPresences
LaPedrera
Womanportrait
Hardanger
Kongsberg
Gonefishing
Minor events of daily life are the source of inspiration for the Norwegian artist, Solveig M. Skogseide, to capture emotions
and feelings on the canvas. Hence, human relationships are often a theme that she investigates in her work. Symbols
such as the Circle of Life, the Tree of Life and the beauty of hope for the future, belonging and love, come across in her
canvases. The larger concepts and events of the world also have an impact – in particular, symbols related to caring for the
planet are often present. She grew up in a very creative family, where music was of great importance. The result is that
she often thinks of creating a painting in the same way as composing music. The artist uses structure and several layered
stencils, which she creates from her own photographs or drawings. She constantly works with harmony and contrast to
find the right balance in the painting – this is the source of the sense of calm that so many viewers find in her work. Solveig
exhibits her work regularly on a worldwide basis.
BorninMytilene,Lesbos,Greece,MariaGiannikoustudiedpaintingattheThessalonikiSchoolofFineArtsinAristotleUniversity,
Thessaloniki from 1993 to 1998 in the painting studio of A. Theophylaktopoulos. In 1998 she began to study engraving at the
Athens School of Fine Arts under the supervision of G. Milios. Her work is characterised as a meeting point between the
abstract and figurative with a strong use of colour, which uses perspective to create depth and emotions. Between 1996
and 2014, she has participated in over thirty group exhibitions and solo shows in Greece and abroad. Among her recent
exhibitions, she has also participated in Art en Capital held at the Grand Palais in Paris, France in 2013. Her artworks can
be admired in both public and private collections.
magia2j@freemail.gr
solveig.skogseide@gmail.com
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44. CHIANTI STAR FESTIVAL
The second edition of the Chianti Star Festival will take place in the historic building,
Palazzo Malaspina in San Donato in Poggio, Tuscany from 13th June to 20th July 2014.
The union of art and science, the dissemination of scientific culture and the promotion of
the Chianti area are the main aims of this event.
www.chiantistarfestival.com
II edition
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