GIO
ARTisSpectrum - Vol. 21, May 2009
In a style that is both ancient and modern at once, Giovanni Battista Sciello or "Gio" orchestrates beautiful abstract paintings that speak to audiences through a medley of simple geometric shapes and brilliant colors.
His work is founded upon the interplay between a graphic, hard-edged foreground made up of lines, circles, zigzags and crosses, and the tactile, painterly aesthetic of backgrounds. Bright color choices and flowing, calligraphic line-work push and pull one's attention around the canvas in modulating speeds.
There is music within the work, a rhythm that burns and pulsates before your very eyes. The bold shapes and lines repeated in equal segments infuse the image with energy and motion while intriguing glyphs and cryptic titles beckon your attention and tickle the imagination.
"I always start from a graphic sign," explains Gio, "and round this one I build a world of colors trying to express the deep meaning of that symbol."
Using acrylic or oil paint, Gio will often employ a limited palette comprised of complementary colors and their corresponding tints set off by a neutral light or dark background. His timeless style nods to the aesthetics of both prehistoric and modern art while speaking to an inner, fundamental perception of the world. In particular Gio's work recalls the repetition found within the ritualistic painting tradition of Aboriginal Australia as well as the vivacious creative energy of Abstract Expressionism.
The paintings also evoke the elements: stone, wind, water, fire; these often play an important role in Gio's fascinating world. Quick brushstrokes pour down the canvas like rain, while highly textured masses of light and dark collide like weather systems.
"My works are trying to express something over the reality we can see," Gio states, "to explain what's behind things."
Of course, it is this open-ended approach to art that make Gio's work so intriguing, as if he is imploring audiences to navigate his painting as one may explore the world, using our instincts and by reaching out through forthright, inquiring eyes. Gio was born and currently resides in Genoa, Italy.
Gio Sciello
di Silvio Seghi
La pittura di Gio Sciello è un fenomeno complesso; per lui, come per altri protagonisti dell'arte contemporanea, occorre, per una chiara interpretazione, il sussidio culturale. Nella produzione pittorica di questo artista, sono parte essenziale simboli e segni, che nella loro eccezione semantica, sono presenti in gran parte dei suoi lavori. Tutto questo è rappresentato attraverso degli elaborati secondo l'utilizzazione di sfondi cromaticamente forti. ...continua...GIO
di Dario Dongo
"Il percorso di ricerca individuale mi ha portato negli ultimi anni a rivisitare la pittura, in chiave simbolica. E’ andata via via maturando la consapevolezza che alfabeti, numeri, simboli e segni, cromatismi possano interagire con gli osservatori anche al di là della sfera razionale" Gio Sciello
Quest’idea si associa ai significati arcaici e reconditi della simbologia e della cromoterapia: ciò che appartiene alle tradizioni olistiche più antiche, sin dai tempi degli egizi. ...continua...