The ARIUM Cafe
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Thursday, May 1, 2008, 6:00-9:00PM
FROM SCRATCH is the theme chosen by CAROLINE BERGONZI to present her latest work, her exploration of both the mandala process & impact as well as the wide range of techniques she uses: of black acrylic and Chinese ink, treated in thick or transparent layers, smoothly brushed or scratched with a pointy knife. In her continual evolution as an artist, she reinvents herself again, with ever greater purity. Her style persists, characterized by powerful curves and body shapes. Opposites meet again, spar and clash, in a delightful feast for the eyes.
Artist Statement
I believe that the symbolic level is a universal and peaceful space where to stand and meet. From there, I paint my perception of the "invisible", feelings and thoughts, energy and sensations, to show, share and inspire. These images come from within, sometimes completely improvised, and allow a heart to heart communication.
I believe that our bodies are our first homes, shells, vehicles, and that our senses allow our primal communication with the "outside world" and other beings. Through our addictions to stress, our busy minds absorb all the available life force and govern our decisions. I believe that in our megalopolis & structuring cultures, most bodies are suppressed.
I believe that my paintings are charged with a graphic playfulness and a nurturing sensuality. Through my work, I want to invite the viewers to open themselves up, to dream, trust, feel and play. I address whoever is willing to explore life and their own creative journey.
My art is both a daily exploration within of the mystery of life, and an act of love. Caroline Bergonzi. New York, March 2008
Artist Biography
In three decades, Caroline Bergonzi has proven her multi-faceted creativity through a rich and diverse body of work, including styling for fashion magazines, costumes, jewelry, graphic and web design, and a first creativity educational program. Since her first art show in 2002, she has revealed remarkable paintings and continuously reinvents herself.
She draws from both science and spirituality igniting her passion for the human being, in the deepest layers, the ones we all share, the essence that bonds our diverse cultures. An artist since an earliest age, Caroline is a confluence of traditions; combining southern European baroque black backgrounds with the eastern passive sensuality of her silhouettes; metaphysical elements with sparkling glamour from her fashion experience and magnificent body shapes.
A sensitive, curious and energetic child, she grew up under the blue Mediterranean sky, in the Principality of Monaco. After 17 years in this peaceful and international city, she moved to Paris, to acquire the tools she thought necessary to strengthen her freedom. Greeting the challenges of business school & postgraduate studies in fashion management, she remained active and blossomed in diverse creative environments such as an underground video game teams and a major Parisian Haute Couture studio.
After graduating, she spent time in China and Italy, and chose New York as her new home, for its human masses, rhythms, and unlimited mosaic of cultures. The brutal reality of this new urban & mental environment encouraged a deeper immersion in empiric philosophy, psychology and spirituality. As the angel of the movie "Wings of Desire", she swapped her cerebral, wide perspective for a true experience of being alive, meeting a full range of emotions, from fear to love, including loneliness, joy, pain, pleasure or peace. She records and expresses them through sketches & paintings.
As a symbolist, Caroline expresses feelings using human shapes aiming for truth, uncovering illusions, masks, fears and manipulations, to reach out. Thinking in terms of archetypes, her daily inspiration comes from myths, movies, books, dreams and the empiric experience of kung fu, tango or swimming. To her, life is all about : rhythm, flux, energies ; Actions and reactions ; Fusion and transformation ; The yin & yang harmony of the contrasts ; The too often forgotten cycle of life, rebirth, destruction & creation.
Painting and drawing remain her favorite mediums of expression allowing for full freedom & responsibility as an artist and to focus a concentrated impact within the frame. Circle shapes, cocoons in squares, squares in circles. The full intensity of an instant.
Her two last exhibitions were last September, solo show on 2,500 square feet, at L Gallery, Tribeca NY, and in October, at the National Art Club, Gramercy Park, NY. She shares her time between her Soho laboratory, CREALAB llc, and her studio in Monaco. www.artofmyheart.com
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I believe that art can heal.
