Starting from this Liberty inspiration – a key point in Giorgio Gessi ’ s art – it ’ s also easy to understand his deep love for Japan . The artist claims that a visit to the wonderful Chiossone museum in Genoa – a place which prominently features works of art from the Land of the Rising Sun – gave him such a positive shock that he was prompted to start new and more in-depth studies on this culture , which culminated in some long and passionate ( non-touristic ) visits to that wonderful faraway land . After all , Japonisme had already influenced a lot of Western art in the late nineteenth century ( especially in France ), including Art Nouveau . Influences include Utamaro and Hokusai with their visions , the diffusion of Japanese prints , with curvilinear shapes , illustrated surfaces , contrasting voids and the absolute flatness of their compositions . All this was an important source of inspiration for many artists all over the world .
Giorgio Gessi seizes some moments of real poetry and transfers them onto his favourite “ medium ”: glass . Thus emerge works of high lyricism , like “ Alba sul Fujihama ” ( Dawn on Mount Fuji ) with its delicate colours and its magical transparencies , which can be found in “ Aspettando la sera ” ( Waiting for the night ) and “ Airone al chiaro di luna ” ( Heron in the moonlight ). Gessi ’ s inspiration also comes from the works of another nature painter from the end of the nineteenth century : Ohara Koson , in front of whose works one should stand in silence , enchanted by such breathtaking beauty . Among Gessi ’ s works we can find Geishas and Samurais with their extraordinary garments : they are the witnesses of a millenary culture that is still appreciated today .
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That of the “ female nude ” is an artistic genre which has always produced powerfully evocative impressions both in the artist who creates it and in the observer . The same happens to Giorgio Gessi : his nudes , which he calls “ studies ”, live with the emotion of the ‘ non-colour ’. On the black glass panel , the light shows the female body through the engraved lines . In the shadows between visible and invisible , these shapes come to life and show their vitality , wonderfully sparkled by the diamond tip , like wounds and caresses put together . You can live the magic of the moment captured by the artist , between ecstasy and beauty , matter and spirit , symbol and revelation .
Upon this sudden note of intense femininity ends this catalogue , but not Giorgio Gessi ’ s search for beauty , always projected towards new and private emotions , which he passionately pours into his art .
F . B . N .