Shapes of Light

About

The exhibition features some of the most important masterpieces by Campagnolo, Arazzi, and the new series of Grimaces and Masks.

Many Paolo Campagnolo’s pieces are in private collections worldwide and, notably, Bulgari has commissioned three iconic portraits of Liz Taylor which are displayed in their boutiques in Moscow, Russia; Paris, France; and in their flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York.

Causality and action guide Paolo’s pictorial language, which finds, in the reflected light, the ideal way to communicate with the observer. Pigmented glues, gold and silver leaves, metal and canvas are attacked by the action of acids for coloring. Canvases as well as celluloid are cut and shaped by hand, painted with iridescent, metallic colors before being exposed to combustion or treated with acids to bring out the luminescent surfaces. Thus, the articulated surfaces are defined by points of light, spreading out in different directions, creating yet more color. The combination of colors within the tapestry creates depth, movement and even a 3-D effect. This alchemic process renders tapestries part painting, and part sculpture.

In Paolo Campagnolo’s artworks colors and matter blend with the light that surrounds them, expressing and evoking the world of the unconscious, the inner world, the dream.