Remo
Farruggio is first a colorist and then a painter. For it is
the color that inspires the painting. It then takes form with
its fundamental life and vitality stemming from an inner fountain
of inspiration which comes from a primary source. In the case
of Farruggio it is the place of his birth, Italy, to which he
has returned time and again throughout his life.
Better yet, Sicily, and the lovely city of Palermo, filled
with Baroque buildings and palaces, enough to create artists
on the spot, if one is not already so talented, as in the case
of Remo Farruggio. When one has seen the atmospheric changes,
the luminous light, and the intensities of tonalities one finds
in Siciliy, it is then easy to understand why Farruggio is the
magnificent colorist he is. Besides the light, the land itself,
with its mountainous terrains and lush valleys, provides an
inspiration for all shapes and forms which again have inspired
the artist. His sensitivity adds another dimension to his work.
Farruggio has the ability to take all this and orchestrate them
into a final concept, creating in his work a symphony of
mood and enchantment. From 1957 through 1967, he was
involved with painting nudes in heavy rounded forms, sensuously
posing them to reveal not only the figure but a blending of
form, color, and an inner quality of repose, creating delectations
in paint. In some the edges were purposely blurred, giving an
extra impression of softness and sexuality. There is a Baroqueness
about them, which easily relate to the rounded angels and beautifully
formed Ailanthis leaves which decorate so many of the buildings
found in Sicily. Some of his paintings during this period played
with Mire like shapes, exuding joy and caprice, while others
were of abstract landscapes, deserts and mountains, usually
moving from a focal point of interest, either through a particular
form or color. His still-lifes were magnificent arrangements
of cubist shapes, again treated to the living vitality of his
intense tonalities. In
this concordant discord Farruggio finds time after time the
dimension that is most appropriate for him. It does not matter
if from the outside he looks inconsistent or ready to plunge
into risky experiments: it simply means that the conflict of
feelings suggested to him. this or that way of expressing himself,
are 'always' within the gamut of his own personality If we consider
his earlier works and compare them to his later ones, we find
that they stem from a common deep root, and not only because
they come from the same author; the organicity of masses and
the suppleness of line give clear tones, varied only by his
creative impulses. Nobody
can anticipate what would have become of Farruggio if he had
lived only in his Native place. But at this point we can say
confidently what his personality is, as a result of different
themes and experiences in faraway lands. Nature preserved in
him the lyric world of his birth and his mind helped him not
to betray it. He
came back to Italy many times, but he did not have to change
his tonal values; they were already deeply rooted in him. Eventually
he agreed that one's real country is the land where there are
people like himself. Stendhal says so, in one of his sensitive
maxims, hidden between the lines of a description. And anyone
who from his meetings and affinities brought back his own justification
for existing, can testify to this truth. |
