Highgate Contemporary Art

Roberto Pagliarulo An Amalfi Dream 4th - 26th September 2020 Roberto Pagliarulo

An Amalfi Dream

4th - 26th September 2020

Private View: Friday 4th September, 6.30 - 8.30pm

Sweet the memory is to me

Of a land beyond the sea,

Where the waves and mountains meet,

Where amid her mulberry-trees Ravello, Amalfi acrylic Amalfi 41cm x 31 oncanvas Ravello,

Sits Amalfi in the heat,

Front: Bathing ever her white feet

In the tideless summer seas.

Extract from ‘Amalfi’ by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Roses on Table oil on canvas 59 x 42.5cm Roberto Pagliarulo paints Italy as a romantic dream-place, populated by “Positano bites deep. It is a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are classical statues, mythical messengers and pink trees. His landscapes are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone”. tinged with history; they hold the mysteries of antiquity. At the same time, his vividly painted panoramas re-imagine the landscape in triumphantly Playing on the notion of mythology, Pagliarulo’s cast of characters include contemporary terms. For his third exhibition at Highgate Contemporary Art, fauns and satyrs, who herald the viewer, opening out their arms. He invites us Roberto Pagliarulo welcomes viewers to share in his ‘Amalfi Dream’. to share in his waking dream, holding up a mirror into this fantastical world, where myth and reality collide. Italy has always been an important subject in Roberto Pagliarulo’s practice. With an Italian father, the depiction of the country allows the artist to The artist also creates a dream-like atmosphere through his enchanting and explore his cultural heritage. Like artists Peter Doig and David Hockney, unconventional use of colour. In works such as ‘Ravello, Amalfi’ trees are Pagliarulo paints the landscape with nostalgia, magic realism and as an painted purple, with complementary yellow foliage. In others, pathways expression of his identity. Over the last five years, he has been drawn especially to the Amalfi Coast: appear in deep magenta. There’s a sublime simplicity to his flat blocks of Matisse-like colour, and warm summer light, through which he casts a magical “Amalfi is a particularly dramatic expression of Italy. Towering views spell over Italy. As the artist, Paul Richards, comments: “Roberto’s paintings are around winding bends, cliffs, masses of sea, always there in the both beautiful and intriguing, and that mystery is at the heart of their reality”. background, with lemons, flowers, tomatoes and trees in the foreground pushing your eyes into the blue and green of the seascapes”. Pagliarulo, whose mother is an actress, also frames each scene from cinematic vantage points. There is a film-like quality to the wide views of works such as Pagliarulo has painted sweeping views from the Villa Cimbrone in Ravello. ‘Amalfi Coast, view from Positano’. In other paintings, like ‘Italian Triptych’, he He pictures Positano’s pebble beachfront, motorboats in the Mediterranean playfully frames a painting within a painting. The viewer is constantly looking Sea, and the striking Church of Saint Mary of the Assumption with its Middle Eastern dome, decorated in dazzling yellow, white and black tiles. Beyond the through things, questioning reality, and finding symbolic props – apples, roses gardens of Villa Rufolo emerges a horizon of sea meeting sky. and classical busts – which celebrate antiquity.

Similarly, Pagliarulo’s ink drawings of Amalfi betray the artist’s delight in the Whilst honouring Italy’s mythical history, Roberto Pagliarulo pushes past abundance of life along the coastline. Citrus fruits crowd the foreground of tradition with his distinctly calligraphic style of painting. The artist leaves you ‘View of Amalfi with lemons’, whilst repeated palm trees enter the sea view dreaming of an escape to Amalfi. of ‘Ravello, Amalfi’. He frames each vista with pattern-like details, drawn in rhythmic, lyrical lines. By Ruth Millington The Amalfi Coast is a place steeped in literary history, of which Pagliarulo – Ruth Millington is an art critic and writer, specialising in modern and who studied American Literature at Cambridge University – is well aware. It contemporary art. has inspired writers including E. M. Forster, D. H. Lawrence and Elena www.ruthmillington.com Ferrante. About Amalfi, John Steinbeck wrote:

The Magical Gardens of Villa Rufolo, Amalfi acrylic on canvas 40.5 x 30.5cm Untitled acrylic on canvas 30.5 x 23cm

Amalfi Coast, View from Positano oil on canvas 42 x 30cm

The Orange Lily oil on canvas 40.5 x 30.5cm Cream Roses oil on canvas 40.5 x 30.5cm

View of Amalfi with Lemons ink on paper 21 x 27cm

The Church of Santa Maria Assunta, Positano oil on canvas 40.5 x 30.5cm View from Villa Rufolo, Amalfi coast ink on paper 21 x 27cm

Positano oil on canvas 33 x 43cm

Pots and Plants at Villa Sunrise, Santa Cruz, Madeira ink on paper 21 x 27cm

Tropical Flowers at Villa Sunrise, Santa Cruz, Madeira ink on paper 21 x 27cm View from Cliff Bay, Funchal, Madeira ink on paper 21 x 27cm

View Round a Bay, Amalfi ink on paper 21 x 27cm

Roman Bust of Marathon Boy and Grapes oil on canvas 53 x 63cm

Ravello oil on canvas 23 x 30.5cm Tall Tree, Amalfi Coast ink on paper 21 x 27cm

Reflections at the Swimming Pool ink on paper 21 x 27cm View of the Amalfi from Villa Cimbrone oil on canvas 33 x 43cm

The Appian Way in Magenta oil on canvas 43 x 53cm

Amalfi Coast, Rocks and Coastline ink on paper 21 x 27cm Faraglioni, Capri, Boat and Rocks ink on paper 21 x 27cm

Hercules and Lichas oil & ink on canvas 72 x 50cm

Lemons oil on canvas 30 x 40cm Study of Blue Apples oil on canvas 30 x 40cm

Tropical Fruit and Orchid oil on canvas 77 x 51cm Pink Gerberas oil on canvas 56 x 40.5cm

Study for Purple & Yellow Lilies pencil & ink on paper 42 x 30cm Yellow and Purple Lilies oil on canvas 50 x 41cm

Il Giardino Rosso oil on canvas 72.5 x 99cm

Private View: Friday 4th September 2020 6.30 - 8.30pm

Opening Hours: Wed - Sat: 12 - 6pm *All other times by appointment

26 Highgate High Street, N6 5JG 020 8340 7564 View from Gardens of Villa Rufolo oil on linen 40.5 x 30cm www.highgateart.com | [email protected]

Tall Tree, Amalfi Coast 21 x 27cm ink on paper £395 View of Amalfi with Lemons 21 x 27cm ink on paper £395 View from Villa Rufolo, Amalfi Coast 21 x 27cm ink on paper £395 Amalfi Coast, Rocks and Coastline 21 x 27cm ink on paper £395 View Round a Bay, Amalfi 21 x 27cm ink on paper £395 Faraglioni, Capri, Boat and Rocks 21 x 27cm ink on paper £395 Reflections at the Swimming Pool 21 x 27cm ink on paper £395 View from Cliff Bay, Funchal, Madeira 21 x 27cm ink on paper £395 Tropical Flowers at Villa Sunrise, Santa Cruz, Madeira 21 x 27cm ink on paper £395 Pots and Plants at Villa Sunrise, Santa Cruz, Madeira 21 x 27cm ink on paper £395 Study for Purple & Yellow Lilies 42 x 30cm ink & pencil on paper £750 Lemons 30 x 40cm oil on canvas £925 Study of Blue Apples 30 x 40cm acrylic on canvas £925 Untitled 30.5 x 23cm oil on canvas £950 Ravello 23 x 30.5cm oil on canvas £995 Cream Roses 40.5 x 30.5cm oil on canvas £995 Ravello, Amalfi 31 x 41cm acrylic on canvas £1,250 The Magical Gardens of Villa Rufolo, Amalfi 40.5 x 30.5cm acrylic on canvas £1,250 The Orange Lily 40.5 x 30.5cm oil on canvas £1,250 Pink Gerberas 56 x 40.5cm oil on canvas £1,250 Yellow and Purple Lilies 50 x 41cm oil on canvas £1,450 Positano 33 x 43cm oil on canvas £1,450 View of the Amalfi from Villa Cimbrone 33 x 43cm oil on canvas £1,450 Amalfi Coast, View from Positano 42 x 30cm oil on canvas £1,450 View from Gardens of Villa Rufolo 40.5 x 30.5cm oil on linen £1,450 The Church of Santa Maria Assunta, Positano 40.5 x 30.5cm oil on canvas £1,450 Roses and Table 59 x 42.5cm oil on canvas £1,800 The Appian Way in Magenta 43 x 53cm oil on canvas £1,800 Roman Bust of Marathon Boy and Grapes 53 x 63cm oil on canvas £1,850 Hercules and Lichas 72 x 50cm oil & ink on canvas £1,950 Tropical Fruit and Orchid 77 x 51cm oil on canvas £2,500 Il Giardino Rosso 72.5 x 99cm oil on canvas £2,500

26 Highgate High Street, N6 5JG Tel: 020 8340 7564 www.highgateart.com | [email protected]