WHAT WE KNOW

Born in 1955, the internationally renowned painter and filmmaker is from Bologna, Italy. Her current exhibition references Raphael’s ‘The School of Athens’ (1509-1511) to celebrate the intellects that laid the groundwork for Western philosophy.

The artist has envisioned herself as a student at the School that epitomises the spirit of Renaissance, having the capacity to experiment on the techniques and theories of painting. These works are like pages of her learning journal, and viewers witness her progress as she realises the connections between these different ideas. In her experimentation with materials and instruments, the artist also demonstrates the awareness in employing laboratory techniques.

WHY WE LOVE IT

With a work of art as famous as ‘The School of Athens’, the artist has rendered her own interpretation by not only abstracting the figures to eliminate any kind of resemblance, but by using colour to bring forth dimensionality. Specifically, the artist focuses on the tunics of the figures to delineate perspective. Despite their anonymity, the figures are expressive and convey a sense of theatricality and movement. We’re impressed with how the artist uses colour to influence the spatial relationships between the figures.