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04/28/2008: "Drawing and Painting" by Alberto Sughi

In my last blog I was talking about my very early drawings, some of them dating back as far as the 1940s (and please forgive me for not having been able to replay to all the comments!). Today in this prolonged, enjoyable, common effort of ours to make this blog also a place where we share our thoughts and impressions on our work so to understand it better, I will try to say something about another group of drawings, this time a very recent one. It is a group of three drawings I made in 2007, a group that, if I am right, I have already had a chance to bring to the pages of our Absolutearts blog when they were not finished yet. Though this is the very first time I am talking about them here.



They are large format drawings on inverted canvas, prepared on the reverse side, so they are made on the rough, unprepared, side of the canvas, because it is then easier to draw with charcoal and tempera colours. Using this technique the colour doesn't run, as on the prepared side, so there is a different way of erasing, drawing, and working on them. This method gives results that, in my opinion, are more suited to my technique. I also find it hard to call them drawings, even though I have found no other way of defining them. However, they are, in fact, large images that are the equivalent of painted images, both in their expressive strength and inner tension. I have always found that there is a strong connection between drawings and painting. They are not two separate techniques in my work, so much so that in many of my paintings you can find charcoal and pencilled lines, both under and above the colour. I have always mixed the two. I believe that a painter is interested in the expression, and is less concerned about the technique he uses to obtain it.


But let us go back to the drawings, starting from Drawing no. 3, the first one I made. During the war in Iraq there was a bloodbath of civilians in Mossul. I had this tragedy in mind, as perhaps many people did, but I didn’t want to paint or to draw that particular butchery, even if, as an emotional basis for these paintings, the sense of tragedy that we are seeing in that war is certainly present. So I portray a pile of bodies, massacred, and a woman with a child gripping onto her, who is perhaps covering her eyes so that the child cannot see. The painting has become rich in references, because the woman is drawn in an almost classical style, as a distant memory of the sketches used by Italian 16th century artists. The tangle of bodies is perhaps more reminiscent, although I could be mistaken, of something going from Goya up to certain drawings or paintings of the concentration camps by Music.


Drawing no. 2 is more sketchy, but no less powerful in expressiveness. There is a woman, defending herself from a man, who is trying to rape her at home, and there are, on the left of the canvas, two children watching, gripping onto each other and covering their faces. This is very indicative of my way of starting a work, and since I think that a painting has to be beautiful from the initial stages until the moment it is finished, I have actually left this drawing in its first stage because, to me, it seemed very powerful, and also to leave a trace of my way of setting up a painting.


Drawing no. 1, which is the largest and is made not on inverted canvas but on white canvas, even though it is still a drawing, also has the feel of a finished work. it is not, in fact, a drawing that can be painted over. There is a man on a crucifix, a woman with a child going away, a man asking for charity, and a strong and powerful chiaroscuro. It is a very moving image, which also touches on the idea of where we are, and perhaps also points to how we could get out of this tragic situation. There is the idea of truth, of Christ, of a mother protecting her child. There are all the elements that, even when appearing at the height of tragedy, can point to a way of escape.


Only recently my friend and art critic Arturo Carlo Quintavalle, commenting on this group of drawings, wrote that there is a deep and constant dialogue between me and the tradition of painting. I have to admit that this is possibly true, because I believe that painting is like conversing with past or present art.

Alberto Sughi, Rome 2008
(translated by Joelle Crowle)
For more info on Alberto Sughi see. www.albertosughi.com

Replies: 17 Comments

on Thursday, May 8th, Brad Michael Moore said

I ringraziamenti per lei lavora e la conoscenza, Alberto - Sinceramente, Brad Michael Moore / Texas USA
--
Maybe bad translation, so, in English:
--
Thanks for you works and insight, Alberto - Sincerely, Brad Michael Moore / Texas USA

on Wednesday, May 7th, translation said

Probably at this point there's nothing left for me to do but in my own turn thank everyone, from Ellen to Brad, and all the others. For a painter like me, it is always a pleasant and surprising experience to establish through one's work a dialogue with painters, sculptors, and other artists who live and work so far away from me.
Salutations, therefore, and work well,
Alberto

on Wednesday, May 7th, Alberto Sughi said

Probabilmente a sto punto non mi resta adesso e a mia volta che ringraziarvi tutti, da Ellen a Brad e a tutti gli altri. Per un pittore come me sara' sempre esperienza del tutto piacevole e sorprendente quella di stabilire attraverso il proprio lavoro un dialogo con pittori, scultori, artisti che vivono e lavorano cosi' lontano da me. A presto quindi, buon lavoro Alberto.

on Sunday, May 4th, Mark said

Alberto,
Thanks for the kind words about my work, tho I was not looking for compliments, I am honored by them. And forgive my suspicious nature but many place blogs here and know nothing of those who respond to them nor do many even reply to comments made in regards to their blog. So thank you also for responding, it means a lot to me and I am sure to others as well.

Yes I work outdoors, I have to, my work is about nature and if I do not put myself in nature how can I respond to it and put it on canvas. But my paintings do not copy nature, they are my reaction to it, my love for it. Yet I to at times close myself off in my studio to take what I have learned from nature and reflect my feelings on the canvas.

When looking at your drawings here, I feel the pain, and the sorrow, but strangely in looking at them I feel a sense of hope, maybe not directly from your images, perhaps in spite of them, but if I had not seen them perhaps the hope would not be there. They are powerful pieces.

Mark

on Sunday, May 4th, Brad Michael Moore said

Alberto,
I am so happy to hear from you again - how nice a surprise to see your new works that show your curiosity and concern over ongoing current events. I think the subject matter fits very well with your style - and it only makes sense to me that your concentration would have fallen to these works. I think it is always a good practice to mix media if you can in your work. Human frailty and strengths require so many levels and qualities of line and brush stroke. It is most worthy when ideas can be expressed through the exercise of the mind through the power of the line. As a digital artist - I most appreciate that - for the line is delivered by such a abstract means. But for me - that is my only way to achieve the notions a line may provide in one's work.
Thanks for sharing with us. Best Wishes, Brad Michael Moore

on Saturday, May 3rd, walt said

Andrew, Sometimes Babelfish leaves me a little baffled. So a little Spanish helps.

on Saturday, May 3rd, Andrew said

Walt your response left no doubt that you fully understood Alberto's response, but I translated it anyway for those who didn't. The Spanish helps, eh?

on Saturday, May 3rd, Andrew said

Dear Walter,
I fully agree with you: it is not abstract or figurative that creates the separation in our work as artists, or that makes it more, or less, interesting. In truth, I don't find myself ever arriving at fully recognizing this separation.
Our choice of the field in which we work shouldn't become our prison: a window must always remain open from which to look out and see if we can imagine sharing the thoughts, convictions and study of someone on a different path than our own. That which we consider foreign to our way of thinking, can, at times, enrich us. In my studio at Circus Maximus hangs a poster of a DeKooning so I will remember from what I might nourish my own work.
un caro saluto,
Alberto
Dear Mark,
Looking to see the work of another who makes a comment on my blog is the first thing I do, given that it enables me to better know the person with whom I am having a dialogue. So I do know well, Mark, your sun drenched landscapes, and the photos of you working out of doors before your easel. I think nostalgically back to a time long ago when I also went out into the country with an easel under my arm and a box of colors in my hand. I remember the emotion of laying down those same colors on the canvass as I gazed at the countryside. After I closed myself away in my studio, my painting took a different direction. In some ways I am envious of you Mark, work well, and a dear salute,
Alberto

on Friday, May 2nd, Ellen said

Alberto- It is fascinating to understand the thoughts that directed the images you create. I have been priviledged to watch several painters whom I deeply admire create a painting or drawing from start to finish. It's always a wonderful learning experience. Your connections with the materials, concepts and eventual conclusion of the drawing is very instructive for me. Thank you.

on Friday, May 2nd, walt said

Alberto, Si. Two generations have struggled with the understanding of figuration and abstraction. This newest generation either ignores it by using photographs directly or has no idea how hard won was the ability to grasp both at once. Their education helped them bridge what was once a great divide. At least in our minds.

Bravo di Kooning. He left a wonderful record of his passage from figuration to abstraction. Perhaps he is the best model to use to understand how both become one. All one needs to do is play his history backwards, a little reverse engineering, to see the process at work.

Interestingly he was trained as an illustrator.

on Friday, May 2nd, studiosughi@albertosughi.com">Alberto Sughi said

Caro Walter,
sono pienamente d'accordo con te: non sono le tendenze astratte o figurative che separano il nostro lavoro di artisti o che possono farlo considerare più o meno interessante. Per la verità io non arrivo nemmeno a riconoscere pienamente questa separazione.
Le scelte di campo che abbiamo fatto non devono diventare la nostra prigione; deve sempre rimanere aperta una finestra da cui guardare fuori e vedere come si possa immaginare cose condivisibili anche con pensieri, convinzioni, ricerche diverse dalle proprie. Ciò che consideriamo estraneo ai nostri convincimenti può, alle volte, arricchirci. Nel mio studio al Circo Massimo avevo appeso un manifesto di de Kooning per ricordarmi di cosa ptrebbe essere nutrita la mia stessa pittura.
Un caro saluto Alberto

Caro Mark,
quella di guardare il sito di chi interviene a commentare il mio blog è la prima cosa che faccio dato che mi offre l'occasione di conoscere i miei interlocutori. Così Mark conosco bene i tuoi paesaggi assolati e le foto che ti ritraggono quando lavori all'aperto davanti al cavalletto; sento nostalgia per il tempo lontano quando anch'io uscivo in aperta campagna col cavalletto sottobraccio e in mano la cassetta dei colori. Ricordo l'emozione di stendere i colori sulla tavolozza e intanto spiare il paesaggio... Dopo mi sono chiuso nel mio studio e la pittura ha preso un'altra direzione. Per qualche verso t'invidio caro Mark, buon lavoro e un caro saluto, Alberto.

on Wednesday, April 30th, Mark said

Alberto, I agree it is nice to get to know other artists so as to be able to talk as friends. I do find your work intersting and like that your work has a message that looks at the wrongs of the world (some of my work does the same) and not just the beauty of the world as much of my work strives to do. I must ask; do you look to the work of those who reply to your blog? So that you can get to know them and thier work so the discussion will not be one sided. I ask this because to speak as friends, which I would very much like to do, each of us must have some understanding and visual refrence to carry on a friendly and perhaps spirited conversation.

on Wednesday, April 30th, Andrew said

Walter, your comment hasn't gotten to me yet [translated] (but I will soon read it) when I had already started to respond to Mark. It's true Mark, that what I have written might seem to be just my own reflections about my work, but in the same way as a painter shows his paintings, immagining stimulating the thoughts of whoever happens to see them, in this way recounting the way each of us works, and the meanings we attach (always improvisational) that at at some point in time we've given them...this seems to me to be a non-abstract way of communicating with others, or at least a way of letting readers of the blog get to know me better. After which, we can start to talk as friends.
Thank you Mark for your appreciation, and thank you Andrew for your willingness to translate.

on Wednesday, April 30th, Alberto Sughi said

Walter il tuo commento non mi era ancora giunto (lo leggero' al piu' presto) quando avevo gia' iniziato a rispondere a Mark. E' vero Mark che quello che ho scritto puo' sembrare solo una riflessione sul mio lavoro, ma così come il pittore mostra i suoi quadri immaginando di animare il pensiero di chi avrà l'occasione di
vederli, così raccontare il nostro modo di lavorare e il
significato (sempre provvisorio) che in qualche momento gli abbiamo dato mi sembra un modo non astratto di comunicare con gli altri, o perlomeno di farmi conoscere meglio dai lettori del blog. Dopo di che inizieremo a parlarci come amici.
Grazie comunque Mark anche per il tuo apprezzamento e grazie anche a te Andrew per la tua disponibilita' a tradurre.

on Wednesday, April 30th, walt said

Given that much of our dialogue is about the artworld and how top heavy it has become maybe it is also interesting to note that Alberto's work and his career is part of a generation who reminded us that figuration is as interesting as abstraction and that the two hold so much in common. Artists like Sughi in Europe, Richard Diebenkorn's figurative period in California, Philip Guston in New England all reminded us that abstraction is not to be feared, that it does not negate figuration, and that in fact the two are married. Alberto's work is quite good. At times most classical. But it always includes the abstraction that is the energy of all great art. Alberto's work seems ageless-- at contemorary with any time or place.

For instance that group of bodies in the first drawing-- the blood bath in Mossul which is a contemporary event seen on the evening news is not unlike other images from Picasso's Guernica or Charnel House to the images from the proto Renaissance telling the story of the massacre of the innocents or the last judgement. These are images that we seem always to have with us. They are not the images that make us feel good. They are not happily colored. But images we must always be reminded of.

I'm reminded of the South American sculptor and painter Botero who's work is usually so funny and happy that a curmudgeon like me can't stand it. Recently Botero did a series of drawings on the Abu Graib incident dealing with torture and humiliation. These works seemed completely outside his ouvre. Yet they are so powerful and profound that I was moved to re-evaluate my consideration of his work over all. At the very least I cannot any longer count him as a sap catering to a population who is in denial about what is occuring in the world around them.

I'm not big on an artist constantly hovering about these issues. The world is not always oppressive. There is often great joy and beauty to be recognized and experienced. But without recognition of the bitterness that coincides, joy and beauty are without contrast and become ubiquitous, mediocre and tasteless.

on Tuesday, April 29th, Mark said

Tho I agree with Andrew about reading why and how an artists has done their work I am a bit at a loss of words here in this particular venue as I guess that I assume this is a place to create dialog. Something hard to do when the blog seems a bit self centered purely on ones work. Even Michael Corbin's blog, perhaps a plug for his book, gave us something to talk about. So what can one say other then a good job Alberto, and nice interesting work.

on Tuesday, April 29th, Andrew said

Sono pronto come sempre a tradure, Alberto...
I always love to hear artists talk about their work, because it is only rarely that one gets to hear what they have to say about it. This almost always changes the way I look at a painting or sculpture, perhaps because it points my thinking in directions it wouldn't have gone otherwise.