The nature of Ruggero Vanni’s paintings can be likened to the “coralline” algae encrusting deep-sea rock formations. These slow-growing patches of color expand by millimeters every year, adding layer upon layer of “paint” to their underlying structure. The end of this painstaking process unfolds a singular, gem-like tapestry for the beholder. In the eyes of the diver, the algae’s hues adhere not only to the forms on which they rest (grey boulders or jagged edges), but the shimmering refraction conveyed by the medium of the ocean’s depths.

Like the deep-sea diver, viewers must immerse themselves in Vanni’s paintings. To enter the composition, any nook or cranny of space will do, for it has no intended center; that is for the viewer to find. Let yourself be carried away by the gestural current of the work: inverted spirals, light playing on a fragment… These paintings are not chaotic. Structure gracefully develops before the considerate observer, unlike other abstract art that bears down upon them in an immediate, violent confrontation. They can invoke a sense of disquiet, however, especially in the points of the canvas where depth is emphasized. It is the same disquiet that comes in seeking new reaches to the universe, in sounding the ocean’s unexplored depths. Swaying to these currents, one engages a process of self questioning - an intimate meditative practice.

This show exposes four phases of Vanni’s career. The first is the “fractal” period (1982-1992), involving two-dimensional patterns and refractions of color across the surface of the canvas. The second is the “gestural” period (1992-2011), where color is added onto intended plaster forms, and the unintended cracks produced in them by time (like in the canvases of the old masters). The third is sculptural (2011-2021), where caked plaster separates from the canvas like the bas relief of an ancient roman sarcophagus, or curves and folds are shaped into a work on paper in the molding process. Vanni’s latest period (2021-Present) has achieved a kind of synthesis; it is an effervescent sedimentation of color that does not conform to fractal pattern, to a single gesture. It builds up form without breaking away from the canvas. Just as the coral’s crust becomes enmeshed in a rock’s surface, the viewer is called once again to meld with the questions and revelations presenting themselves in Vanni’s work.

Ruggero Vanni (b. 1958) is an Italian abstract painter. Born in Paris, he grew up in Rome, where he attended the Istituto d’Arte. In 1979 he received a scholarship to study painting at The Cooper Union School of Art in New York, where he has established himself up to present. His first solo show was at Il Ponte Gallery, Rome in 1986, and he has continued to exhibit nationally and internationally over the last forty years.

Vanni’s work has drawn inspiration from the tumultuous activity of Manhattan since his arrival in the late 70’s, in the wake of Abstract Expressionism. He found in that movement the perfect complement to his interest in late Renaissance Venetian painting.

In the summer, he nourishes his sensibility from the seascape of Greece, which he has known since sailing around the mediterranean as a young boy. Observing these shifting forces, he tries to distinguish forms, orders, and patterns that will emerge in his work.

Public collections include: Pinacoteca of Aosta, Italy; Irving Cancer Center, Columbia University, NY; Yale Eye Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT; Camba Housing Ventures, Brooklyn, NY.

One Person Exhibitions

2020 Arco Gallery, New York, NY
2013 Open Studio, New York, NY
2011 Open Studio, New York, NY
2010 Village West Gallery, New York, NY
2009 Space Green, New York, NY (Cat.)
2008 Open Studio, New York, NY
2007 Open Studio, New York, NY
2006 Open Studio, New York, NY
1989 For Art Sake Gallery, Claremont, CA
1989 Galleria Il Ponte, Rome, Italy
1987 Galleria Il Ponte, Forum, Zurich, Switzerland
1986 Galleria Il Ponte, Rome, Italy
1983 Galleria Quattrocento, New York, NY

Group Exhibitions

2019 Arco Gallery, 14C Art Fair, Jersey City, NJ
2017 The Four Seasons, Village West Gallery,
    Jersey City, NJ
2016 Arco Gallery, Art on Paper, New York, NY
2015 Arco Gallery, Affordable Art Fair, New York, NY
2014 Arco Gallery, Affordable Art Fair, New York, NY
    Petits Formats and Works on Paper, Arco Gallery,
    New York, NY
    Arco Gallery, Aqua Art Fair, Miami Beach, FL
    Paper Reveries, Shirley Fiterman Art Center,
    CUNY, New York, NY
2010 Play Me – I’m Yours, Sing For Hope, New York, NY
    (Cat.)
1999 4th Annual Loft Pioneer Show, The Puffin Room,
    New York, NY
1997 New York – New Generation curated by Barbara
    Rose, Palazzo Penna, Perugia, Italy (Cat.)
1996 Kouros Gallery, New York, NY
1992 Grace Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
    York College of Art, Jamaica, NY (Cat.)
    Galleria Il Ponte, Chicago International Art Expo,
    Chicago, IL
1991 Charles Cowles Gallery, New York, NY
    Galleria Il Ponte, Chicago International Art Expo,
    Chicago, IL
1990 Galleria Il Ponte, Chicago International Art Expo,
    Chicago, IL
1989 Galleria Il Ponte, Chicago International Art Expo,
    Chicago, IL
    Under 35, Campo Boario, Rome, Italy
1988 Cromantica, Tour Fromage Art Center, Aosta, Italy
    (Cat.)
    Galleria Il Ponte, Chicago International Art Expo,
    Chicago, IL
    Pittura-Pittura, Galleria Il Ponte, Rome, Italy
    Gallery’s Artists Summer Exhibition, Galleria
    Il Ponte, Rome, Italy
1987 Galleria Il Ponte, Chicago International Art Expo,
    Chicago, IL
    Gallery’s Artists Summer Exhibition, Galleria
    Il Ponte, Rome, Italy
1982 Houghton Gallery, Cooper Union, New York, NY

Arco Gallery and Anderson Contemporary are pleased to present Color – Matters, an exhibition of works by Ruggero Vanni, including paintings that date to the beginning of his career spanning over four decades and his most recent works.

Growing up in Rome and now based in New York, Vanni's work beautifully captures the transition from classicism to contemporary art, emphasizing the importance of color and light in his visual practice, with each stroke and hue intricately weaving a visual narrative that captivates the viewer.Whereas Vanni's older paintings - In the Cold Light (1985), Into the Light IV (1986) - are more rigid in their spatial construction and clearly marked by references to classical masters like 18th-century painter Gian Battista Tiepolo, Vanni has evolved through the years towards freedom of gestural expression – Aditus Caeli I (1997) - as well as textural exuberance – Tempestatis (2011) – In his most recent works – Enchanted Garden (2024), Voluptous Sunrise (2024) - he achieved a balance between these different aspects of his practice, creating canvases where "classical" compositions are born from instinctive thick brush strokes that are first cut out and then carefully reassembled one by one on the surface of the canvas.

Whereas the expressionist nature of Vanni's brush strokes anchors him in a contemporary context referencing American Abstract Expressionism, the classicist roots of his pictorial practice remain evident in his concept that painting is an extension of architecture, intended not only to enhance the aesthetic appeal of the surroundings but also to create a unique and immersive experience for all who interact with the space – A New Day 8' x 37' feet six-panel series created for the Camba Gardens II, a 293 units supportive housing building in Wingate, Brooklyn.

Vanni's work is figurative in that it depicts a three-dimensional space, but it is also non-representational, avoiding any form that could be clearly recognizable. His paintings allude, in Vanni's words, "to natural phenomena, in a raw state, devoid of the limiting constrictions of literal representation. Nature is there as a landscape, a view looking up in the air or plunging down underwater. Imagery is kept on the edge of recognition, so the final association is created in the mind".

Ruggero Vanni was born in 1958 Paris, France, and lives and works in New York.
Private collections include the Pinacoteca of Aosta, Italy; Irving Cancer Center, Columbia University, NY; Yale Eye Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT.

Press
valentina@arcogallery.com ronni@andersoncontemporary.com