by InTrieste
In a celebration of urban mystique and artistic ingenuity, the Spazio FogArt in via Lazzaretto Vecchio 15 is set to host the solo exhibition, “Postcards from a Suspended City,” by the Triestine artist Paolo Ferluga. The inaugural event is scheduled for Friday, May 10th, at 7 p.m., promising an evening of captivating introspection into the essence of Trieste’s urban fabric.
Curated by the discerning eye of Barbara Fogar, the exhibition promises a profound journey into Ferluga’s creative psyche, where the artist’s brush strokes vividly encapsulate his personal interpretation of Trieste’s architectural landscape. Through a series of monumental works, Ferluga breathes new life into his oeuvre, originally conceived in 2003, offering viewers a mesmerizing blend of reality and imagination.
Ferluga’s artistic narrative unfolds through intricate details meticulously woven into his canvases. From fleeting glimpses of bustling intersections to the quietude of traffic light halts, each stroke narrates a tale of the city, as seen through the artist’s perceptive lens. What distinguishes Ferluga’s oeuvre is his adeptness at infusing subtle irony and contradictions, particularly evident in the playful manipulation of shop signs—now adorned with Slovenian or Russian scripts or enigmatic rebuses, ingeniously intertwined with the artwork’s thematic tapestry.
The exhibition’s pièce de résistance lies in Ferluga’s masterful use of perspective, inviting viewers to immerse themselves within the painted vistas, suspended in a liminal space between reality and reverie. Through a predominantly azure palette, the artist evokes a sense of poetic tranquility, transforming mundane cityscapes into lyrical panoramas, where even a landfill bears witness to declarations of love, and the mundane becomes infused with romanticism.
Beyond the aesthetic allure, Ferluga’s work serves as a poignant reflection on Trieste’s historical tapestry, navigating the city’s dichotomous identity with nuance and reverence. Multiculturalism, linguistic diversity, and forgotten urban spaces converge in Ferluga’s artistic realm, offering a redemptive narrative that beckons viewers to reevaluate their quotidian surroundings with newfound appreciation.
Born in Trieste in 1967, Ferluga’s artistic trajectory traverses architectural realms before finding solace in the expressive medium of painting. Inspired by socio-cultural discourse, Ferluga’s recent explorations have culminated in a consortium of heteronyms—Pavel Von Ferluh, Paul Beton, Paula Knauf, Pablo Soltero, Paul Scontemporary, Pao Lin, and P. Gold (R) Evolution—collaboratively known as “Laboratorio P.” Their collective oeuvre has garnered international acclaim, with exhibitions spanning Milan, Klagenfurt, Ljubljana, and New York City.
As “Postcards from a Suspended City” unfolds, Ferluga’s evocative brushwork serves as a testament to the transformative power of art, inviting viewers to traverse the threshold between reality and imagination, finding solace in the interstices of Trieste’s urban fabric.
