Portraying Love by Luca Giovagnoli and Elisabetta Angeli

Two Italian artists, Luca Giovagnoli and Elisabetta Angeli, are devoted to portray love through their drawings and paintings.

Related Articles: Get to know Pau Escat and Casa Estudio Granados: a very special art space in the heart of Barcelona, (UN)FAIR – The Fair that supports the art market towards the new generation of collectors

Elisabetta Angeli and Luca Giovagnoli are the artists who partnered to create “Progetto 29.4” - four series of serigraphs on fine paper, graphic-illustrated creations with successive involvement of paint. The project was born thanks ​​Matteo Sormani’s notion and idea, who managed to identify a common message in the works of the two artists: the proximity of contents and subjects. This could only lead to a collaboration. The two artists come directly from the Romagna’s scene, even if in a non-explicit way, both artists give shape to the essence of the city of Rimini.

Luca Giovagnoli, born in Rimini in 1963 and currently living there, works between his birth place and Milano. He begins working as a graphic designer briefly after finishing his studies and exhibited his first solo show in 1990. Elisabetta Angeli, born in 1980 and living in Rimini for as long as she lived, studied graphics and photography at the Art Institute “Federico Fellini” in Riccione. She worked as a graphic designer before transforming into an artist.

The affinity between the two artists’ works are immediately visible: from a chromatic point of view, the dull colours and neutral shades dominate their works. Their artworks represent a time that is moving away unstoppably.

The first series presented is the so called “Le tuffatrici”, where the female figure prevails and a lot of emphasis is placed toward their strong corporeality. The divers do not have a clear identity as their faces appear indefinite and anonymous. This leaves the viewer with a feeling of incompleteness and suspicion. Suspended between melancholy and modernity, the main characters are icons, mindful witnesses of an indelible Rimini.

Thanks to the particular printing of the serigraphs of “Progetto 29.4”, which allows the creation of different volumes, each of them is conceived as a unique piece.

In their own works, the artists also have affinities when referring to the subjects; often two people demonstrating love and affection towards one another. In the artwork Love Affair I, by Elisabetta Angeli, some strong and incisive traits of the couple are shown, such as the smile, the hair colour, and items like the man’s glasses, leaving a veil of doubt by hiding important features such as the eyes, nose and brows. The chosen features are able to characterise the couple, portraying them as happy and successful despite the incompleteness of their faces. The artist uses simple nuances, that maintain the elegance of the artwork.

In the artwork Couple, (2020) by Luca Giovagnoli, the prevalence of blue in the background gives the viewer a sense of melancholy topped by a lover’s passionate kiss on the neck. The artist brings to light the physical touch between the protagonists, that seem captivated by the moment and very intimate. As well as the contrast between the dark hair and the light colour of the skin, the artist plays with the colours of the sky and the sea, unifying them and appearing as one. Similarly, this technique is used with the main characters’ bodies, showing a deeper and intense intimacy between them.  

Cover Image: Elisabetta Angeli e Luca Giovagnoli. 29.4 #1, 2021. Courtesy of Art-Preview

Written by: Sveva Berto