Kathmandu:

Clearly, the long, white haired Italian artist is in awe of openness, seemingly symbolising the purity of mind, clarity of thought. Artist Giovanni Battista Ambrosini grapples with the wish to infuse in his paintings the energy of that purity, which is best captured if art is allowed to flourish in Nature, mingling with the wind and water, earth, fire and space.

Most of the Viterbo-born Ambrosini’s paintings in the exhibition ‘The Work of the Wind’ at Siddhartha Art Gallery, Baber Mahal, which was inaugurated on November 13 by Italian art critic Enrico Mascelloni, are a product of his deep fascination, among others, with the wind.

In Mhaipi Gumba, he allowed his the colours in his canvas to romance with the wind and the rain for the entire monsoon season. The paintings got their forms and he added on them his trademark — shapes that resemble bird and child at the same time. His other paintings, most of which show his trademark make different images, are also on exhibit.

Ambrosini has mainly used mixed media. Among others, his use of the carpet medium is quite interesting.

Senior Nepali artist Ratan Kumar Rai remarked, “Although his approach cannot be said to be extraordinary, his experimentation in various mediums is definitely noteworthy.” Another noted artist and art teacher Mukesh Malla also appreciated Ambrosini’s diligent

efforts at precisely depicting what he wants. “Through his work on carpet, he also tries to show how art is incorporated in our daily life,” he added.

The inauguration of the exhibition was followed by a music and dance session. Young artistes Shyam Nepali on sarangi, Babu Raja Maharjan on tabla, Raman Maharjan on flute and Kiran Nepali on guitar entertained the masses with their folk and fusion instrumentals, which included Ice and Chod Rama Lai. Then in their following numbers, four beautiful belles, representing four cultures of Nepal, dance merrily. The dance basically tried to depict unity in diversity.

The exhibition is on till 27 November