THE PAINTING OF
GIOVANNI FRANKO AS
VITAL ENERGY
BY PAOLO RIZZI
Lyric image of
Venice turns into
pure energy.This is
the latest
transition of
Giovanni
Franko’s
painting.It could
surprise:but the
coherence is
undeniable.From one
side(until
some years
ago)there is a
trasformation of
Venice in color
matter,like
gothic-byzantine
enhacement of
souch beloved
city.The sparkle of
polychromic
mosaics;anxious
succession
of polifore
windows;architectural
pace of fascinated
palaces.The same
titles,also when
picture
was inclining
towards magic
abstraction,were
indicating venetian
topics such as “High
water in
Venice”,”Amphitheatric
city”,”Fog in
lagoon”,”Moon in the
city”.
This fairy-tale
theme was availing
of very fine taste
of matter,almost
fresco characterized
by
iridescent
tones,curvilinear
cadence from very
clear relief.
There was(I’m
speaking about
pictures that now we
can identify as
later works)attempt
to come to
typically
geometrical
Venice;it becomes
almost the category
of spirit.
Let’s consider now
recent works.The
term that this time
recurs frequently in
titles is “energy”.
It’s about the
fusion between the
plastical
valuables(for
example in the
gothic windows lined
up on
palaces).The”windows”
are spreading
themselfs in the
space in which the
disorder is visible
but
where even if with
difficulty,we can
recognize mental
order.That’s why
Franko speaks often
about
“conceptual
moments”.The gothic
windows are
transforming
themselfs in boats
violently shaked
by the
storm,or(this is my
interpretation)in
palisades of shaken
rhytm.How many times
the clips of
my daily work are
spreading themselfs
on my writing table
and I’m observing
curiously before
collecting them in
a small box.The
impression is
similar.I’m asking
myself:it must be
some kind
of energy that has
just slipped out to
me and that turns
chaos in to the
order.
Franko becomes
demiurge that leads
everything to the
order.
It’s clear that the
painting of Franko
has reached the
emblematical
condition of energy
fixed by
pictorical
material.”The time
in the space”(this
is the title of
picture per square
size)is indicating
us
a rotative movement
where the groups of
spalls noticed are
spreading themselfs
in the space,giving
us The Illusion of
something(time?)that
seems to escape us
in the space but
that we are able to
recognize cohesion
of beating.In
“Transition of
energy” we can
notice the
introducing in the
recomposition of
the space,the
electrical blu that
break the monotony
of the trip towards
infinite.
Sometimes happens
that all this
doesn’t hold;that’s
the case of
“Energetic
confusion”in which
we
can see
triangles(that
originally was
gothic
windows)vanish
themselfs in the
space;and it’s
impression about I
was telling
before,and that’s
breaking of balance
between clips
spreaded
confusedly on my
writing table.The
life is so;a
continuous
transition from
order to disorder.
The fact that even
we ourselfs find it
heard to recognize
the two elements in
contraposition.
So we must turn our
eyes in the top.In
that point in the
sun(a title of one
picture is “Solar
energy”)
we can find the
perfect
scansion.However the
distance can become
dizziness;and the
colour-heat
can make us blind in
the attempt to see
what’s not possible
see.
So everything is
more clear.The
painting is a tool
through which we can
try “to see
beyond”of woad.
I’ve
underlined this,also
in the case of
Franko,citing the
aphorism of Juan de
la Cruz:
“we are here not to
see,but not to
see”.The difference
between”to
see”and”not to see”
determines
our faith.The
painting teach us to
distinguish what’s
true and what’s
false;and that’s the
vital energy
of inertia.At the
end from the cosmic
mass goes out at
stratospherical
speed a blue tongue
that is
directed towards
its”double”.Shall
they meet?For
sure.The picture of
Franko(entitled”Energetic
core)
is itself a
metaphor.We are
waiting in a split
second and the final
bang will come.
The back is dark;but
maybe the blue light
will end to
predominate;it will
not be turned
off.Where
is a true art,the
hope survives.This
is the case of
Franko,where the
quality of painting
permits to shine.
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