Artist Date | Ukiyoe

It’s not every day that an artist date occurs with two art journalists. On an early spring day, Rosanna Fumai and Fabiola Cinque met me in my Studio, with Rosanna’s high school daughter and my teen son Ludovico. Of course an interview and lots of photos followed. After the Studio visit, we were off in an Uber to Palazzo Braschi to see a show that I was so excited to see. After a bite in the gorgeous Vivi café, we migrated up the grand staircase of the Palazzo to enter the “Floating World.”

 

The show did not disappoint. Each room showed artwork from the Japanese Edo period (1603-1868) in a theme, with varying background colored walls to match. Yet, the magic of this show was in the details, especially as depicted on fabrics. The painted and printed details breathed life into kimonos adorned with natural motifs, geometric intricate patterns, leaving me captivated by the exquisite combinations, often all in one single garment.

 

My artist date companions were equally as bewitched by the show’s beauty. Ms. Fumai is also an art history teacher, and her enthusiasm and raw joy is palpable. Even our teen children got into the spirit, entering a visual world that was truly foreign to them, but where they began to observe for themselves what was beautiful.

The show culminated in a gift shop, which itself was a treasure trove and completely inspirational. The gorgeous works we had just seen were printed on all kinds of products – and we all discovered a mutual passion for slim journals. My writer friends prefer the lined ones, of course – I opted for the blank pages.

I’m looking forward to working on the Laudato Sie show premiering this October in Palazzo Braschi in those very same exhibition rooms.