by Federica Flore

San Remo 27.05.2017

Any revolution ever occured in history stemmed from a unique historical background made of specific cultural, political and social contexts; but such dramatic changes are also the outcome of necessities that inherently drive their unfolding: are these necessities the one and only propelling force that leads individuals along the path towards the fulfillment of their creative talents? The evolutionary process concerning Maria Rita Vita artistic production is definitely affected by the variable of chance, as well, which plays a significant role in defining its overall structure.

Chance and historical progress both appear to bring their relevant contributions to the emergence of the artist unequivocally identifiable chromatic dynamics, which are easily detectable in all her painting on canvas. In a century when artists have almost unanimously got rid of all sorts of classic techniques, thus departing from nature as fundamental source of inspiration, Maria Rita Vita paintings got a new lease on life by virtue of a rebirth to renewed educational influences; tendencies which were soon meant to stay tuned to the rhythm and harmony of particular landscapes: the typical shapes and outlines of the natural sites Maria Rita Vita has been living in. They are locations which anyone would arguably yearn to live in.

In the artist’s intention to define the specific vantage points available in this territory, aside from the personal process of their internalization by her exuberant personality, the sea plays a pivotal role with the varying shades of its colours, its characteristic sound and with an even more effective element: the light reflected by its shimmering rippled surface. According to such interpretative codes, oil and acrylic paints applied by the Tuscan artist catch the beholders’ eye with a dazzling effect, while they get mesmerized by that world made of dots, dashes and lines, true to the spirit of the historical european avantguardes of the early nineteenth century.

Mentioning Jackson Pollock “dripping” technique is far too easy when it comes to comment on Maria Rita Vita way of painting. In fact, the artist hand movements skillfully let the tint-soaked paintbrush glide through her fingers and, with innovative lines, chart new trajectories never experienced before. So, the artist’s creative gestures are a phenomenological excuse for the intent to depict a cartography of her inner world, whose diverse facets are yet to be completely unveiled.

The artist’s voyage unfolds from the core-essence of the employed raw material. This is Maria Rita way of bringing into being her peculiar alchemic relationship with Nature or, in fact, with any sort of natural situation and context, and with her instinct, too. The form of arts Maria Rita is committed to are also an approriate channel through which she vents the need of expressing her creativity; it is an intent she has being harbouring all though her biography. It also turns out to be a sort of “flip side” of things, an unconvential alternative reading of figurative arts’ works; in other words, it consists in that kind of surrealistic feeling which is inherent to those artists who, riding the wave of their inborn enthusiasm, look at the world and, unexpectedly, are able to catch sight of new wonders each time. Maria Rita attention is constantly drawn by the characteristic infantile inquisitive approach of kids who use to “wonder why” on a regular basis. Bearing these premises in mind, we can appraciate the way Maria Rita artistic pusruit gives birth to a juxstaposition of bright colours which pertain, on the one hand, to the fully developed personality of the cosmos and, on the other hand, to the ambivalence of the vault oh Heaven which reveals both psychedelic features and traits of an orderly pattern.

The act of contemplating some particular realizations of the artist is tantamount to get in touch with elements of the contemporary Eastern World, whose ambience is no longer defined that much by the presence of odalisques, as it is nowadays by a surrealistic metaphysical style.

These works’ main characteristic is the strikingly high prevalence of natural implications. This is also the case for those works that, at a first glance, might only dispay artificial elements and structures. Whenever Maria Rita makes use of lacquers, colours’ application is much more adjustable, a prerequisite for rendering the unique shades the artist is capable of; we are dealing with glossy hues that only some precious stones’ texture boasts, provided their surface are finely sanded. This “embellished” subgroup of pictures is the outcome of the artist’s painstaking devotion to the tiniest detail; when this care for precision and neatness extends on a larger scale on the painting, as if it were magnified by a lens, it significantly affects the beholder’s perception: the observers can almost litterly become entomologists while admiring the iridescent specks of a thin layer of dust portrayed on Amazonian butterflies’ wings, or the metallic glares from some beetles’ unquestionably beautiful shells. Thus, the intrepid endeavour of the artist gets even more exacting, along with the attentive contemplation by the observers, who are pleasantly tempted to linger for some more time in front of her pictures. It would be fair to speak in terms of an “archeology of the image” by critics, and this is particularly the case for works on which a putty knife was employed. The “overlaying” technique developed by the artist through the application of paint, coat over coat, lends a genuine uncontaminated look to the canvas, which appear for what they are: three-dimentional pictorial pieces of art, reproducing sceneries where your mind might get lost wandering around. They offer natural shapes and outlines interpreted as manifestations of the powerful human synesthetic feeling when it’s moved to compassion. At times, this feeling is catalyzed in shapes looking more familiar, at a closer inspection: forms thet surprisingly resemble cone-like fossilised remains of died out animals, vortices, and Hippocampus’ tails. In this respect, the spiralling planes and volumes we have just mentioned add to those created by the depicted water currents and whirlpools; maybe Maria Rita Vita concern wasn’t to focus only on water’s apperances or, at least, was not interested in the sea water contours only; maybe the artist refers to water as a whole lot of liquid elements representing reality.

In this sense, the artist regularly addresses to a complementary connection between orderly layouts and chaos, between symmetry and discrepancy, living beings and inorganic matter, diverse inter-dimensional ratios and pure goal-oriented drive.

The artist paintings still preserve this power: that which creates an articulate well-conceived system whereby she tangibly envision voyages transcending ordinary space-time reality. This is what the artist achieves resorting to just the right amount of fantasy necessary to highlight unprecedented directions.

She spans a wide range of sceneries, from the universe to the sea: nocturnal constellations, elecrtically sparkling abysses, well aware of what the naked eye of men cannot grasp, so that the observer doesn’t get lost. The visual perspectives she depicts are sometimes creatures of our times, brought to public fruition by cutting-edge technology with its huge digital telescopes. We cannot help trusting in the opportunity of letting the universe vastness take our breath away, hoping that the power of a curious creativity will make good on its promises.

Arts undoubtedly serve the purpose of the aformantioned asymmetric relationship between forces: the one which is embodied in men, and the force of nature. In other words, art can push the boundaries beyond memories from the visible reality, it can lead to envision and pick out things that have not yet been discoveried, contents which have not yet revealed themselves clearly to our consciousness.

To describe the whole progress of Maria Rita Vita artistic pursuit, still ongoing to date, a honest, transparent and authentic approach is enough; a so-defined attitude is perfectly mirrored in the artist’s confident strokes of paintbrush on canvas. Sure enough, they bring about fundamental intervals into the narration of the subjects. Though this “figurative storytelling” is rather informal, it seems to be nonetheless accompanied by a sort of voice-over in the background, a non-intrusive “fil rouge” which does never prevail on the “staged acts”.

This voice can fairly be compared to that of story-tellers, emitted by those coloured record-players for children that were all the rage years ago, and helped kids’ falling asleep at bedtime; alternativly, this “voice-over” effects are comparable to those of reading a book, when you picture in your mind intangible avatars of the characters featured in its pages. It seems like they come to existence for real, despite their delusive nature. In a quite similar manner, Maria Rita Vita sets the observers’ imagination in motion, being able to garner their utter involvement in the context of her pictures. The evocative power inherent to the unique personality of every character in the artist’s works actually appears to be a living element; its reiterated representation significantly highlights its inherent value. The structure of graphical representations at the basis of informality traces back to the anticipatory productions pertaining to the design sector, with particular reference to the British movement called “Art&Craft”. A revival of this trend from the UK is appreciable in the chromatic and formal coordinations that Maria Rita Vita obtains and keeps introducing over and over again, sometimes in frantic reiterations, and less frequently some other time. By virtue of such strategies, she introduces innovative stylistic patterns on fabrics and wallpapers. Maria Rita Vita plays with her palette colours like a conductor with an orchestra; she inserts rhythmical rhymes by means of paintbrush strokes and of her putty knives. These entanglemnts of modules give birth to her “series”.

As a matter of fact, single oustanding works can hardly be picked out from Vitian collections; each piece of art is a part of integral wholes: consistent lots of items which add more value to the artist’s endeavours, if read from a comprehensive perspective. Such a vantage point allow the public to take in more accurately the artist’s personality and character; two elements which fators into the “blu-light shining woman” definition of Maria Rita Vita.

In this sense, we refer to her “Blu della speranza” (“The blue of hope”), definitely an astounding work, which is built upon a simple graphic element: “a kandiskijan dot”

In Maria Rita’s own words: “Here I am…right here! Just trust in life!”

So much enthusiastic drive in just one short assertion. True to the spirit of this message, the artist’s works inspire so many other meaningful words, as only a “poet by painting” can do, which Maria Rita Vita undoubtedly is.

While admiring her diverse and valuable artistic production, observers can see part of themselves mirrored not only in the colours musicailty and in the communion with an art leading to abstraction, but also in more traditional emotions and feelings conveyed by works such as. “Getsemani – Orto degli ulivi.” (“Gethsemane – Olive trees’ garden)

In this oil painting on canvas, blood is shed on an olive tree, so that the latter comes across as a plant embodied in the flesh. A participatory feeling of empathy exudes from this tree, which seems to share Jesus Christ’s fate. Nature itself is taking part to his suffering.

Thanks to Maria Rita Vita, a new onthology of the Olive tree is revealed: it becomes a symbol of a universally shared condition, manifesting itself right in between respect and love, survival and hope.

All this is displayed for the sake of our common Good.

Federica Flore (1985) historian and art critic. From 2012 collaborates with the San Remo casino for whom she has curated numerous exhibitions among which those dedicated to Guttuso, Baj, Balla, Sassu. Has collaborated with the San Remo local council co curating the inaugural exhibition in the Santa Tecla MITA. – Tessuti d’artista. She is in charge as exhibition critic of the Archimania studio. She is the author of many publications also attending conferences related to the relationship between art,history,politics and ethics.She collaborates with the Academy of the Pigna and teaches cultural and environmental subjects at the Academy of Belle Arti San Remo.

I watched Maria Rita Vita’s works for the first time about one year ago and at once I was extremely impressed for the strong dynamics of composition that clearly recalls he “action painting” in the use of spatulas and brushes in creating water bubbles, labyrinthine paths and so on; but overall the colours: they are never enough… trying to join themselves… to latch on together…to run after one another…struggling to become the main character of her drawings. The result is similar to a battlefield where the different fighters have their own particular roles but always springing their indipendent power.
Any attempt to lock up the colours inside symbolic bars, even when they loose their early force, fades away and gives up overcoming the desolate white areas where you can glimpse circular movements into transparency symbolizing unsolved passions. Sometimes Maria Rita’s paintings show a prevalence of “Red and Green on Yellow and White “ but this skirmish of colours never disturbs the harmony of the global architecture. Everyone, watching her works can observe this silent struggle among colours to triumph the one over the others. Lines that are often so important in abstract drawings such as in Hans Hartung’s, here, I mean in Marria Rita’s ones, are completely absorbed in an overwhelming whirl of colours. Her paintings show the temporary and fleeting result of a titanic fight between the brightest colours and the faintest ones, the latter always destined to be defeated. And the artist, following the creation pulses through the blend of colours, is forced to tell about the evolution of this never-ending battle. So in this process she becomes herself the destiny strength; the means by which an original and unique creation springs out to portray the victory of a specific and selected champion. To understand better her research we have to keep in mind the Medieval World often represented in drawings on tapestry where every action is entirely developed and tells the short story plot like in “Decamerone”. In fact in all her worls clearly emerges the fear for empty spaces and the artist’s constant struggle to fill this dreaming “horror vacui” with Venus fly-trap flowers, botanic plants and other naturalistic elements in their growing and blossoming process, that is to say, in their striving moment to emerge and keep life and inform the entire world that they are like in a kind of physical explosion of colours. This painting technique can be defined as “action painting” in order to describe better the artist’s pure and creative expression in her physical production and acting. This is the “key” to understand the way in which Maria Rita Vita expresses her existential struggle and the reason why she always draws remainig strongly linked to Nature which suggests her themes and colours that become strictly connected with her palette and her life.
Umberto Vattani is an Ambassador and he is the only Diplomat that was twice appointed General Secretary at Foreign Office In the 2000 he founded the “Collezione Farnesina” in which there are the works of the Great Italian Artists of the first half of the 1900s and a wide documentation on the art of the second part of the same Century. Later as ICE (Overseas Trade Board) President , he arranged important art Exhibions in Beijing, Shanghai, and South America. Nowadays he is President of Italy-Japan and Italy-China Foundations and of VIU (International University of Venice) located in San Servolo island, where he has put works by Arnaldo Pomodoro, Pietro Consagra, Sandro Chia and Fabrizio Plessi. He continues to promote international exchanges on contemporary art. Recent Ehibitions in Venice are on ; Michelangelo Pistoletto ( The Third Paradise), Vettor Pisani, Oliviero Rainaldi, Marco Lodola and other Italian and Foreign artists. More recently he set up Exhibitions on “Waiting for Qing Fen” at “Fondazione Cini” and “ The World of Han Meilin” at Ca’ Foscari University.

by Lorenzo Canova

06.3.2017

Immersed in a sea of light, a journey through a flowering of colour, a descent into the ferment of coloured materials and the freedom of her energy: the works of Maria Rita Vita are placed in the grand tradition of gestural art and of the path that leads directly from the sources that spring from the unconscious, following a passage that from surrealism meets the American action painting and a significant part of the European “Art Informal” movement.
Maria Rita Vita however, rarely uses a dramatic palette dominated by blacks, reds and greys that gives a sense of lost existence of the generation of artists active immediately after the Second World War, she seems to have modelled her painting on another plane ,in a conversation with a brighter side then the naturalistically informal, a deliberate retelling from a history of the study of colour and light that is found at the beginning of impressionist art.
In fact one of the references chosen by Maria Rita Vita seems to be the artist Claude Monet, in particular his splendid water lily series, in a flow of liquid colour arising in direct comparison with the splendid lyrical vibrations of the master impressionist in which the shapes are erased to become a sentiment of panic,a nature not anymore envisaged but penetrated deep into the heart of the being.
It is not by chance that Maria Rita Vita’s paintings seem to be dominated by nostalgia for the spring, for the rebirth and for the restored warmth of her light taken to a higher frequency, an almost mystical elevation of the extension of herself which reflects in the fervid interweaving of brush strokes and droplets, in a dripping canvas like a coloured inlay which unites logic and emotion ,giving sentiment,finding balance in a harmony not infrequently based on a composition playing with a rhythm of opposites.
Therefore the artists paintings are made up of abstract and imaginary landscapes ,a metaphorical delight for the eye in a deep relationship with nature and it’s beauty ,with a deep tactile look that meets the objects through a perceptual guide of a picture seen as an instrument of interpretation and reconstruction of the world.
The artist therefore uses with efficacy her artistic method to give life to a style ,that at the same time is quick and thoughtful,a compositional system where the strength of the colours, the energy of the brushstrokes,of the droplets and the thickening of materials becomes balanced and made more vivid thanks to the light mesh of subtle , intangible , interconnected marks.
So Maria Rita Vita traces visible itineraries that go from the microscopy of the cells to the unmeasurable stars of the cosmos, she drops into the deep obscure spaces and discovers jewelled stars born into the abyss of an unknown universe.
In this way, the artist returns to the origins of abstract art, to an affinity with one of its founding fathers ,Wassily Kandinsky, with music,the synchronised and synesthetic rapport between notes and colours , in a coloured space which goes from the immeasurable perfection and harmony of the heavens to the imperceptible sounds of the small things, from the dangerous and deathly song of the sirens to the white song of the angels of which whose presence seems to be alluded to with absolute candour in a painting layout which ascends in a glow of gold.
Maria Rita Vita elevates like this ,her art, like a bird of prey that travels the fiery sky, she transforms the muddy and essential substances in the silt of the riverbed,the fruitful humid legacy of a substance which fertilisers the earth, making it intangible like a memory of a scent that blows from the blooming blues and violets and brings it back richer ,the throbbing stratified material in an accumulation of fragments of memory,thickened in the tangible depth of the hours that pass rapidly and where in which developing memories are based in a tangle of interwoven moments, in the cobweb of a time evoked and redeemed by the hand that paints the picture on the canvas.

Lorenzo Canova is an associate professor at the university of “Studi del Molise” , where he founded and directs the ARATRO ( archive of electronic art-laboratory for contemporary art). His chosen fields are modern and contemporary art and in particular sixteenth century roman , second half of the twentieth century and the last generation of Italian and international artists.. He has curated various exhibitions in museums and public spaces of which ,in collaboration with the Minister for Foreign affairs the Farnesina collection (with Maurizio Calvesi),“Experimental” dedicated to young artists and “Futuro Italiano” at the European Parliament Bruxelles. He collaborates with the Avvenire newspaper and is a member of the scientific committee and board of the Giorgio and Isa De Chirico foundation.