Welcome to the Art of Loving Italy website, where I wax on wildly and enthusiastically about art and Italy. But that doesn’t mean my posts will always focus on Italian art or Italian artists. The Art of Loving Italy is a mentality – a way of seeing the world and all the beauty in it. I, therefore, intend to celebrate all creative endeavors brought to life by a collective of global artists, past and present – who make the world a better and more interesting place to be.
One such artist is Alberto Pancorbo, a contemporary Spanish born painter.
Pancorbo has an extraordinary way of looking at the world and capturing it on canvas.
Raised in Soria, Spain, during the 1950s, this Spanish artist took an early interest in art and painting and, at the age of eighteen, moved to Barcelona to continue his studies. There he was influenced by well-revered artists like Velasquez and El Greco, and surrealist painters, like Magritte and Salvador Dalì.
Surrealism seeks to tap into the unconscious mind, revealing a mind-boggling juxtaposition of irrational imageries. It tends to override rational thinking, and taps instead into our sensory feelings and emotions.
Pancorbo’s images, like his surrealist predecessors, are bizarre, illogical, absurd, and yet they are also poetic and mysterious. He has a flair for combining fantasy with romantic realism. I find each painting by Pancorbo to be evocative, and I want to enter into the fluid colors and float around in the painted spaces he creates as I wait for the meanings to be revealed to me.
As we all carry around different personal experiences, and yes, baggage — I believe each of Pancorbo’s canvases contains a private and personal message for each of us, thus making each painting a unique experience for every viewer — and that is the beauty of surrealism.
Here is one person’s view of Pancorbo’s painting: Il Salotto di Rossana. They paired this painting with the poem I translate beneath this image.
“E’ un amore impossibile,” ti dico.
Ma scopri che sorridi se mi guardi, e scopro che sorrido se ti vedo.
“Di notte” – tu confessi – “io ti penso.”
Ti penso giorno e notte e mi domando se stai pensando a me, mentre ti penso”.
La società, le regole, i doveri, ma tremi quando stringo le tue mani.
“Meglio felici o meglio allineati?” ti chiedo.
E il tuo sorriso accende il giorno,
cambiando veste ad ogni mio pensiero.
“Questo amore è possibile,” ti dico.
“Questo amore è possibile” mi dici.
“It is an impossible love,” I say to you.
But you realize you smile when you look at me, and you see that I smile if I see you.
“At night” – you confess – “I think of you.”
I think about you day and night and I wonder if you are thinking about me, while I’m thinking about you.”
“Society has rules, duties, but you tremble when I squeeze your hands.”
“Is it better to be happy, or better to conform?” I ask you.
And your smile lights up the day, changing the color of my every thought.
“This is an impossible love,” I say to you.
“This is a love that is possible,” you say to me.
Now tell me… what do you see in Pancorbo’s paintings?
For more images Visit WOoArts Gallery Page and
Pancorbo’s Website
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