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Battle of Colors - Abstract Expressionist Painting, Orange, Turquoise, Purple

Creator: Ruggero Vanni
Offered by: Arco Gallery

Description
Ruggero Vanni’s Proelium Colorum, or Battle of Colors, is a mesmerizing abstract painting that captures the viewer’s attention with its rich, dynamic interplay of colors and textures. Swirls of fiery oranges and reds clash with cooling waves of blues, teals, and purples, creating a vivid contrast that evokes a cosmic or elemental energy. The textured surface amplifies this tension, as if the colors themselves are in a turbulent dance, locked in a visual duel yet harmonizing through Vanni’s skillful layering and composition. The title, Proelium Colorum, suggests a confrontation, and Vanni’s brushwork makes this apparent; the piece feels alive with movement, pulling viewers into its depths. Ideal for modern interiors, this artwork brings an intense, sophisticated energy to any space, inviting conversation and introspection.

Growing up in Rome and now based in New York, Vanni's work beautifully captures the transition from classicism to contemporary art, emphasizing the importance of color and light in his visual practice, with each stroke and hue intricately weaving a visual narrative that captivates the viewer. Whereas Vanni's older paintings are more rigid in their spatial construction and clearly marked by references to classical masters like 18th-century painter Gian Battista Tiepolo, Vanni has evolved through the years towards freedom of gestural expression. This painting is part of his most recent works, where he achieved a balance between these different aspects of his practice, creating canvases where "classical" compositions are born from instinctive thick brush strokes that are first cut out and then carefully reassembled one by one on the surface of the canvas.

Whereas the expressionist nature of Vanni's brush strokes anchors him in a contemporary context referencing American Abstract Expressionism, the classicist roots of his pictorial practice remain evident in his concept that painting is an extension of architecture, intended not only to enhance the aesthetic appeal of the surroundings but also to create a unique and immersive experience for all who interact with the space.

Vanni's work is figurative in that it depicts a three-dimensional space, but it is also non-representational, avoiding any form that could be clearly recognizable. His paintings allude, in Vanni's words, "to natural phenomena, in a raw state, devoid of the limiting constrictions of literal representation. Nature is there as a landscape, a view looking up in the air or plunging down underwater. Imagery is kept on the edge of recognition, so the final association is created in the mind".

Ruggero Vanni was born in 1958 Paris, France, and lives and works in New York.
Private collections include the Pinacoteca of Aosta, Italy; Irving Cancer Center, Columbia University, NY; Yale Eye Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT.

More Information

Documentation:	Signed
Period:	New
Materials:	Canvas,Oil
Condition:	New.
Styles / Movements:	Contemporary
Dealer Reference #:	RV2405
Incollect Reference #:	752139

Dimensions

W.	76 in;	H.	52 in;	D.	1.5 in;
W.	193.04 cm;	H.	132.08 cm;	D.	3.81 cm;

Message from Seller:

Arco Gallery, founded in 2013 by Valentina Puccioni, offers a truly personalized art experience in the heart of SoHo, NYC. Located in a historic loft and open by appointment only, the gallery provides exclusive, intimate viewings, away from the mainstream gallery scene. P: 212.226.1207 E: valentina@arcogallery.com