In
a rich, well-recognized career spanning over four decades, the
artist has perfected a technique in which subject matter and
material are intimately connected. Just like the fourteenth century
masters before him, Pelleschi creates his own pigment by grinding
natural minerals. The powder is then blended with linseed oil for
viscosity and texture.
Each composition is gradually formed with fine layers of color that
are applied by brush and by hand over a base of gesso. Because the
oil paint must be completely dry before adding a new layer, this
painstaking process takes months to complete.
The final step is a unique speckling technique that results in a
hazy quality suggesting the memory of a place in time. Just as in a
kaleidoscope, a myriad of points of color look different from every
angle and distance, and under each new light.
Both his exploration of colors and their vibrations and his research
into the density and the weight of the material allow his work to be
not just visual but also tactile. Because of this fusion of modern
and ancient techniques, museum curators and the art historian, Dr.
Jean Audigier, praise his exceptional ability to attain a very
distinctive style among contemporary artists.
Francesco Pelleschi has earned
more than 150 prizes, including the Primo Nazionale “San Giorgio”
Award twice, an honor no other artist has ever achieved in Italy.
Francesco's art works are being exhibited at the
www.galerieelektra.com
art gallery in Sausalito California.