LIGHT AND SOLITUDE
IN RINALDI'S RESEARCH AND ART OF ENGRAVING
More than a century ago an outstanding intellectual, Giaime Pintor, observed how the river of creativity had already overflown its banks. What was left for future artists to do was to recollect, rearrange, adapt tradition, culture and history to a modern, concrete conception of the world.
Bruno Rinaldi's research into the cultural roots to which he belongs, is expressed through engravings showing shelves of volumes and objects meant to represent a number of European countries.Rinaldi's technique evolves in unexplored directions in search of new images of human relations without, anyway, breaking the continuity with his past artistic experiences. The result is positive thought, faith in man and reason. In the 25 engravings that, in 2003 he dedicates to the " European Roots", Rinaldi achieves some surprising results through a special use of light.
Actually light has invaded the field of shadow, without eliminating it, though, but modifying and incorporating it. It's a crystal-clear light, with no precise source of origin; it invades the shelves with books and objects, sometimes, as a misty presence, sometimes illuminating single areas and giving volume to the photographs, the small boxes of dried flowers, the knick-knacks from souvenir shops.
On the other hand, thr other component of Rinaldi's poetical research is solitude and, in an apparently contradictory way, it is the unifying principle af all the elements in this work about Europe.
The condition of solitude is not due to an intimist attitude; Rinaldi always lives the relationship with the world, but loves to go back where things exist in a state of pure presence and beauty.
Melting together light and solitude, translating this act into artistic, poetic reality is the peculiar experience Rinaldi has gone through in the last two decades.
The inventive process is one of reduction and simplification meant to give back to each object its original, essential value. It is as if the artist wanted to eliminate all redundant, decorative signs, giving life to a space where lyric vision blossoms in its absolute essence.
When Rinaldi engraves such works as Italy, Holland, Spain and Denmark, he creates neat plates which are rarely to be seen in our country today, since light itself is drawn in them, like a fine, impalpable, dusty veil. And with the dust, he gently invites you to slowly sink into the past.
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