Lights and Shadows

The painted characters in this collection have wooden clothes and iron bodies. A spotlight peeks out of the frame and transforms the contours of the scene: it doubles each body with a thick shadow on canvas. Light floods the painting with shadows and relief: the scene is filled with hidden characters, scripted to return to the fore and tell the secrets of iron, wood, brass, and acrylic paste.

SHADOW WOMAN

Size: 124 x 84 cm
Materials: iron, olive wood, acrylic, spotlight
Date: 2021

“Woman in Shadow” is the first painting in which the artist plays with light and shadow. A spotlight casts a shadow behind the embossed iron silhouette, and a second character emerges from the background, enriching the painting’s composition, which was already complex due to the presence of materials such as olive wood and embossed wrought iron.

The shadow distorts the proportions of the figure, which, from three-dimensional, reverts to adherence to the background.

The olive wood central body is carved and its grooves are painted with dark green acrylic.

The depicted subject wears a handbag constructed by overlapping two iron plates: from the cuts in the outer plate, the color of the inner plate can be discerned.

The tones of the painting create a color contrast between the woman’s face, her shadow, and what she is wearing: the crimson of the handbag challenges the predominant dark green, while the shadow of the face accentuates the bright reflections of the iron.

Through “Woman in Shadow,” Miglietta invites the viewer to explore the delicate balance between strength and vulnerability, solidity and transparency.

RED DRESS

Size: 190 x 202 cm
Materials: iron, acrylic, coffee powder, spotlight.
Date: 2023

In the fashion fervor of the new millennium, the famous supermodel Agnese Zogla sported a masterpiece by Gianni Calignano. Represented in this work through wood and iron, the dress restores dynamism to the figure without ever stopping her striding down the catwalk.

An olive wood bodice–in which chrome-plated iron strips alternate with carved sections–is the base of a 110-cm-high iron skirt formed of iron decorations, painted in red acrylic and interlocked with each other: like saffron stigmas and robin’s feathers, they recreate the wave of the supermodel’s stride.

 

The face of the subject depicted emerges powerfully through six overlapping iron plates, each painted with even strokes of acrylic. The result is a portrait that captures an ‘expression of grace and determination.

Two spotlights invade the scene like catwalk lights and, together with the dark background, help push the viewer’s gaze toward the raised subject.

Here silk turns to wood and what was once cotton becomes iron. Materials that immortalize our passage on the catwalk of the world, insensitive to the passage of time.

BRIDE

measurements: 190 x 128 (+ 23 out) cm materials: iron, brass, acrylic, coffee, light date: 2023

The protagonist of the work exhibited here, framed three-quarters of the way through, presents herself on the scene through an interplay of solids and voids. An iron silhouette shapes the outline of her face and arms, while two overlapping iron plates compose the dress in the foreground. Both painted in acrylic, the underlying plate renders the hue of gold, while the surface plate fades from green to turquoise. The patterning of the dress emerges through a series of laser cuts: the color of the underlying slab, thus, comes out in a series of highlights. The dress trespasses beyond the conventional limits of the frame, transforming the surrounding space into an integral part of the work. The woman’s gaze is directed to the center of the painting, where many small brass hexahedrons in relief form the belly of a vase. The interlocking composition of the hexahedrons is irregular: the vase seems to move before the eyes of the woman and anyone who tries to capture its contours. Even the flowers in the vase and the table, on which the vase rests, crumble and lose their boundaries in a background of turquoise, ochre, emerald green, and dark brown hues.
The scene is complicated by the presence of two spotlights within the frame, which propose a faint, subtle and uncertain shadow on the canvas. The use of the impasto technique with sac à poche creates additional movement in this work that plays with planes of reality and mimics the fragility of things. The ethereal and surreal atmosphere demonstrates the complexity of the relationships a subject has with reality, through continuous transformations and incessant distortions.

HALLUCINATION

Size: 122 x 227 cm
Materials: olive wood, iron, acrylic, coffee powder, spotlight
Date: 2023

The work depicts a reclining woman, created from a combination of olive wood and iron. The iron plate delicately shapes her face, arm and legs, suggesting the contours of a body both strong and fragile. Details of the face, such as the mouth, eyes, and hair foliage, are highlighted by reddish acrylic accents.
The figure’s torso, taken from an olive wood root, is embellished with a carved sweater, dyed Paris green.
The work’s texture is enhanced by the use of the impasto technique and enhanced by coffee powder, which lends a tactile sensation to an already three-dimensional work.

The background, painted in patches, recreates a fragmented scenery and immerses the subject in an unreal, dreamy, confused atmosphere.

The left section, in white acrylic, contrasts sharply with the rest of the composition and suddenly interrupts the visual rhythm, “swallowing” the end of the woman’s legs. The center of the work is delicately shaded in powdery shades, while the upper part of the background is dominated by brown tones. In the lower part, intense shades develop from copper to light blue, creating a chromatic dynamism. Spots of the same tone are also present on the right, around the figure’s face, amplifying the expressiveness of the entire composition.

The integration of light within the work blurs sharp, textural contours, casting more than one shadow on the canvas: a vibrant, electric effect runs through the painting, inviting the viewer to explore the fusion of matter and light, presence and absence.

BALLA-RÒ

Size: 170 x 124 cm
Materials: iron, olive wood, acrylic, spotlight.
Date: 2022

The work features the artist’s wife, Rosanna (Rò), emerging from the encounter of olive wood, iron, light, shadow and paint.

The embossed skirt consists of an olive wood trunk worked and then painted with poppy red acrylic. Supported by an iron scaffold, the skirt appears to be pleated and in motion, barely escaping the woman’s hand and captured in an instant of abandon. The rest of the woman’s body, however, is obtained from iron.

The figure as a whole expresses an intriguing duality. The tilted head, the arms in a dancer’s position, and the suggestion of a moment caught in flagrante give an atmosphere of uncertainty and embarrassment.

The acme of distortion is reached through the light of a spotlight peeking out from the frame. A direct shadow stands out on the canvas and merges with the iron silhouette, generating a double representation of the figure: one in metal and one in shadow.

The color choice of the background amplifies the mystery of the work, with shades of green ranging from pea to emerald to deep forest green. The subdivision of the background into sections with admixtures of orange and gray, concrete-colored squares, creeping misshapen curves, and series of crooked squares creates a captivating and enveloping atmosphere.

Wife, mother, child, stranger or dancer?
The painting invites continuous questioning, in an interplay of light projections and interpretations.

LIE

Size: 120 x 182 cm
Materials: iron, olive wood, acrylic, coffee powder, spotlight.
Date: 2022

The work depicts a female figure through an iron outline that captures only her left side, from her head to her knees. The woman’s face is tilted and adds dynamism to the composition. The figure’s right hand emerges from the right edge of the frame.

The suspender dress, carved from a finely crafted olive tree trunk, sports a complex and sinuous texture with irregular carvings. Acrylic red accents embellish the cavities of the carvings and echo the color of the figure’s hair, made of iron. The embossed woman is illuminated by a spotlight built into the frame: the light creates shadows that emphasize the provocative dimension of the work.

 

The background of the work is dominated by a central rectangle bordered in red on a white base, with a texture created by strands of white acrylic applied through a sac à poche. Four lines depart from this rectangle, dividing the background into unequal sections.

The composition plays with light and shadow, and the skilful use of materials and techniques relieves the painting of the respect for two-dimensionality and perspective proporitions.