Chiara Magni Artist
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What is Bright Expressionism?

BLOG – Aug 13, 2020

C reativity and being able to express one's emotions through a canvas and color is something very similar to magic. Creating an emotion from nothing is truly something unique. This concept has always fascinated me. Since I was a child I have always had a strong interest in color and creativity. No one pushed me or suggested me to follow this path, I just found myself in it and for me, it was the easiest and most natural thing to do. For many years I have tried my hand at painting, always preferring oil painting, and I have always wondered what my path was, what my distinctive style could be. I’ve always wondered what painting style I belonged to, but I’ve never found the right one for me. I have identified with impressionism, which I still do today; but I have never felt that I belong to it 100%, there are some things I do, how I choose the subjects, how I choose the colors that are not part of that style ... while remaining one of my absolute favorite, I felt it didn't define me altogether. So instead of standing there thinking I started making more and more paintings, experimenting. What made me happy while I was creating? Which painting did I feel akin to my spirit and which one seemed anonymous to me? Which painting was immediately recognizable as mine by an outside observer? After having created and sold a few hundred paintings, I finally understood that I had to venture to create a new current myself. And so I coined the term "Bright Expressionism" Classical expressionism does not care about the perfection of shapes and colors, but focuses on how the painter feels, on how he exposes (expresses) his emotions on the canvas, and this is exactly what I do. However, expressionism has the characteristic of focusing on dramatic and not serene emotions and this is not for me. Impressionism is linked to external reality by capturing the play of light and color that make a look at the outside world pleasant and interesting, but I wasn’t following the rules of Impressionism either….. I wanted to find a meeting point between Impressionism and Expressionism. Realizing that none of the existing styles defined me, and wanting to proceed in full respect of the old masters to whom I owe everything; I decided to create something that was totally mine and with my rules; something new. Bright Expressionism.Bright Expressionism” refers not only to very strong colors (bright) but also to the joy and vivacity that the paintings want to convey. The pictorial choices are completely imaginary and are completely dictated by the emotions that the painter wants to evoke in the observer. The chromatic choices are instead all connected to each other and completely respect the strict and important rules of the color wheel, but do not respect the rules of reality! Therefore there may be meadows of pink and purple grass, yellow cypresses; green skies, turquoise horses, and people with multicolored skin, and there is nothing wrong with that! We have always been used to seeing reality with the eyes of others, with the eyes of those who lived it before us and dictated the rules.... But what if we were the ones who created our reality? What I want to evoke with my paintings are the emotions of freedom and playfulness and the feeling that everything is possible, each painting is a portal to a universe that has never existed before. All of my paintings are oil on canvas and the majority of them are painted with my fingers. This very old and classic medium combined with the sole use of my fingers is the perfect way for me to fully express myself!

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