The Family, 2021

PORTAL 

48 x 96 Inches

Tufted Yarn on Burlap 

VITTORIA COLONNA STUDIO

THE PORTALS  — The One and Only 

Tufted Textile Series

First Created by Florentine and Roman, Irish Artist Vittoria Colonna en plein air in Topanga Canyon, living in Los Angeles, California (2021). In the City of Angels, Vittoria first began this series of large-scale tufted textile works (8 × 4 ft / 2.44 × 1.22 m 96 x 48 in) for which the artist continues to explore a personal dialogue with the natural world. Inspired by artists such as Henri Rousseau and Julian Schnabel, the works translate the colours and textures of the surrounding landscape into vibrant tactile TRANSMISSIONS. The impetus for glory began with a single seed: thus a towering Topanga strelitzia plant ( aka THE Bird of Paradise) artist Vittoria named “Beauty” became an unlikely muse. The cycle of eternal life thus also reflecting a pantheistic relationship between artist and environment.

These art works function as portals into instinct, imagination and a renewed connection to nature.

Portals are truth and illusion.

“In wildness is the preservation of the world.”
— Henry David Thoreau, 1862

WILD - THE VITTORIA COLONNA STORY

 2020. Locked in and locked out from the world, a global and collective awakening was occurring. History was in the making as a circus of fear called Covid19 took full hysteria, affecting every human being on the planet. This invisible war united and divided communities. During this challenging period of loss and death, something broke in me awakening a hidden desire…a primal need to connect, to nature, to the Source and ultimately to myself. I left Europe.

California or Bust! Transplanting myself to Topanga Canyon, tucked off the Pacific Coast Highway in California, I moved into a shared habitat overlooking an epic mountain landscape, marked by a lush tropical garden. I positioned my art altar of paints, brushes and offerings under the towering 18 foot Strelitzia plant. I marvelled at this Queen, this stoic Bird of Paradise, later she would become known as Beauty.

Her generous leaves and pointed flowers mirrored my yearning for exotic relief. However, it was upon discovering her electric orange seeds poking out that would spark the real surprise. As I went to cradle them, I heard a squeak “…That tickles!” Taken back, I approached again with caution. “Stop!” she called out. This time I obliged. “How rude of me…” I whispered. Introducing myself, I felt we would become firm friends and collaborators.

Beauty and I exchanged many stories… I explained my craving for soul adventures, while she shared her yearning to fly over her beloved Canyon and Pacific Ocean. She would commute with the winds from afar, sensing news from her green family, all scattered in the Americas. “…One day my offspring will be the future of freedom,” she sighed. I knew this was something she would never physically experience, for she was deeply rooted to the Canyon.

Under the extreme sun, I painted her shadows directly onto the canvas. Bold, vibrant brush strokes, vivid colours and fluid imagination swirled. Fluorescent pinks, oranges and intense monochromes twisted and turned - molding, seeping and intertwining. A certain liberty expanded from embracing any imperfections with a newly-found passion. This flow of unconsciousness became the key ingredient, the surrender of abstract imperfection to regaining balance and harmony.

For months Beauty and I dreamt together and she certainly didn’t lack any modesty! She took extreme delight in her existence. “Aren’t I so Beautiful?! If you breathe in my bounty and sensuality, you will have more life than most of your two legged friends. Why, even the hummingbirds, snakes and lizards can’t resist my delights! Stand tall, stand proud, stand out! Remember who you are!”

Sometimes she would provoke and natter away to the brink of annoyance, always watching over me and being the critic "…I am here to remind you to burst forth in MAGNIFICENCE!” Immersed, I became one with nature. These creations were the passwords to my fantasies. I felt my feral childhood reappear from the abyss of colour. I felt immune to anything, yet danger lurked in my garden of Eden.

One Saturday afternoon while lost in the spell of painting, I felt an extreme heat and unexplainable frustration stir within. Black paint strewed across a bright 8ft canvas, enveloping the darkness. I ignored Beauty’s frantic warnings as I raised the volume of my dance beats, painting wildly to what seemed like a Kali-esque force. It was only when I looked up to the sepia skies, that I saw a wildfire burning through the Palisades. In panic, I awoke and frantically ripped the canvas images from their frames. My response was to rescue each painting as if they were my children.

Five humbling days passed as I witnessed the damage and eradication of my beloved mountains. When the evacuation was lifted, I returned to my ransacked home. Due to a miraculous change of wind, we had been safe. Some believed it was luck, others believed it was the mysterious power of the collective chants and prayers. Later I learned the fire was an arsonist attack. My muse Beauty, now covered in black ash, cried for the loss of her extended wild family. I gave her a cold shower and managed to save some of her offspring from the hungry trespassers that were now devouring her seedlings.

The bond filled an invisible gap for us both. We knew we had crossed each other's paths for a reason and in the act of creating Art we became unified. Soon afterwards, I felt an inner calling urging me to return to my own roots. Upon my departure for Europe, as I packed the last of my belongings, I remember Beauty’s innocent murmur... “Will you take us with you?…” She was giving me the last of her surviving seedlings. “Plant these seeds, the future of freedom…" I was truly moved. "Are you sure?!” I asked. ”It’s either you or the hungry squirrels,” she joked. I gladly obeyed and carried her precious cargo back home with me. Now soaring over the Atlantic ocean, her seedlings were finally flying…

If these paintings convey a bravery of expression and yearning, then Beauty and I have done our service. I’m honoured to have these pieces exhibited in the green heart of Florence at Le Serre Torrigiani - alongside Strelitzia muse cousins. 

NOW + THEN

VC 2022

VITTORIA COLONNA is a multidisciplinary artist. Growing up between Ireland and Italy she began her studies in fine art at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome, trained as a singer in Tuscany, then continued at the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin. She has written and directed numerous documentaries, music videos and films which have competed in and won numerous international festivals, including having the performance art pieces from her feature documentary, Identities, screened as part of the Worldwide Italian Pavilion & 54th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale. She has also exhibited at Tomo Gallery

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Kyoto, Japan 2015, Building Bridges Art Exchange & Zero Down

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Los Angeles, USA

2016 and at The Crawford Gallery in Cork, Ireland 2022. Wild is her first solo exhibition in Florence.

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info@colonnavittoria.com