San Giovanni II 2018

This is Roberto Ferri's San Giovanni II, a painting that seems to reach back in time, made with oils, no date given. There’s something so delicious about the way Ferri teases out these figures from the darkness, like he’s sculpting them with light itself. Look at the way he builds the form of the body, the subtle shifts in tone, the way the light catches the planes of the muscles. It’s all about layering, about pushing and pulling the paint to find the form. I am drawn to the drapery that gathers around the figures’ legs. The folds are so luscious, almost edible. Notice how they break with starker planes of pale skin, with their heavy folds. Ferri’s not trying to hide anything, he’s reveling in the sheer physicality of the paint, reminding us that art is as much about the process as it is about the final image. I'm reminded of Caravaggio. With Roberto Ferri we see art as an ongoing dialogue, a conversation that stretches back through centuries of looking and making. It’s a beautiful reminder that art is never really finished.