Greetings from… - Artist Research

Olimpia Zagnoli

Olimpia Zagnoli is known for her very simple images made from blocks of solid colour. I have been following her on Instagram for a while now and seeing her new work regularly reminds me that its okay to keep images simple and it can sometimes be really effective to simplify an image right down to a limited number of shapes. This is something I am often afraid to do because I feel comfortable with investing a level of craft into my images and for this to be clear in the final outcomes.  

The curves of the shapes she uses allow the eye to be led around the image with ease while at the same time making an impact with her strong colour choices. I think her choice to avoid straight lines helps capture the femininity of the women in these images and it provides a representation of the human form which is strangely accurate considering the very limited shapes used. When looking at Zagnoli's work, I usually cannot see a way in which it can be simplified any more - this is why I like her work because she limits herself so much with how she makes images that she is forced to make interesting decisions using purely shape and colour to solve the problem.  

Rob Bailey

This image by Rob Bailey really intrigued me at I started to look closer at it. The lines used to make this image of two people hugging actually run into one another so the two figures are sharing the same shape edges. For example, the hairlines are defined by the same line, and the line defining the man's ear and neck extends down the blonde's arm. This sharing of lines emphasises the theme of an embrace because it is almost as if the two bodies are morphing into one being. It captures the intertwining of two figures and makes the eyes work harder to tell the two figures apart clearly. 

Davide Bonazzi

Although this artwork incorporates textures, I think shape is the driving force behind the impact of this image. If this image was broken down into the shapes of the figures and the shadows, I feel the concept would still be understandable. The title of the image is 'Fathers and Sons' and what I gather front this is the relationship between a father and a young son and the prospect of what their relationship will be like later in life when the son is fully grown and the father becomes elderly.