Giuseppe Mercurio: Art Without Boundaries
TORONTO – I wanted to see the artwork of Giuseppe Mercurio in the “context’ which I thought I heard him present as “distinctly his”: non linear, non geometric and non-restricted by “styles and norms” attributable, potentially, to a particular school of Art and Design distinguishable from any other. Rather, Mercurio prefers his work to be seen as a “burst of feelings”, an “explosion of emotions”, whose context may be limited by “experiences” the viewer might share with the author.
Most attendees at the “mostra” had much in common with Mercurio’s history – post war, transatlantic, relocation of culture and adaptation through the fragments of stability that survived the oppressiveness of alien regimentation… The family experience is key, and grounded primarily in the affection for, and ties to, the matriarch of the family.
Like a papal encyclical of the early nineteen sixties titled Mater et Magistra, Giuseppe Mercurio acknowledges his roots in his works. Mercurio is an artist’s version of a political anarchist who desires to make sense out of chaos while trusting only his emotions and his ability to dictate the mechanics of paint on canvass with purpose and accuracy.
Several of the intelligentsia in the audience, like the curator Francesca Valente, alluded to the twentieth century communications guru, and former professor at the University of Toronto, Marshall McLuhan, as a reference point to Giuseppe Mercurio’s impressive display. From my perspective, having attended several classes offered by Prof. McLuhan in the sixties, Mamma Francesca, pictured elsewhere on this page, is the greatest influence on Giuseppe’s style and substance; to learn about her is to learn about her son.
Thanks should go to the Italy’s Consul General in Toronto, Luca Zelioli, for sharing Mercurio’s artistry with the community at the Columbus Centre.
Here below is a photogallery from the event (photos: Corriere Canadese)
