25 Febbraio – 19 marzo  2006

 

The annual Shanghai Art Fair held in fall has become the "flagship" among the Asian art shows for its large scale and high-level internationalization. This time CN-DOT is lucky enough to interview with the internationally famous artist Giuliano Ottaviani.
Giuliano Ottaviani was born in Foligno Italy. At a very early age did he show his inclination to art and no doubt he was born with artistic talent which is fully displayed in his works, especially on the technical side. He is the first Italian to win the gold prize awarded by the Institute of Art, Science, and Culture in Paris. In 1988, he was invited to attend the grand art fair in honor of the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution. His works have won equivalent applause in other countries as they often appear in some concerts, making the combination of music and paintings a grand feast for both ears and eyes. Ottaviani is quite versatile. He is an eclectic artist engaged in painting, sculpturing, gold jewelries designing, and so on. But what is more remarkable about him is he’s really a veteran technologist, for he knows all the inner properties of the used materials and then he is able to take advantage of these properties without any pretence.
Ottaviani’s masterpieces attracted lots of interest in the fair. The long shapes of women created by the polished and acidified bronze with various fluctuations of green seemed as if they were moving while actually they remained still all the time.
	His “Venices” had an ancient and nostalgic taste. The shape of the Gondolas merged and blended with the structures, reminding us of a dream’s world. The beauty of women’s body symbolized the charm of art and expressed man’s passion for it.
However, I was most curious about the oil painting with the Chinese characters “tian” and “nv” (which means sky and woman respectively). Asked whether he was familiar with Chinese culture, Ottaviani explained that these characters were picked haphazardly and copied from other place, rather than written by him. Actually they had no specific meaning in this painting yet served as a symbol to express the harmonious interaction of the culture between the east and the west. We also talked about the art fair. When asked what’s the greatest impression on him, Ottaviani said, “As one of the artists selected to attend this fair, of course I’m glad to be here. Actually before coming here I held a solo exhibition in Beijing. The venue seemed much bigger than this one. Perhaps it’s because there are more people here it feels kind of crowded. Anyway I came here looking forward to some chances of cooperation.” Nowadays, more and more foreign artists are paying attention to Chinese market, Ottaviani is no exception. When I raised this topic he talked about it frankly, “The reason is the number of rich people is increasing owing to China’s fast development. Moreover, Chinese people are future-minded. They are always planning for tomorrow and they have their long-term pursuit. That’s why I am targeting at the Chinese market.” Nevertheless, not every rich person can afford a sculpture which costs over 1000 dollars and even if he can he may not be willing to do so. Therefore I asked Ottaviani whether he would reduce the price of his works of art. Here is Ottaviani’s answer, “Everyone has the right to enjoy art. It is possible that I would reduce the price, but there should be a limit. I’d like to keep balance with the international market.” During the interview, Ottaviani expressed his love for art several times and he claimed himself a romantic person. It reminded me of his birthplace Italy, a country with great romance and artistic taste.