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Il Suono Del Silenzio - Prof. Richard England |
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I have always believed that silence makes seeing more sensible and on viewing Jean Karl Izzo’s collection for his Il SUONO DEL SILENZIO exhibition, it was obvious to me that the work is a product of a muse of silence; perhaps the visual equivalent of the Japanese koan; poems without words, enigmatic puzzles presented to the observer to contemplate and meditate on. These drawings without adjectives are canvasses of stasis where the void has more meaning than the solid. For a young artist, still on the first rungs of his artistic ladder climb, they reveal a surprising assurance. In contrast to the Baroque haunted ethnic heritage of the artist’s island home, their origins lie in the works of reductive artists such as Victor Pasmore, William Scott and others who practiced an art of the elimination of the non-essential. Inspiration from such fonts cannot at this stage of a young artist’s development be but considered a positive aspect. There is no doubt that in future Izzo will burn his present gods; discover new ones and again subject these to fiery furnaces to eventually smelt his own personal iconography. Yet, already, the works harbour qualities of silence and timelessness.
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Perhaps the artist works in a conscious dream-state, creating his works in that cross-road shadow-land between where we are and what we are.
Quiescence is the essential quality of these pieces, and the collection may be read as a sacred litany of silence. The works are also endowed with mystery, for they are an artist’s secret whispers, wrapped in an enigmatic, meditative mist. It was Francis Bacon who said "the job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery".
Izzo’s works may also be termed contemplative; minimalistic icons reduced to allegorical sign and symbol, recalled from a personal museum of reverie, expressed in dialogues between absence and presence, where absence constantly manifests the greater form of presence. Inspecting the canvasses, the title of Bob Kaufman’s collection of poems ‘Solitudes crowded with Loneliness’ seemed also appropriate for Izzo’s monastic visuals. Julian Schnabel’s words on Andy Warhol’s SHADOW paintings of 1979 could perhaps also apply.
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"There is almost nothing on them. Yet they seem to be pictures of something". Perhaps they are indeed "something" about "nothing", for as the composer-philosopher John Cage has written "every something is an echo of nothing".
Certainly the artist’s almost Trappist-like approach towards the elimination of the non-essential, brings to mind Italo Calvino’s suggested requisite for literature in his ‘Six memos for the next millennium’. The celebrated Italian author strongly recommended "lightness" as an essential necessity, to be achieved through the process of "subtraction of weight".
It is this very quality that prevails in Izzo’s work; an asceticism carried out with remarkable confidence by a pilgrim still in the initial process of discovery of a personal vocabulary. Izzo’s work constantly reminds us that silence is much more than a lack of noise.
Prof. Richard England
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La Sola Passione |
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Jean Karl Izzo studied art and he is also a qualified graphic designer. Minimal art philosophy and minimal aesthetic ideology influenced his way of thinking and seeing things. Transitioning from his award winning figurative art and participating in collective exhibitions, he began gradually stripping down his art, down to its most fundamental features. Reductive yet complex behind the thoughts with quick incisive drawings – unchained and filled with vigour. Churches, domes on skylines dissolving into gaunt black lines jaggedly digging downwards – with a red focal point as punch-line. The serene walled cities over the shed blood for their defence like in "Dissolvendosi in Forme".
Onwards to more abstract work, the quest for that inner longing within oneself.This present phase is marked by Spartan simplicity. Monochromatic, at times two colours with that dividing line confusing the viewer, yet making the statement.
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A tension, precariousness is created. ("Composizione blu e nero su bianco", "Adulazione di forme" and "Canal con Barche").
Izzo's forte is his sense of space – Spaces, creating art out of a vacuum. The artist giving value to empty space. The artist as creator. ("Composizione grigio e rossotrevi su bianco" is a wonderful example of this sense of space).
Any of Izzo’s paintings would become a focal point in any surrounding. Whether in a gallery, an uncluttered passageway, completely utilitarian or, the cluttered lounge – where objects and decorations, compete for attention. The ultimate statement of Izzo’s art, as described by many, is clarity and purity.
He is now in uncharted waters, pensive before he takes the plunge forward, towards the distant horizon. More abstract art, ever more minimal expression (Composizione di Forme.)
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Ever immersed in oneself, deeper in thought "holding the jewel". And this is the dilemma of every true artist: he feels alone, in solitude. A sense of despair creeps in because "Art is Dangerous" – to the artist primarily and then to the predisposed viewer who feels attuned to the medium and the message. This viewer captures the feelings not the figures.
As the artist climbs higher to the stratospheric heights, the empty spaces: he finds his freedom.
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