"Therefore, "Artist" is not a Latin Word but a Tuscan One"
Michelangelo the Poet in the Florentine Letters from Francesco Berni to Benedetto Varchi - Tommaso Mozzati
"Arte Urbana Polyptych"
Artist Statement
I want to communicate Italy’s modern genius loci (sense of place) by presenting contemporary images arranged like historic religious icons.
"Arte Urbana Polyptych"
Modern Context
This street artist makes small blue posters that show famous Italian figures (e.g. Medici Family) and artworks (e.g. Botticelli) swimming in masks. I assume "Blub" is an onomatopoeia for the sound of someone talking under water.
Blub's mission is to make famous art more accessible to the wider public. Blub takes works off their museum pedestals and puts them in the street, invoking emotion, a smile, memories, or simply an interest in art.
"emozione, un sorriso, ricordi o semplicemente un interessamento all’arte stessa"
ACHE77 - Street Levels
ACHE77 is a Stencil Artist, Urban Artist, and Visual Artist.
Originally from Romania, ACHE77 has been working in Florence since 2015 and founded the Street Levels Gallery on Via Palazzuolo between the Piazza di Santa Maria Novella and the Chiesa di San Salvatore in Ognissanti.
ACHE77's works have an intense gaze that grabs your attention as you walk around Florence. ACHE77's mission is to re-appropriate public space as an exhibition space to enhance people's collective identity.
Quint Essential
Quint uses spray paint and four layers of hand-cut stencils to make images of women that gaze at the viewer. Quint paints women from daily life - “I always try to find my subjects on the street,” he says. “You never know when and where you will find inspiration. The streets bring me so much inspiration.”
Quint's Mission is to fill the world with just a little more love and beauty.
“I always try to make people happy,” Quint says. “I feel like a ninja who goes out at night to try to save the world."
Street Art Locations in Florence
Locations of the five images used in the "Arte Urbana Polyptych"
In addition to the five images above, there is a an official google map of street art in Florence.
"Arte Urbana Polyptych"
Historical Context
The "Polyptych of Orvieto" is a series of five paintings predominantly attributed to Simone Martini, made with a tempera technique on wood, probably not before 1321.
The large panel measures H: 44” by W: 24”
The four smaller panels measure H: 37” x W: 19”
the panels are kept in the Museo dell'Opera del duomo in Orvieto.
The gallery displays the surviving panels as follows: Mary Magdalene, Dominic, Peter, Mary & Jesus, and St Paul
If (as seems likely) this is their original disposition, there must have been two other panels in this register depicting saints (probably of St. Peter and Catherine of Alexandria, to the sides of St Paul) looking to the left.
"Arte Urbana Polyptych" Methodology
For the 54th Annual National Drawing & Small Sculpture Show, I created the "Arte Urbana Polyptych" as a modern version of Simone Martini’s polyptych from San Domenico, Orvieto
The Annual National Drawing and Small Sculpture Show attracts works by contemporary artists across the country and is judged by a guest juror of national stature. Resulting purchase awards have built an impressive Permanent Collection at Del Mar College, Corpus Christi, Texas.
The 2020 show opened on February 21, 2020 in the distinctive Joseph A. Cain Memorial Gallery.