A Fabulous Artist and an Honest Review of the Exhibition.
We took a chance and applied to It’s Liquid’s 7th edition of the Rome International Art Fair!
This week, catch Romi’s work at the 7th edition of the Rome International Art Fair at the Medina Art Gallery in the heart of the city. The opening night, June 9th, 2023, was exciting and fun! His works will be on display until the 22nd. If you are in Rome, check it out!
We chose these five works as part of the “Ember and the Rose” exhibition!
- Circle of Life, Acrylic and Mixed Media on Canvas, 48 x 36 inch, 2020
- Home, Acrylic and Mixed Media on Canvas, 48 x 36 inch, 2021
- Sunrise, Acrylic and Mixed Media on Canvas, 30 x 40 inch, 2022
- Shalom, Acrylic and Mixed Media on Canvas, 30 x 40 inch, 2022
- Great Lyre (Sumerian Harp), Acrylic and Mixed Media on Canvas, 24 x 48 inch, 2022
Before I get to far ahead of myself. Let me tell you a little about Romi and his work! I’ve been so grateful to be working with Romi to help expand his artistic network!
Romi is a Contemporary artist, who has been working to hone a unique style of geometric abstraction since 2004. Initially creating figurative canvases, Romi has transitioned to abstract imagery and incorporates calligraphy and logo-syllabic script into his work. Romi has a unique way of grouping contrasting organic shapes and reinforcing the focal point by employing different textures and a palette knife. This gives his paintings an unusually vibrant color depth and dimension. In addition to focusing on the variety of texture, colors and geometric composition, Romi places great emphasis on how much energy and attraction his canvases produce.
Shortly after completing his Master of Science in Engineering, Computer Science, Graphic Arts and Multimedia from the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden, Romi began experimenting with the use of Cuneiform within his art. Alongside some of the foremost scholars in the field, Romi has extensively studied the ancient Mesopotamian script Cuneiform and utilizes correct definitions to spell out words and concepts across his canvases. Romi layers the wedge-shaped Cuneiform characters against a background of pure and bold hues hoping that the beauty and peace of his canvases will allow viewers to escape critical conflict and heal inner wounds. Romi believes in the positive effect of his Cuneiformism canvases. Every artwork is carefully composed to convey a unified theme or perception that underpins the spectacle while allowing the viewers to create their own narrative as they see the artwork.
Although other artists have incorporated Cuneiform in their works before, Romi’s stunning canvases integrate the language in a deeper way. First, aside from the aesthetic beauty of the colorful geometric abstraction, Romi layers symbolic meaning within his shapes, colors and caricatures. It’s not simply the translation of an Akkadian concept into Cuneiform script which indicates the theme of the composition, embedded in the composition, colors, and symbols, are Romi’s emotional reactions to the universal truths of life. For instance, Immortal Earth, created during the COVID pandemic symbolizes the resilience of humans to overcome.
Romi has been working on a whole new wave of pieces in the Cuneiform style. For instance, a new favorite of mine, the most recent work, Night and Day exemplifies Romi’s attempt to find peace and balance through art.
Romi feels as if his art should act as a positive ground to attract those experiencing either directly or indirectly tensions in their state of mind. Aside from the beauty of art, peace through art temporarily allows the viewers to escape critical conflict as the first step of healing. It simultaneously provides the needed balance between the outer world’s conflicts and the inner world’s stability. It can also play a critical factor in positively improving emotions, opinions, and hopes for the future.
An Honest Review of Its Liquid Rome:
We were so excited to join Its Liquid for this exhibition. While the initially communication was fantastic, and opening night, the gallery was full of visitors, it has been rather slow since. The contacts we had with Its Liquid moved on to their Venice exhibition quickly and were already advertising for another Rome show during the opening of this show! Shipping costs are expensive and the exposure not quite what was advertised.
Perhaps it wasn’t all we thought it would be! But it’s a great start and I know only the beginning for what John will accomplish with his art!
Caroline Haller Curation 