Italian artist Fabio Petani is currently in Norway invited to participate in the Norwegian street art festival UpNorth, an art festival based in Northern Norway, which mostly focuses on urban art, having as goal to present high quality art for the public – in environments you wouldn’t normally expect to find this type of artistic expression.
As in the rest of his work, Fabio Petani’s work focuses on the experimental transformation of shapes and surfaces that make up the urban landscape, and from which he draws his inspiration from. His murals express a fine balance between organic forms, geometry and lettering, always adding patches of earth colours into a composition characterised by a strong symbolism.
Nothing seems to be random in Fabio Petani’s work. There is always some kind of connection between the depicted elements in his paintings and the composition. Each element is somehow connected to the environment or context they were created in.
Called Pinene & Sorbus Aucuparia this new mural by Fabio Petani was painted on an old boat factory in Rognan, home to one of Norway’s most important concert halls, the Slipen Scene.
Painted in black and white, with shades of blue and turquoise on the leaves, the mural encompasses its natural surroundings making reference to both the name of the town and its location.
As explained by the artist, the plant seen in the circle is called Sorbus Aucuparia or ‘Rogn’ the Norwegian name of the plant, hence the name of the town (Rognan), and Pinene which is the chemical compost used to mix the colors and resins of the boats that were once built in the area. The idea was, once again, to connect the painting with the place, and I think he did a great job. Have a look by yourself.
About the artist
Born in Pinerolo, Turin, Petani earned a Masters degree in Cultural Heritage Studies from the University of Turin and wrote his M.A. thesis on Urban Art & Street Culture. The research for his thesis allowed him to connect with the art scene in Turin, which he soon became a part of, by eventually becoming an artist himself.
His work focuses on the places he visits from which he draws his inspiration. Although he hasn’t ever attended art school, he has always been interested in abstract art, becoming an important part of his ouvre and combining symbolism and abstraction. Chemical elements, plants and geometry give shape to extraordinary pieces with a direct link to the environment, the space or the territory where the murals has been made.
Author: Fran
Founder and editor of Urbanite. Street Art lover who after the finishing her MA thesis on the Mexican and Norwegian muralist movement in the 1920-50s, developed a fascination for street art and graffiti that eventually led to collaborations with different art blogs, including the creation of this one.
You must be logged in to post a comment.