Beyond the limit of human imagination

LAHORE

Royaat Gallery’s latest show features fantastic works by the Italian painter, Maurizio Bosheri. 

Bosheri’s work is not only a testament to the wonder of nature, but also reflects a transcendent beauty, one that extends the limits of man’s imagination. Bosheri’s work seeks to capture and depict man’s awe of nature. Bosheri draws from a vibrant colour palate evocative of hyperrealism. In this exhibit, particularly striking is his depiction of the Princess Stephanie's Astrapia Bird. He casts its spectacular plums in the same transcendent glow as angel wings. Instead of depicting the bird in the backdrop of the horizon, he paints it against a resplendent green, buzzing with the most fantastical forms and symbols of life, some that are airborne and others that may very well swim in the primordial ocean depths. His ability to merge environments is what allows him to depict nature not as we see with our natural eye but instead through our mind’s eye.

 Bosheri’s paintings often depict a creature that has captured the human imagination, a marvel of evolution and the fastest land mammal in the world, the Cheetah. By placing him in a magical realm, Bosheri seeks to restore the mystique and awe of nature, a relationship that we have lost with the increasing encroachment of humans on nature and the commercial use of Cheetah print in ubiquitous novelty items.

 Bosheri’s unique ability to bring together new dimensions of nature is also evident in his juxtaposition of mystical animals that ordinarily would not inhabit the same space in nature. For instance, his birds of paradise hover close above the cheetah’s head, a harmony frozen in time that would be instantaneously shattered by motion. However, in his illustration, Bosheri suspends these creatures in space and time, as if he had woven together a different reality—one that allows us to appreciate their timeless beauty.

 Bosheri’s figures have myriad layers—an underlying layer through which he creates luminesces or what he calls the “flash effect” through the use of an airbrush. Then, he outlines the image using oils and acrylic—an overlay that allows him to capture nature’s magic. And, he synthesizes the two through his use of decorative symbols, drawing on ancient ritualistic symbols—a dimension that highlights the mystical in nature. In his way, he reminds the viewers to preserve nature, as it is precious and increasingly under threat.

 Maurizio Boscheri is a self-taught artist and his works are displayed in American, Asian, and European collections. Bosheri’s painting will be on display from April 26, to May 10, 2017 from 11pm-7pm and by appointment.