giuseppe albi
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Giuseppe Albi was born in Italy and immigrated to Edmonton, Canada in 1951. He attended the Alberta College of Art in Calgary and L’Ecole des Beaux Arts Montréal. In 1970 he moved to Europe. During this period he exhibited at KES Mosaics Gallery in Edinburgh and at Galerie de Sfinx in Amsterdam. Albi returned to Canada in 1974. He has had solo exhibits at the Edmonton Art Gallery (Art Gallery of Alberta), Istituto Italiano di Cultura, (Italian Cultural Institue in Vancouver), Vancouver, Amelia Douglas Gallery, Douglas College, New Westminster, BC along with Galerie Woltjen, Woltjen/Udell Gallery and Peter Robertson in Edmonton. In 2022 he had a one person exhibit at the Scott Gallery titled “Out of the Light”.
Since 1976 he has exhibited in many groups shows including the 2002 Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art at the Edmonton Art Gallery and the Nickle Museum, Calgary AB. In the summer of 2012 his work was included in “7 Years in the City, Art From the AGA Collection. Albi’s painting from the Golden Paint Inc. collection was included in an exhibit at the Community Gallery of Earville Opera House, Earlville NY titled “Material Matters”. In 2022 he participated in “Fully Realized”, Giuseppe Albi, Amanda Chwelos, Fatme Elkadry, Fern Facette, Braxton Garneau, Jessica Johns, Marlyn Olson, Richard Boulet, Taiessa, at Latitude 53 Society of Artists Edmonton.
Albi’s paintings are in both public and private collections. This includes the Art Gallery of Alberta, The Alberta Foundation for the Arts, KPMG, St. Joseph’s College, U of A, The Financial Health Centre, the U of A Faculty of Business in Edmonton. His work is also in many collections outside Edmonton which includes Cenovus Canada and Sharecom Industries Ltd. Calgary, AB and Golden Artists Colors Inc. New Berlin, NY.
Digital Abstractions
Stantec Tower – 10220 103 Ave NW
Giuseppe Albi, Binoculars, 2023, Video
ARTIST STATEMENT
Over the years, I have painted on a variety of substrates, including co-polyester, Lexan (clear film), PVC, and Sentra, to name a few. In July of 2017, I moved into a second floor, east-facing studio, in central Edmonton. As I unpacked, I found plexi-glass sample chips in various colours. I strung them on a wire and hung them like a mobile in front of one of the windows. The coloured transparent effect of the overlapping-coloured chips intrigued me. I started to make small, folded sculptures using painted thin Lexan pieces. Replicating the fine folds in paint became my primary goal. Then, COVID-19 hit, and I stopped painting. After three restless and reflective months, I began to visit the studio to study the work. My visual memory bank had cleared, and I saw the pieces with new eyes. To my surprise, I discovered new and unique paintings. In 2022, I offered observers a limitless journey of colour and space at my exhibition at the Scott Gallery titled “Out of the Light”.
After the exhibit, I moved into another east-facing studio with brilliant morning light. Since I was not in line for an exhibit for a few years, I decided to explore the world of video to capture the movement of light and colour. I purchased a camera with 360-degree capabilities and started making digital abstractions. Although they have been compared to NFTs, they are, however, made in the spirit of traditional visual art. In the early 19th century, when visual artists began to work with the camera, they would often assemble still life compositions to photograph. The still life would be dismantled, leaving the photograph as the original work of art. An assortment of objects and materials - some handmade - are used to make these videos. Some components are re-used in other videos – much as previously mixed paint is used in other paintings.
The videos can be viewed on a variety of digital display devices, which offers the viewer unique interface possibilities, i.e., looping the video, pausing individual frames and varying the playback speed.
Enjoy. Welcome to the world of digital abstraction.
