Vitality glows in swatches

Rino Valido's paintings recapture the innocence, spontaneity and intuitiveness of a child. The artist plays with bright colours, an assortment of shapes and everyday materials such as newspapers, wallpaper and fabrics to create his vibrant abstract paintings. The mixed media artworks, done on canvas and wood, radiate a sense of freedom and joy. And they seduce the viewer into exploring a beautiful and mysterious world defined by simple lines, shapes and colours.

Valido is one of Italy's best-known contemporary artists. He has often been described as an "architect of colour" and the title of his first exhibition in this region, Seduction is Colour, eloquently describes the essence of his art.

"My work is inspired by life and I believe colour is life, colour is emotion, colour is everything. I have been very fortunate to have a good, happy life and to visit places where I could enjoy the beauty of nature. I express my joy of living and my enchantment with nature through these bright reds, electric blues, lush greens and sunny yellows. I want to convey the happy memories and sensations of my wonderful life through my paintings," he says.

In a career spanning more than 40 years, bright colours have always been a significant part of Valido's work. He began his artistic journey as a graphic designer and a "cromista" or colour composer.

In the Sixties and Seventies he was a sought-after designer in Italy and created logos and artworks for leading companies, and was also commissioned by the Vatican. Even at that stage of his career he was known for his distinctive style of blending colours and shapes to create eye-catching images.

The artist from Genoa loves nature and his early paintings were traditional landscapes replete with details of every feature. But over the years his art has become more abstract and developed into his present style where the essence of a landscape and his own memories and emotions related to the place are distilled into simple shapes, colours and textures. The artist's intense focus on colour and shape leads him to find inspiration in everyday objects and he often includes these in his compositions. "I notice colour in everything: in the pictures and words printed on a newspaper, the floral patterns on wallpaper, the rustic texture of a jute bag or the prints on textiles. I use swatches of these materials to represent another dimension of colour in my paintings," he says.

The lines and brush strokes on his canvases seem to be random and repetitive. But the artist says he spends a lot of time and thought to create a perfectly balanced and harmonious composition.

Valido's simplistic paintings are no longer just replicas of a particular scene. They are landscapes of the artist's mind and soul. And they invite viewers to delve deep within themselves to discover more about their own outer and inner worlds.

The title Valido gives each artwork provides an insight into the thought behind it. Some of his abstract landscapes are named after the places or objects that inspired them, such as Rome, Camarque, Fields, The Apple and The Moon. Others have more philosophical names such as Recollections of My Day, The Street of the Soul and Imaginary Passage.

Paintings such as Dune, The Coast and Dubai Future, Oasis in the Desert and Homage to Dubai are inspired by Dubai. But the artist insists that these titles belong to him only. "For this exhibition, I deliberately did not translate the Italian titles into English because I do not want to impose my point of view on my viewers. Each individual will view these paintings based on their experiences and perspectives," he says. "I have tried to present the mystery of existence, of material waiting to become flesh in its pure state, colour, form and light; and that is life. So, regardless of the subject or title of a painting, I hope it will touch the soul of everyone who sees it."

Jyoti Kalsi is a UAE-based art enthusiast.