Goose Divine Energy, an art gallery in Greenfield, is exhibiting the work of Charlemont artist Aldo Pizzi through Sept. 17.
According to a biographical paper displayed near the entrance to Goose, Pizzi’s work “evokes multi-layered space, a sense of three dimensionality. Each piece echoes our modern kinetic environment even as it challenges the viewer to be still for reflection, urging the eye to travel fluidly across a textured surface.”
“I’ve always drawn, I’ve always painted as long as I can remember”, says Pizzi, crediting his inspiration to become an artist to his Italian grandfather. Growing up in Belmont, Massachusetts, young Aldo Pizzi had a language gap with his grandfather, Gaetano, a World War II veteran who taught himself to paint while a POW in North Africa. Despite the gap, the two managed to form a strong relationship by communicating through art.
After moving to Franklin County with his family, Pizzi began studying at Greenfield Community College and went on to study at the San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI), which was shuttered late last month. It was at the SFAI that Pizzi first exhibited his work to the public. Following his graduation, Pizzi spent a few years back in Western Massachusetts, then moved to New York City for six years.
When his father died in 2011, Pizzi and his wife, Riana, decided to return to Charlemont to raise their children and to manage the family’s business, Giovanni’s Red Rose Motel, on the Mohawk Trail. In addition to running the motel, Pizzi continues to produce art. After having a studio at the Webb Building in Greenfield for a decade, he is currently working out of The Mill at Shelburne Falls.
Pizzi says that his work is about space and movement, incorporating three-dimensionality and layers of depth. According to his website, Pizzi begins each piece without a sense of what it will become — throwing paint, working loosely, moving color with his hands. From there he follows his own rules for composition, for color strategy and for how the eye will move across the surface. Citing his heritage, half-Italian, half-Indonesian, Pizzi states that he is drawn to a wide variety of artistic inspirations.
According to Astramada Gamsey, who is the owner of Goose and a friend of Pizzi’s, they first collaborated on an event for the 2018 Green River Fest at GCC. Gamsey was asked to create a Green Room/Artist’s Lounge for the performers. She asked Pizzi if he was interested in bringing in some large paintings, which he did.
“I’ve just always been really impressed by the scope and the depth of Aldo’s work,” explains Gamsey.
Despite being a fan of his artwork since well before they became personally connected, Gamsey was unable to house artwork as large as Pizzi’s until Goose was renovated into a dedicated art gallery. Pizzi’s exhibit, the second to be held since Goose switched business models, was opened on Thursday, July 7, with a gala that included live acoustic music, wine, cheese and art.
The gala, according to Gamsey, was well attended, and received many supportive comments from the community. Even people who aren’t necessarily drawn to abstract, she says, have been finding that the paintings resonate with them. Two paintings have been drawing particular attention for wildly different reasons, one for its industrial appearance, another for looking more soft.
Since the gala, people have been coming to Goose specifically to look at Pizzi’s artwork. According to Pizzi, his friends are very proud to see so many of his pieces displayed in this way.
“Whether they focus in on the movement specifically or not, (people) are receiving a level of energy from it that they have been appreciating,” said Gamsey.
Goose Divine Energy is open Monday through Saturday from noon to 5:30 p.m.