Gianni Strino HD

Gianni Strino was born in 1953 in Naples, Italy, where he resides, after completing his studies at the Liceo Artístico Napolitana, where he wins the medal for best postgraduate artist 1970. Later he enrolled in the Faculty of Architecture. However, he was still attracted to the fascination of the plastic arts, which led him to give up studying and devoted himself to painting full time. He served as an art history teacher in various schools for a time until he needed more time for his pictorial activity. Still life and painting of the human figure are his most developed subjects, Strino knows how to treat his light and shade with an absolutely sure technique. Though constantly seeking new expressions in art, Strino always sticks to the fundamentals of painting: exquisite drawing, composition and color. His obsession with form and tonal values give his work an old master rather than contemporary appearance. In his striking portraits Strino not only captures the beauty of his sitters but also the reality of the everyday. He does not restrict his models to beautiful young women as many portraitists do. To him the life story of an Italian grandmother, or Nonna, is to be told through the lines on her face and the faded sparkle in her eye. Her beauty is captured for all to see, not as a vision of youth and vitality but as a life full of memories and stories that we can only imagine. The quality of Strino’s painting also sets him apart from his contemporaries. There is an ‘old master’ feeling in his work; the assured handling of line combines with a true understanding of tonal harmonies and composition, reminiscent of Renaissance portraiture of the 16th Century. His works are in numerous prestigious public and private collections throughout Italy and the United States.