Expressionism and subjects of protest by Bruno Fustini
In his long and consistent pictorial work, Bruno Fustini has, so to speak, scoured with insight and critical attention throughout the twentieth century that counts, so that his work has developed a process that evokes mentions of, among others, Picasso, Braque, Schiele, Matisse, with some intrusion into the crumbling ruins of Soutine and even some naive echoes of the Customs Agent (Douanier) of Rousseau. Then, more recently, forceful brush strokes which engrave and carve the profiles appeared, almost likes joints of mosaic glass reinforced by segments of lead, as in certain medieval stained windows, or in wooden incisions in African art, or archaic totems, remote larvae of archetypical memories. And yet, there is no insistence on these repeated tastings: rather echoes, memories, the eye passing over a variety of tracks, of variations, of inventions, to merge them and turn them into an another product , which reconstructs and converts the forms in composite figures, extreme or deeply troubled by the sign and color, divorced from reality even in their apparent concreteness. They might appear, in a generic manner, to be works that move within a slightly vague and general expressionism; yet the location seems improper, since the expressive force is given, in this case, more by the color and the composition rather than the context. Not expressionism of protest, not aggressive allusions, but deformation conceived and rationally weighed by reality, and then translated with an intense color, yes frequently aggressive, sometimes Fauvist in the bright hues, however, immediately dampened by sharp color contrasts. A transformation that symbolically seems to allude to the uncertainty, nagging and disturbing, of time: the extreme contradictions of seasons that seem to move wildly with no apparent or sure meanings, impatient harassment regarding intelligence, creativity sold off as unlimited dissipation. FustiniÆs painting appears to be a well thought out reaction to a difficult life situation: a revolt that was born and evolved, not against, but within the shape of things, real objects, using a color that emphasizes the character, more or less intense, more or less evident, as the artist captures them, underlining the emphasis of signs more reinforced and sometimes harshly expressive. A kind of painting that, being inserted in the vein of the multiple investigations of the twentieth century, comes out with a subjective, personal identity: that of an artist who works with color and brush thinking rationally how to drive them, how to put signs on a path that, starting from the inner urgencies, is then manifested in its crude and solitary truth.
Prof. GIAN LUIGI ZUCCHINI
Bruno Fustini, PAINTER – Creativity and Freedom
In Bologna, next to the blacks and sad graffiti that smear the walls of the historic city, I was lucky enough to discover an island of color and desire to live outside the homologation, I had the pleasant and unexpected opportunity to come across the painted works of Bruno Fustini, an artist born in Budrio in the immediate vicinity of Bologna, who, starting from his activities as an Advertising Artist has used his creative talents in the field of visual art. The paintings of Bruno Fustini convey the fragrant idea of a living Bologna, that creates, imagines, colored with shades of flowing life, of sunny days in the alleys of the market, a Bologna that still remembers that it was the oldest Medieval City of businesses that stood out on the plain green against the night sky, with its towers, the roofs, the domes to create a cubist and chaotic skyline, all enclosed by narrow walls, like a Manhattan of the early centuries of 1000 AC. A Bologna with the odor of a City. We also have portraits, sometimes thoughtful, sometimes flickering, always colorful, little masterpieces that never cease to speak. These aren’t photos of a moment. These are images of a soul, a thought. Bruno Fustini does not paint a picture, he paints a state of mind, a thought, an idea, a special relationship between him, the artist, and the subject, the portrait. In his paintings there are always unexpected details, a lantern, a pair of sneakers, a butterfly caught on barbed wire that are mixed wisely with the references to the big schools, from Secession to German Expressionism, the avant-garde, up to the echoes of Guttuso. But Bruno Fustini isn’t an art technician, a style copier, Bruno Fustini is an artist of his time telling us ways of living, political ideas, inspirations, the whole idea of life uncontained by routine, an idea of life that makes creativity and freedom its cornerstones. Knowledge of advertising techniques combined with art history allows Fustini to create paintings perfectly balanced both in colors and strokes, so the overall image is always a set of lines, brush strokes and colors in balance with each other, that focus the observer’s eye exactly where the artist wants. There aren’t smudges or inaccuracies, the pictorial image is unique, a condensation of feelings and ideas through color.
Stefano Boninsegna
The colors and strong lines of Bruno Fustini
Bruno Fustini has had his focus on art since a very early age, when he decided to successfully attend the Graphic Design Course of Severo Pozzati (SEPO) until graduation in 1968. Later he was hired by a company with international holdings in Bologna where the artist capitalized on his predisposition for graphic and his passion for advertising, using his talents in design. Parallel to his work as a creative, Bruno Fustini used his artistic skills in the field of visual art. Over the years his work will become detached from mere graphic perspective to investigate with increasing curiosity and security the field of painting. The strong lines of his contours and the choice of colors made of pure colors, bright and ringing, will remain a constant in his art. They represent not only a reference to the advertising world of which the artist was a member for many years, but also a tribute to the incredible historical period of the early twentieth century in Central Europe, where the Vienna Secession and German Expressionism represented the point maximum creative vigor. Today Bruno Fustini works and creates in Bologna (city that is also found in many of his works), but also in the Balkans, in Bulgaria and in Greece, where the colors, nature and beauty still wild, always instilled with new vigor to the work of painter. The works of Bruno Fustini have been exhibited in Italy, mainly in Bologna and are found in many places, in Italy, in Europe and in Houston (Texas).
Davide Ciolakoff
Review of Bruno Fustini’s painting from Anna Rita Delucca
Bruno Fustini, after receiving prestigious training in publicity graphic from Maestro Sepo (Severo Pozzati, who along with his brother Mario and nephew Concetto, constitute the historic nucleus of 1900’s Bolognese art), continues this same activity along side his expressionistic painting and works dealing with various themes, ranging from portraits, to modern-day scenes, to commonplace objects and sophisticated advertising subjects, including also landscapes which often depict the cityscape of Bologna, described in a rather medieval/fable-type vein, even though clearly interleaved in a contemporary context. Lively colors, well-defined lines and contours, two-dimensional volumes, limpid and vigorous style which at certain moments reminds one of that great Bologna painter, Aldo Borgonzoni, when he dealt with social themes such as the rice pickers and other typical expressionistic scenarios, solid and compact, with strong chromatic colorings which left their mark in the history of the 1900’s in Emilia Romagna.
Anna Rita Delucca
Bruno Fustini – il suo universo creativo
La cura del dettaglio e la ricerca del colore caratterizzano i dipinti di Bruno Fustini i cui soggetti sono lo specchio della realtà vista attraverso la lente dell’artista. Esseri umani fantastici, elementi della natura, simboli di libertà e di sogno sono elementi costanti della sua pittura, che reinterpreta associandoli alle icone pubblicitarie, alternando e mescolando i colori, senza nessun timore di mostrare la sua ambigua passione per le immagini del marketing; una maestria nell’esecuzione in tutte le sue complesse composizioni. In lui vi è una “urgenza di comunicare”, ma soprattutto una debordante ispirazione artistica, sperimentata in ogni campo, dalla grafica alla pubblicità, fino a raggiungere il design. Il suo universo creativo, la sua poliedricità ed il concepire naturalmente e spontaneamente l’arte come unico mezzo per comunicare col mondo lo rendono un artista estremamente originale.
Veronica Nicoli
Bruno Fustini artista visivo
Una sorta di lente riformante per interpretare il mondo con la pittura, dalle stelle del cielo a quelle della terra, una varietà sorprendente di temi e provocazioni vibrate nel filtro della comunicazione di Bruno Fustini; egli perpetra, da Artista visivo quale è, un costante assedio, chiassoso che diverte, cromatico che attrae e, posto ogni limite alle spalle, spinge all’angolo il riguardante con la creatività che conquista poichè, scrutando il mondo di tutti rivela costantemente se stesso.
Prof. Luigi E.Mattei
