Spaces / Africa
Spaces / Africa
A gaze into infinity.
“Spaces / Africa” is an invitation to travel and contemplation. Created in 2010, in this mixed media work on canvas Elena Fontanesi adopts a direct and unusual perspective: the elephant is portrayed frontally, placed at the center of the composition, as a silent and imposing presence emerging from the vastness of the savannah.
The animal’s gaze, directed toward the viewer, establishes an immediate and almost meditative relationship, while behind it the landscape opens onto wide horizontal spaces and a pale sun on the horizon, a symbol of distance, time, and continuity. The material texture of the brushstrokes makes the elephant’s skin and the surrounding earth tangible, conveying a physical and primordial sense of place.
Tones of green, ochre, and grey shape a suspended, rarefied atmosphere, where the monumentality of the animal enters into dialogue with the quiet of the African landscape. The work is enhanced by a dark frame with refined inner and outer profiles in gold and bronze tones, which encloses the scene without constraining it, accentuating its depth and contemplative character.
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Artwork Description
The frontal perspective establishes a direct, motionless dialogue, free of aggression, inviting contemplation rather than action. Behind the elephant, the horizon line and a pale sun suggest an expanded, suspended sense of time, where natural rhythms prevail over human ones. The open space is not merely geographical, but mental—a place of silence, waiting, and attentive listening.
The use of mixed media enhances the material quality of the work. Dense, layered brushstrokes convey the rough texture of the animal’s skin and the arid ground of the savannah, while lighter washes construct a broad, luminous sky. The palette—muted greens, warm ochres, and deep greys—creates a rarefied atmosphere, deliberately distant from any narrative exoticism.
The dark frame, enriched with inner and outer profiles in gold and bronze tones, introduces an elegant boundary that both separates and enhances the scene, transforming the artwork into a window onto an interior as well as geographical landscape. Spaces / Africa thus emerges as an invitation to slowness and contemplation—a silent encounter between gaze, matter, and distance.
Artwork Details
- Artist: Elena Fontanesi
- Technique: Mixed technique
- Dimensions: 50 x 35 cm
- Year: 2010
- Authenticity: Original work with certificate signed by the artist
Additional Information
Where to Display It
Ethnic-chic living space: Complements dark wood furnishings and handcrafted objects.
Entryway: Visually opens the space toward distant horizons.
