The detail and color work is impressively naturalistic, yet the depth of
field seems almost too deep to be true to life. The effect is an image of
otherworldly beauty that, like most of her paintings, prompts an emo-tional
reaction. One can read this piece as a reflection of the complexity
of our experiences, highlighting and celebrating how life’s profundity can
be as overwhelming as it is beautiful.
Bucci notes that color is always central
in her work, but she is working on elevat-ing
the way she employs contrast. This is
evident in works like “Waves of Renewal,”
which represents a gorgeous seaside view.
Her trademark vibrancy is present, and she
captures mesmerizing jewel tones that
seem to shine in permeating sunlight.
She employs subtle exaggeration, cre-ative
colors, and playful brushstrokes to
invite the viewer to step into an idealistic
scene. Waves crash gently and pool in
elaborate overlap on the shore, set below
a Rubenesque sky of bright, fluffy clouds.
The color palette is special and exciting,
but controlled.
Bucci’s newest pieces showcase more
elaborate settings and comprise many
smaller sections of geometric shapes and
color. These in-progress paintings are
imbued with the same energy and passion
as all of Bucci’s oeuvre, but are a depar-ture
in technique inspired by the work of
Austrian artist Gustav Klimt (1862-1918).
A symbolist best known for his figure
studies and use of gold leaf, Klimt’s work
involved deeply emotional content and compositions made up of infini-tesimal
numbers of small shapes, brush strokes, and colors. Symbolism
in the visual arts was a more philosophical than stylistic movement.
Klimt was one of a loose band of artists who made work emphasizing
the meaning behind the elements of painting. Their artwork privileged
emotion, symbolic meaning, and subjectivity and reflected the intimate
feelings of their creators.
Bucci’s recent paintings depict sweeping, complex gardenscapes. In
pieces like “Planting Seeds,” dotted with flowers in blues, purples, yellows
and pinks, she recreates the tension one might feel in a large public gar-den
or even a maze. The setting is beautiful, but visually complicated and
very high energy; the viewer oscillates between a relaxing and engaging
aesthetic experience.
“Parts of the gardens are obstacles and there is that tension in the paint-
Climbing Poppies, 12 x 4 inches, oil on canvas. ings,” she explains. “But life is tension. I want these paintings to acknowledge
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WBM october 2018