Lolita Valderrama Savage opens solo exhibition in Florence in October

“In cerca dei sogni”  – In search of dreams – is the new exhibition by Filipino American artist Lolita Valderrama Savage. It opens October 1 at Palazzo Bastogi, in Florence, Italy.

The exhibition offers a selection of drawings and oil paintings, in which the artist narrates her longstanding affection for Tuscany, where her artistic education and career mainly took place.

Born in the Philippines, Lolita received her degree in Bachelor of Fine Arts in Manila. She completed her art education in Florence, Italy. Here, she was guided by Silvio Loffredo, professor of the Accademia di Belle Arti. Art, history, and landscape enriched her artistic sign and her way of looking at the world.

The exhibition opening at Palazzo Bastogi, headquarters of the Consiglio Regionale of Tuscany, is meant to show the “notes” Lolita took during this artistic journey: sunsets, landscapes, glimpses of plants and country villas are depicted on paper or canvas as vivid memories or quick impressions. Some of the exhibited artworks share a realistic language and marked brush strokes, while some others are characterized by an open composition and softer and lighter lines, that let us feel the artist’s emotions and sensitivity.

According to Francesca Bertini, curator of the exhibition, Lolita’s artistic journey is like “an unrolling ribbon, where the feelings coming from the surroundings appear, let us look at them and discover our land: Lolita goes on excursions in the countryside, fascinated by Tuscan landscape and culture, she explores the territory and notes down her feelings during her strolling. We like playing with these memories, comparing  the way she wanders and examines nature from real life – drawing courtyards of suburban villas, rustic cloisters in ruins, small country roads – to the way the Macchiaioli (Signorini, Lega, Abbati…) depicted countryside spots and landscape glimpses.”  

(C) The FilAm 2019