Tornabuoni Art London is pleased to present Omar Galliani: a Symphony in Graphite, the artist’s first solo show in the UK.

Considered a master of contemporary drawing in Italy, Galliani works with fine and accurate graphite lines that are reminiscent of the drawing techniques honed and developed by the master artists of the Renaissance.

Starting with a white surface – a sheet or paper, a canvas or often a panel made of poplar – Galliani painstakingly traces and superimposes lines with graphite and charcoal.

Progressively, these lines acquire a new life, emerging from dark backgrounds in the shape of a human body, a stretch of water or an object of everyday life.

In the works exhibited, most of which are large in scale and reminiscent, in some ways, of altarpieces, decorative and symbolic figures emerge like stars in the sky, creating a surreal cosmos of “spiritual signs” embedded on a graphite surface.

Press Release