LUCIA OLIVA
THE ITALIAN IN OMAN
Lucia Oliva is a Italian contemporary artist and perfomer based in Oman, Muscat, building together with her spouse a beautiful communication bridge between Oman and Italy. Her studio blooms in a marvelous artistic mélange like a Oriental fragrance with both ingredients of Italian charm and Omani traditional scents.
Lucia Oliva is that kind of artist who knows how to conquest everyone's hearts and souls with breathtaking artistic concepts transformed in paintings, sculptures and surprisingly dance performances, spectacular cultural events, colourful and unique, speaking about the complex personality of this fabulous woman artist, in love with the Omani cultural treasure in the same way how she is cherishing her precious and so much rich Italian heritage.
Lucia Oliva, internationally awarded artist, is already famous in the Gulf countries, her collections and exhibitions being largely presented in the international media, as champion of cross cultural cooperation and interactive artist between nations and heritages.
Lucia Oliva is the favorite painter of many Arab Royals, her unique artworks of Royal portraits being part of the most important galleries and private collections in Oman, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain. One of the most beautiful reportages about Lucia's exhibitions was presented by the most important publication of Bahrain , Mayadeen magazine founded by His Royal Highness Sheikh Nasser Bin Hamad Al Khalifa , son of His Majesty King Hamad of Bahrain.
The most important coming event represents a huge challenge for Lucia .The celebration of 50 Years Sultanate Oman is the perfect occasion for the artist to offer to the large audience the most important of her artworks, the Royal portrait of His Majesty Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq Al Said of Oman.
I am writing about Lucia Oliva with the feeling of « sisterhood » in the spirit of cross cultural dialog and artistic cooperation. I consider Art the basis for intellectual encounters , friendship and respect. We deserve to live in a beautiful world and artists are indeed beautiful souls serving for cultural unity, embracing heritages, traditions and religions in the name of Love and Peace.
If Lucia Oliva is recognized as artist of Royal and VIP personalities, I can openly declare that her cultural engagement over the years is dedicated to all people ready to understand the important role of Art as cultural identity and durability, and not at the end , as common language for all of us in every corner of the world.
Dear Lucia, you share your life between Italy and Oman - how do you keep your roots and origins in a very different environment - Omani culture, tradition and customs ?
I deeply love the Arab world and live my «being Italian» in Oman as a triumphant opportunity to enrich my soul with enchanting new influences, that allow me to lift my gaze to different and higher horizons and develop my artistic training and background strongly rooted in the cradle of Italian and western art.
I am fully and intrinsically Italian yet at the same time in love with the fascinating Arabian Culture, history, traditions and environment... and Omani ones in particular. I am Italian not because I hold an Italian passport: it is a state of the soul that can not be lost because I live abroad.
I am Italian because of the immense artistic heritage of my country, because of the musicality and richness of the language and its literature, of which I am a profound lover and scholar. I’m Italian because I’m proud of the valuable contribute Italians gave and are still giving now to increase the beauty of this world.
I’m Italian... because I’m so.
At the same time, though purely Italian, I have always had a curious and lively interest for other countries’ cultures.
How do you describe Italy for the Omani friends and how do you describe Oman to your Italian family and friends ?
I can’t help describing Italy to my Omani friends as a treasure chest full of infinite beauty, under all points of view, whether it is history, nature, culture, art... not to say of its worldwide famous cuisine, fashion and hundreds of other aspects. It is not the case to be falsely humble in describing the valueless treasure that Italy represents for the whole world. To my Omani friends Italy is like a myth and they ask me to talk about it: many of them have already visited it for business or leisure.
To my Italian friends and relatives I describe Oman as a fairytale country that reminds One Thousand and One Nights’ atmospheres: astonishing and exotic panoramas, intense and unique scents... starting from the precious incense which here has a very old tradition and of which Oman is the largest producer... not to forget of the lush green of the south of the country.
But above all I tell them of the sincere hospitality and friendship typical of the Omani people, which has a lot in common with the Italian mood and character.
Thus Italy and Oman are two loves that live in perfect harmony inside me, enriching my personal artistic sensitivity with a deep inclination to intercultural dialogue.
How do you define your artworks: Italian, Omani or a mélange of the 2 cultures?
You got the core of my art, in all its expressions. The answer is in one word: «fusion» (contamination artistique).
My education, obviously bound to Italian and western culture, history and art, from the classical era to the contemporary one, was enriched by getting in close contact with the Arab world and its various aspects, which allowed me to discover the deep charme of Islamic art, Arabian architecture and new perspectives and visions: the silence, a different idea of time, the fascinating persistent deep value of respect and manners together with the traditional colorful female dresses and veils still alive in villages... Getting in touch with this reality, the power of colour and the love for light (which have always characterised my style) turned enriched by the suggestions of gold and metal effects in many different ways.
Why Oman as second home ?
I would say that the answer is a natural consequence of how I describe Oman to my Italian friends, but I can add what follows.
I deeply love the Arab world in general. Travelling and working in different countries, all across the Middle East, the choice to live fell on Oman. First of all, let’s say for a sort of ineffable... magnetic attraction. Coming then to more down-to-earth aspects, me and my husband are every day touched by the endless fascinating un-spoilt beauty of the landscapes, the sincere hospitality of Omani people and the relaxed atmosphere it is possible to breath here. Moreover, I appreciate a lot the way how people are tied to their traditions and proud of them and the country is a special place for a quite and family oriented life.
The choice of a well preserved natural environment was inevitable for a place to live in and to «feed» my artistic inspiration, that constantly refers to the eternal beauty of nature.
In Italy me and my husband Luca (both form Genoa, «The Superba», capital of the beautiful Ligurian Riviera) chose to live in the remote wildlife sanctuary and UNESCO Heritage paradise of Alicudi, a completely tiny pedestrian island, off the coasts of Sicily, chosen by many intellectuals, writers and international artists as a retreat: a place of the soul to get unique inspiration: here time seems to have stopped and life has a different meaning, more focused on the essential values of life (here is a short video about my home and art studio on the island
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_mnKW4Joh8&t=129s).
In Oman we found our paradise in a traditional fishermen village just 10 mns from the capital Muscat and its fashinating cultural and artistic life: it’s name is Qantab and reminds me of «our Alicudi island» in Italy.
Have you been ever influenced by other artists ?
Being a self-taught artist I might ironically define myself as an «anarchist of art». In fact, my creations are sculpture, painting and often installation at a time: I’m always instinctively inspired to give life to surprising subjects and scenes that can rarely fit in pre-determined categories, as many art curators and critics says. My works are fruit of my inspiration, not bound to formal schemes or rules. I like to experiment and enjoy new challenges.
That said, if I can allow myself to mention some immortal masters of the past I always bring in my heart Michelangelo and Caravaggio as symbols of perfection in transmitting the power of expression, by representing the scene at the apex of its action and, as far as the second is concerned, above all focusing on involving close-ups. Getting nearer to us, unconscious North Stars that guide my inspiration are Gaudì for his dreaming sculptural expression, Klimt for the powerful golden brightness of his masterpieces and Chagall, for his fairytale atmospheres exalted by a perfect marriage of soft and bright colours... just to name a few. Living in contact with the masterpieces of the past and getting inspiration from them is like walking on a bridge that opens an enchanting art communion of souls.
And last another fundamental contribution to my artistic growth and research are personal relationships with many contemporary artists in all fields, born and grown during international artistic symposiums.
How much important is your family, your spouse Luca in your artistic journey ?
My family of origin was the fertile ground where my passion for art grew. During my childhood I used to breath arts under all forms, from Opera to figurative arts. «I grew up between music and art» as a journalist recently titled an article about me.
Throughout the last two decades and more, the milestone of my art path was and still is my beloved husband Luca, wonderful mate in art and life. We met at university and then walked together for a while in our official professions: him as a lawyer and I as a researcher and teacher of criminal law. It would take too much to explain why and how many years ago we surprised our friends and families leaving our promising brilliant careers in the world of law to follow our art passions: from theatre, to music, to figurative arts.
We share everything together, whether it is the organisation of our historically set events or my figurative art exhibitions. He is the first witness of my new works and precious advisor also during the «work in progress». He is also great in promoting my art and taking care of all the practical aspects related to the career of an artist.
In a few words, I might say that not only our infinite love binds us together but also a perfect harmony in the professional life.
Do you have a personal artistic statement ?
I might sound a bit naive, anachronistic or old-fashioned but to me art is Beauty with a capital B, as an absolute and eternal value. Through art I try to transmit my approach to life, which tends to see the positive side in each situation and be aware to thank for every happy moment, without ever giving anything for granted. It is something that comes from my instinct but also from my past experiences: trying to get over difficult moments each one of us sooner or later faces, moving forward to see behind the obstacle a glimpse of beauty and thus of joy, something to give us the strength to keep on in spite of everything.
I do not want to speak about philosophy or moral, but more simply this is the message I instinctively want to share through figurative arts: a joyful hymn to the value of Beauty, which to me is expressed through the power of light, of colours, of movement and plastic shapes. This is based on my immense love for Nature as the maximum example of perfection, mighty and eternal power: the Universe, in which we are quick passing guests and that we need to respect and protect.
From this comes the search for a lifestyle as much as possible oriented to values of soberness, giving importance to precious and valuable things. Consumerism is a danger for nature and ourselves, because it fulfills the soul and the life with false wishes that will never be satisfied, making us lose the way to the essential.
Beauty gives objects an ideal value of eternity, which is the opposite of the «throwaway» message. This ideal is the milestone of art in all its expressions, whether it is figurative arts, fashion, design... as well as theatre, opera, music. An artwork, like a symphony, will be beautiful for ever.
What is your next project , your artistic dream as a woman artist and performer?
My inspiration always swarms with new ideas on many subjects. Should I find a common concept that binds them together, I might say it is the fascinating exploration of new media and spectacular effects. And it’s the same also talking about my activity as a performer, choreographer and set designer.
Getting to the core of your question, I might say that my dream is to work on something really huge for a prestigious palace or stately home, in order to express in figurative art too my love for scenes and scenic effects and embody in it the client’s wishes and expectations. In the past, big artworks are the ones that gave me the best fulfillments.
In my drawer there is more than one new plan about events that involve art and theatre at a time, inspired to our previous experiences and looking ahead...
Another project we also have in store, which we had to postpone due to the current pandemic, is art residency programs for young talents on «our» paradise Island of Alicudi in the south of Italy. A place where living and creating art, meeting many valuable international artists and intellectuals in different fields, learning and breathing a perfect and sustainable life style, far from external «noise» and in order to fully develop one’s creativity. Being in close contact with the primordial and un-spoilt beauty of Nature, creative inspiration runs faster and faster.
You are a painter , visual artist , dancer and musician ? Which one is more important in your cultural journey ?
I need to use again the word «fusion». I can not separate the different artistic souls that form my personality. When I paint, it is as if I were dancing or building a theatrical plot. When I dance, it is as if I were creating visual artworks. When I project theatrical choreographies, I conceive them as a series of artworks or sculptures one after the other according to the plot. All my artworks are moved by a powerful idea of movement and scenic expression, trying to stop time and capture that moment, that melody, that feeling...
My experience in the world of theatre and events brought me to create my personal concept of installations with mirrors including sculptural paintings, to offer the viewer optical effects aiming to show the artwork’s soul: body and soul, tangible and ethereal parts of a same entity.
Through time I was invited to reflect about the eclectic aspect of my art, trying to understand its roots. By putting together remarks and appreciations I got from critics and collectors I might sum up the whole answer by saying that my sculptural and 3D artworks, that blend painting, sculpture and often installations, have their roots in my love for dance, movement and body expression, together with the pathos of the scenic effect of surprise that is typical of theatre. Actually there is not a prevalence of one over the other.
Monica Mergiu
ROYAL ARTS VISIONS; LUCIA OLIVA