Sultan of Style Painter, Sculptor Impiglia Fuses Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Cubism, Expressionism by Jordan Gilmore Mixing two or more artistic styles is always risky. But when itís done right, the results can be outstanding. Italian-born painter and sculptor Giancarlo Impiglia uniquely fuses elements of art nouveau, art deco, cubism and expressionism to create a style all his own. His work will be on display at the Italian Cultural Institute from Nov. 20 to Dec. 7. Born in Rome but now based in New Yorkís Little Italy, Impiglia developed a love of design and color as a childóand itís obvious from his work that he still holds those values dear. ìChinatown,î for example, is a bright, sharp, loud, bustling New York street scene that captures the frantic hurry of urban life perfectly. The rich, bright yellows, oranges and blues serve to alert the viewer to the rush of the faceless pedestrians. In ìNight Warriors II,î on the other hand, Impiglia uses soft greens and varying shades of lavender to illustrate a calmer evening scene. A professional artist for 30 years, Impiglia is famous for his linear approach to his work. In all of his paintings, perceived lines at various angles crisscross the scene, marking boundaries between different shades and temperatures of color. In ìThe Garden of Eden,î for instance, the stylized Adam and Eve stand in a clearly delineated area of brighter color, perhaps to separate them from the dark serpent just to their left. Most of Impigliaís paintings focus on figuresóbut interestingly, he never gives them faces, focusing more on their costumes, postures and movement. This method makes the viewer focus on the overall scene rather than the people in itóbut ironically, it also makes the figures seem familiar rather than impersonal. If Impigliaís paintings look familiar, itís likely youíve seen them before. His work has appeared in Absolut vodka ads and adorns the lobbies of various buildings around the world, as well as the Queen Elizabeth II ocean liner. Impiglia could certainly be considered a pop-culture artist, but his work has remained remarkably steady over the years. Indeed, his work is timelessópaintings he created in the í70s are virtually indistinguishable from his latest pieces. Although the majority of his pieces focus on urban scenes, Impiglia is also a master of the abstract. ìKaleidoscopioî and the oil-on-aluminum ìThe Nature of Eveî are two excellent examples. Both use veritable explosions of color that startleóand pleaseóthe eye. And since Impigliaís sculptures are basically three-dimensional versions of his paintings, most of the above holds true for them as well. If one word could describe Impigliaís work, it would be ìkinetic.î By combining static figures with varying geometric shapes and shades of coloróas well as blending several artistic stylesóthe artist creates an intense sense of movement that makes his work all the more unique and dynamic. An opening reception for the artist will be held at the Italian Cultural Institute, 2025 M St., NW, Suite 610, on Nov. 19 at 6:30 p.m. ìImagination and Transformation: Paintings, Sculpture and Jewelry by Giancarlo Impigliaî runs Nov. 20 to Dec. 7. For more information, please call (202) 223-1128 or www.italcultusa.org. Jordan Gilmore is an editorial intern for The Washington Diplomat.