The Oltrarno Gaze
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Victoria Slichter on show at Il Palmerino
The exhibition The Oltrarno Gaze, organized by Advancing Women Artists and the cultural association Il Palmerino at the latter’s center in Florence features portraits by US artist Victoria Slichter, who recently moved to Florence to make her home in one of its most typical neighborhoods, the Oltrarno of San Frediano. Through her vivid portraits, she tells the story of a neighborhood that is much like a seaport, in all its inclusiveness and vitality. “I see portraiture as a vocation.” This is Victoria Slichter’s starting point. “It’s about leaving future generations a clue as to how we looked and acted. The Oltrarno Gaze is a portrait series with different sitters, but they all say the same thing to me: we are all in this together and we all deserve to be seen. The refugee, the man who lives on lottery tickets not food – everyone has a story worth telling. The ordinary working folk, the chimneysweep, the woman who fries coccoli, the shoemaker. To me, portraiture can be summed up in the question: ‘What are you thinking, now that you are safely on canvas?’ And so, our conversations are sown and grow. This is why I fall in love with the person once they are inside the picture.” 17 September to 2 November. Thursdays to Saturdays (3pm to 7.30pm). Admission free. Those who would like to join the inauguration celebration, on September 17 at 6.30pm, are invited to RSVP at associazione@palmerino.it. Reservations are required.
The exhibition The Oltrarno Gaze, organized by Advancing Women Artists and the cultural association Il Palmerino at the latter’s center in Florence features portraits by US artist Victoria Slichter, who recently moved to Florence to make her home in one of its most typical neighborhoods, the Oltrarno of San Frediano. Through her vivid portraits, she tells the story of a neighborhood that is much like a seaport, in all its inclusiveness and vitality. “I see portraiture as a vocation.” This is Victoria Slichter’s starting point. “It’s about leaving future generations a clue as to how we looked and acted. The Oltrarno Gaze is a portrait series with different sitters, but they all say the same thing to me: we are all in this together and we all deserve to be seen. The refugee, the man who lives on lottery tickets not food – everyone has a story worth telling. The ordinary working folk, the chimneysweep, the woman who fries coccoli, the shoemaker. To me, portraiture can be summed up in the question: ‘What are you thinking, now that you are safely on canvas?’ And so, our conversations are sown and grow. This is why I fall in love with the person once they are inside the picture.” 17 September to 2 November. Thursdays to Saturdays (3pm to 7.30pm). Admission free. Those who would like to join the inauguration celebration, on September 17 at 6.30pm, are invited to RSVP at associazione@palmerino.it. Reservations are required.
Victoria Slichter’s Concetta, 2018
