Abstract Artisan - Symbolic Art

Abstract Artisan features the work of artist Rossella Picciani. The artist became interested in symbols more than 20 years ago, while working as a graphic designer. Since that time she has developed a truly unusual and fascinating artistic style - her work is covered with thousands of tiny symbols, each laboriously hand rendered. 

Picciani draws her symbolic visual language from eastern and western mysticism, psychology, extinct languages, cartography, scientific notation and information graphics. She then layers thousands of these symbols and icons over images of fossils, fragments of landscapes, human figures, satellite imagery and plant life. The finished artworks show the constant evolution of our world through complex relationships between humans, animals, plants and the earth.

A master colourist, Picciani also employs unusual and vivid combinations of colour in many of her works. Detailed viewing of the surface often reveals unexpected and delightful colour harmonies. Likewise, many images and symbols in the works reveal themselves on close inspection, while others can only be seen from a distance. At her exhibitions, it is common to see people with their faces mere centimetres from the artwork surface as they take in the fascinating wealth of detail. "I want each painting to be intriguing, whether it's viewed up close or from several metres away." says the artist in describing her intentions.

These days, surrounded in her work space by symbols of all descriptions, Picciani seems to have been born to develop this unique and exacting style "One of my earliest memories is sitting outside on the back step of my home, covering scraps of paper with little crosses". Fortunately for us, through years of painstaking work, the artist has fashioned this simple childhood experience into an intriguing and unique artform.