Natalie Giugni

STATEMENT/ PROCESS

In-depth exploration and thorough enjoyment of the process of art making have led Natalie Giugni to develop a unique approach to creating her work: Forms are studied through sculpture and the contours of these objects are overlapped and abstracted using mixed media, paints and pastels. Hence, the progression in her work is from 3D to 2D.

As she paints, she frequently turns the canvas, altering the direction of the shape and weight of the composition. This acts as the catalyst to Giugni’s painting process: Dynamic instances arise between the layers as combinations of color, shape, and texture prompt her thoughts and reactions.

Giugni is careful to balance her role as a "creator" and a "facilitator" as forms emerge from within the layers. In this manner, by taking shapes from the outer world and abstracting them, she is also able to study the images that arise from her inner, psychological world. The development of the surface of the work depicts the flow of events from the entire course of the piece; permitting the spectator to experience her paintings from the initial sketch to the end image and transporting the viewer through the psychological world to the tangible artwork.

Through Natalie Giugni’s creations, classical themes such as death and rebirth, confinement, liberation, wretchedness, and beauty are examined in two- and three-dimensional works. Her latest series, Bones of Flight, gives new life to bits and pieces of birds and bones through deconstruction and abstraction of their imagery.

BIOGRAPHY

Natalie Giugni is a fine artist who creates in her studio in Jersey City, NJ. Born in Venezuela, she has traveled extensively, and has drawn inspiration for her work from her experiences in Italy, South America, and Japan. In 2020, Natalie was elected President of the New York Society of Women Artists, and has served two terms thus far.

Giugni is a graduate of Manhattan's School of Visual Arts where she attended on a full scholarship and has earned a master’s degree in international business administration from Saint Peter’s University, NJ, where she returned to study as a mid-career artist. This in-depth experience in fine art, combined with her business administration background, has enhanced her success in not-for-profit leadership.

Natalie finds challenge in both design work and fine art. Her participation in a year-long gilding project in the Russian Consulate, NYC, restoring the original moldings in 23K gold, influenced her to explore the use of metals in her painting and sculpture. One of Natalie's strengths is great diversity in her work. Contrasted to the delicate precision required when working with gold leaf, is the boldness and humor exhibited in a project she completed for the Children's Aid benefit at Lincoln Center, for which she was contracted to produce a twelve-foot replica of Judy Garland's ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz.