Patrick Dalli’s entry to the Premio Carlo Bonatto Minella.

Patrick Dalli has become synonymous with large compositions depicting voluptuous nudes. These large paintings are the result of hours of thought, sketching from a life model and the resultant execution of the figure.

It is with one such nude painting, of a frontally posed, seated female against a background of green and black squares, that Dalli has received recognition in a recent competition in Rivarolo Canavese (Province of Turin, Piedmont) that promotes representation art.

Dalli entered the second edition of the Italian Premio Carlo Bonatto Minella biennale, organised by the cultural association Areacreativa42. This competition is dedicated to the memory of a Piedmontese artist, Carlo Bonatto Minella (1855-1878), whose career was short-lived due to his early death.

Participants who presented either a painting, sculpture or photography, were to follow the theme – Oltre il corpo... l’anima (Beyond the body... the soul) – which could be widely interpreted... and so it was by the 823 participants.

Dalli’s mastery of the human form is made manifest in this intimate exhibition

Dalli competed in the category for those older than 30, where out of the 550 participants he placed among the 20 finalists, among which were some significant contributions, largely by Italian contemporary artists.

The finalists were announced with the four winners –Valentina Ceci, Simone Gilardi, Leo Ferdinando Demetz and Doriano Scazzosi.

The winner and finalist works were on display and published in a catalogue, and are once again being exhibited to the public at the Galleria Hernandez in Milan until March 8.

In preparation for his large oil paintings, Dalli works incessantly in the studio with live models, studying the nude in every imaginable pose, sketching away before attempting the composition on the large blank canvas which does not intimidate him.

The sketch is an essential element in Dalli’s work, and it is as important as the finished work. This is where the artist’s first impression of the nude is translated onto paper.

It also serves as preparation for the artist to transform it into a finished painting. However, the sketch also allows the artist to be free in his execution, resulting in a freshness that is seldom manifest in the larger work.

Dalli’s sketches often consist of the figure outline in charcoal on paper. These are sometimes enlivened with colour, bringing the image closer to real life. In fact, several watercolour nudes on paper and two in acrylics on canvas are the subject of Nudes, the ongoing exhibition by Patrick Dalli.

These works were executed with the freshness of his sketches that leave little to no room for error, and which, with a few strokes, capture the human form in a sophisticated manner.

The subjects are male and female nudes, with the focus being solely on the human figure, with the females’ hair having always been pulled back to reveal as much of the torso as possible.

In the untitled works, colour accentuates the figures and their movement, and adds structure to the composition, often contributing to the mood conveyed by the nude’s pose. The paper itself is often left visible in the composition, and is also used to highlight several aspects of the figure.

In contrast to the large oil painting with which Dalli entered the Premio Carlo Bonatto Minella, the focus in these nudes is not a painstaking attention to detail. The faces of the portrayed figures, when visible, is often left seemingly unfinished, with little hints at the physiognomy.

Dalli’s mastery of the human form is made manifest in this intimate exhibition.

Patrick Dalli’s nude exhibition is open Art..e Gallery in Victoria.