Tue, 09/01/2020 - 7:45am

Karen Swartsberg

“Keep Pushing,” an oil on masonite, is one of the works by Carlo Albucci on exhibit at Gold/Smith Gallery through Oct. 21. Courtesy of the venue

Carlo Albucci show opens at Gold/Smith Gallery in Boothbay Harbor Sept. 3 running through Oct. 21.

Carlo Albucci was a Florentine painter of curious happenings. He painted ironic, iconic, surreal and comic events sometimes all together, sometimes one at a time. In all ways they are fun to look at and even more fun to figure out. These “happenings,” all oil paintings on Masonite, were inventions of his rather elaborate and curious imagination. Only the viewer can decide. Anyway you look at them though, they will leave you wondering, smiling and perhaps laughing at this crazy world he’s invented.

Carlo Albucci, born in 1947, was a well known antiques dealer who did the famous open air antique markets throughout Tuscany, where he and his wife Anna lived, almost every weekend of the year. They traveled to Arezzo, Lucca, Firenze, Siena, wherever there was good weather and an outdoor antiques market. During the week, Anna tends to their home and cats, collects more antiques and Carlo painted. He loved to paint. He painted from his heart, and it showed.

His scenes are rich in the fables and foibles of Italian culture and religion. Growing up in Florence it would be nearly impossible to not absorb the rich heritage of art, church, eccentric within the daily life. That was only the tip of the iceberg for Carlo. He had taken the ordinary and stepped outside the box to show the other side of the dogma, tradition and fantasy. His paintings are rich and lyrical. They resonate with joy and his ability to laugh at himself and everyone else too.

Carlo died in February 2020 sitting outside his studio in the hill village of Gambassi Terme, just enjoying a spectacular sunset. Please come to the gallery and share with us his exceptional vision of the world. You won’t forget it!

Gold/Smith Gallery, at 8 McKown St. is open Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays noon to 5 p.m. For more information the gallery may be reached at 633-6252. www.goldsmithgallery.net