Filippo Falbo ( 1946-2021) - Untitled

Filippo Falbo abstract painting oil on woodboard
This painting is a vibrant, highly textured abstract landscape painting with a strong impressionistic and expressionistic feel. The composition is divided into distinct horizontal layers that evoke a stylized natural scene:
Sky: A soft, atmospheric light-blue expanse at the top, with subtle white impasto marks suggesting clouds or distant light. Two circular white forms (possibly moons or suns) appear in the upper left.
Distant hills/mountains: A sweeping, curved form in soft pinkish-white with darker accents, creating a sense of rolling terrain or a distant ridge.
Middle ground: Rich, layered bands of earthy tones—warm yellows, ochres, oranges, and hints of pink and black—applied with thick, expressive brushstrokes and heavy impasto. These layers suggest fields, earth, or water reflections, with visible texture and blending that gives depth and movement.
Foreground: Lighter, almost pale lavender-pink and white areas with additional gestural marks, adding to the sense of foreground terrain or reflective surface.
The right side of the canvas features a dynamic, chaotic burst of color—deep blacks, bright reds, blues, pinks, yellows, and whites—applied with energetic, thick strokes. This area feels like an abstract tree, foliage, or dramatic foreground element that contrasts beautifully with the more serene horizontal bands on the left.
The painting uses a rich, blended palette that shifts from cool blues and pinks in the upper sections to warm golds, yellows, and earth tones below, creating a harmonious yet energetic landscape. The heavy impasto technique is one of its standout features, giving the surface a sculptural, tactile quality with visible palette-knife or brush marks, drips, and built-up texture throughout.
Close-up details highlight the masterful textural work:
Thick, crusty layers of paint where colors are dragged and mixed directly on the canvas.
Visible palette-knife strokes, raised ridges, and even small embedded fibers or debris in the paint.
Beautiful color transitions, such as the warm orange-gold band cutting through cooler grays and pinks.
The surface has a raw, organic quality with areas of heavy buildup contrasting with thinner washes.
Overall, this is a captivating semi-abstract landscape that captures the essence of a serene yet dramatic natural scene through bold color, expressive mark-making, and luxurious texture. It feels both contemporary and rooted in traditions of landscape abstraction (think influences from artists like Zao Wou-Ki, Joan Mitchell, or modern impasto landscape painters). The contrast between the calm horizontal bands and the explosive color on the right creates wonderful visual tension and interest.