The Italian artist Nadia Fanelli and her artwork Beyond the Horizon, 2025 Acrylic, oil and resin on wood (39.37 x 59.06 in / 100 x 150 cm)

During the event, Nadia Fanelli shared insights into her creative process and distinctive layering technique. She begins each piece with oil paint, adds acrylic, and finishes with a layer of resin that gives the work its signature "wet look." It was fascinating to gain a more technical understanding of her approach. Fanelli explained that while her paintings are inspired by real places, they are not meant to depict specific locations. Instead, she aims to evoke a sense of familiarity, allowing viewers to connect personally with the work. This series, for example, draws inspiration from the Hamptons but is intentionally open-ended in its representation. Fanelli prefers to suggest a blend of locations rather than portray a single one, inviting each viewer to see somewhere meaningful to them. Her paintings also play with perception: up close, they appear abstract and geometric, but from a distance, they resolve into soft, dreamlike landscapes—almost like optical illusions.

The Italian artist Nadia Fanelli and her artwork Hamptons, 2025 Acrylic, oil and resin on canvas (27.56 x 27.56 in / 70 x 70 cm)

This latest body of work draws inspiration from the tranquil landscapes of the Hamptons, the picturesque beauty of the North East and other peaceful coastal settings where Fanelli finds inner stillness. These environments—defined by soft horizons, salty breezes, and the quiet rhythm of coastal life—become fertile ground for her exploration of the ephemeral present.

Nadia Fanelli’s work evokes the timeless power of storytelling, exploring the individual as a spectator of contemporary experience with fluid, personal, and ever-changing moments. Rather than presenting a polished or fixed reality, Fanelli captures the emotional and subjective nature of the present. Her compositions, often deconstructed into abstract shapes and gestural lines, appear chaotic up close but resolve into orchestrated scenes from afar through color, form, and negative space. Layers of paint and transparent resin create a visual softness, evoking the shimmering haze of summer or views through salt-streaked glass. This immersive technique blurs material and meaning, dissolving clarity to invite interpretation. Influenced by Zygmunt Bauman’s “liquid modernity,” Fanelli paints a world in flux, mirroring the ambiguity and complexity of perception.

Nadia Fanelli's Golden Hour, 2025; Beyond the Horizon, 2025 and Hamptons, 2025.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Nadia Fanelli is an Italian painter and mixed media artist. Educated at the Art Institute in Mantua, she trained in both traditional and craft-based disciplines, including porcelain production and goldsmithing. Her affinity for unconventional materials and desire to challenge the boundaries of painting continue to define her evolving practice. 

For more information on Nadia Fanelli's available works

 contact: soho@spacestbarth.com 

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