PORTRAITS / ARTIST + SPIRIT
“We are spiritual animals”. CB is fascinated by the Human, the most authentic and the universal essence of our kind. Due to her private nature, she only allows herself to stare at someone when officially allowed to photograph or paint this person.
She looks within and sees (and captures) people’s inner beauty. Each project is a discovery, for both her and the model, looking at each other for hours, while she feels a rush of adrenaline necessary to render on canvas the spark of life she was aiming at. The result is the authentic creation of a psychological portrait.
In 2007, she met Leonid Gervitz, at the Arts Students League of New York. Soon after, she met Nelson Shanks, a great master of beautiful photorealistic art. For two years, she studied with him figure drawing. His clear and clean methodology was a promise she could not resist. His passion for the colors and his “color studies” technique gave her a new horizon and vocabulary. “It is easier to dull a strong color than to wake up a dead one,” he would say. In the Spring of 2009, she was awarded the “David Frederick Emerson Grant”, which allowed her to attend the prestigious Summer Intensive Portrait Course at Studio Incamminati, Nelson Shanks’ school, and legacy, in Philadelphia. Later on, she also practiced her skills with Costa Vavagiakis, Frank Porcu, and Michael Grimaldi. In June 2011, she won the “Adolf H. & Ada Aldrich Grant” (Realism Category) for a finished portrait she had completed in her art studio.
Her style combines classic techniques with modern colors and contemporary lighting. She paints what she sees and her subjectivity allows for an even more realistic representation.
In Caroline’s 2010 solo exhibition catalog, H. E. M, René Novella, Historian and Private Advisor of H. H. Prince Albert II wrote “... In terms of technique, she went from acrylic to oil, and to painting, she added metal sculpture. As for themes, she chose the portrait - with an impressive achievement that makes me predict that she will reach the perfection of her undoubted talent - and mystical subjects.”
CAROLINE BERGONZI, early comments on the experience of making PORTRAITS. New York, announcing the 2012 CB Retrospective. Filmed by George Lou.
Prince Albert of Monaco with Monegasque artist Caroline Bergonzi. September 2022. Photography by Gaëtan Luci, Palais Princier.