Saturday 6 September – The exhibition “Windows and Visions: Listening to Dante and Fabrizio De André”, featuring paintings by the Treviso-based artist Toni Buso, was inaugurated at the Pordenone Public Library.
The exhibition offers the public an original artistic journey that weaves together the immortal verses of Dante Alighieri with the songs of Fabrizio De André, through the expressive power of colour and form. The artist, who has always been a passionate admirer of the music and lyrics of the Genoese singer-songwriter, has developed a pictorial language that transforms words and music into images with a powerful emotional impact.
The central theme of the exhibition draws inspiration from the album *La Buona Novella*, De André’s masterpiece inspired by the apocryphal Gospels. Buso translates these sacred tales into abstract and symbolic compositions, in which spirals, circles, letters and numbers intertwine against luminous backdrops rich in meaning. The written word thus becomes pictorial material, whilst colour guides the visitor through a narrative that is non-linear yet deeply evocative.
Alongside his homage to De André, the artist’s other major influence is Dante, in particular the *Paradiso*. Dante’s realm of light, intended for souls and their spiritual dematerialisation, is reflected in the predominant use of white that characterises Buso’s entire body of work. One of the works on display, entitled ‘L’amor che move il Sole e l’altre Stelle’ – the famous line that concludes the Divine Comedy – encapsulates this vision: a universe revolving around divine love, the driving force behind stars and human souls.
The exhibition is striking for its ability to combine simplicity with compositional complexity. The seemingly minimalist line blends with a rigorous symbolic structure, revealing diverse influences: from primitivism to Paul Klee, from Alexander Calder to spatialist lyricism. What emerges with particular force is the sincerity of the artistic gesture and the desire to entrust art with a function that goes beyond aesthetics, embracing ethical and spiritual dimensions.
The initiative forms part of the cultural programme of the Pordenone Public Library, reaffirming the institution’s commitment to promoting contemporary art and fostering dialogue between different forms of expression.
The exhibition is open at the Pordenone Public Library on Mondays from 2.00 pm to 6.45 pm, from Tuesday to Saturday from 9.00 am to 6.45 pm, and on Sundays from 4.00 pm to 7.00 pm. For further information, please contact the Pordenone Public Library on 0434 392976 or by email at biblioteca@comune.pordenone.it.