What happens when a classical Italian sensibility—embracing the Old World traditions of Michelangelo and the Renaissance—meets Hawai‘i’s island culture? In the breathtaking collaborative art of twin brothers Marcello and Alessio Bugagiar, the result is not culture-clash, but glorious synthesis. Their joint  oeuvre uniquely blends European artistic disciplines—and cutting-edge digital technology—with the delightful informality of Hawaiian culture. The brothersfrequently employ traditional oils on a variety of media, from plaster to koa wood, as they celebrate the riotous colors and sensual forms of Hawai‘i:  flora, fauna, native peoples, and natural environment.  

The Twins’ island-themed art ranges from portraits of traditional Hawaiians—comely lei makers and handsome outriggers—to still-life works featuring Maui orchids, O‘ahu fruits, lush leaves, and hand-woven baskets.  A signature technique is to allow the grain of the koa wood backing to show through the final translucent finish in some spots, such as in the texture of a vase, a violin, or even a woman’s hair. This inventive approach enhances the integration of subject and medium, while adding dramatic visual flair.

The Twins emigrated to Hawai‘i from their native Florence in the mid-1990s. To hear them tell it (in their lilting and enthusiastic Italian accents) their transition from The Old Country to Hawai‘i was a natural. “We come from a place where there is a cathedral on every corner,” explains Alessio. “We respect the great artistic traditions of Italy, where the beauty we saw was culture, man-made…” “And yet,” picks up Marcello, “I think we were too constricted there. Italy is precious for many things, but in Hawai‘i there is so much space to create.  We never paint Hawai‘i’s sunsets or beaches, but they feed us. We cannot give them up!  We feel they are really our church, our inspiration. We walk on the sand or swim every day.”

Alessio completes their shared thought: “Yes, exactly:  Hawai‘i lets us  experience the beauty of nature.  It’s exciting to come here and see this—for us—new form of beauty. We respect the values of Hawai‘i. We feel a part of it, because we love it.”

While they enjoy windsurfing and love hula dancing, it’s no exaggeration to say the Bugagiar brothers still represent the Italy of Michelangelo and the Renaissance.  Alessio, the painter (and usually the more reticent and buttoned-down of the two), studied four years at the Accademia delle Belle Arti in Firenze.

Founded in 1562, Michelangelo was one of the original directors. Marcello, typically the more outspoken of the fraternal twins, adeptly applies the latest technology to their joint projects.  He often shoots digital photo studies of their subjects before Alessio paints a portrait, manipulating the results on his computer to yield new possibilities and highlights.  Marcello also deploys the latest finishes and framing techniques to bring out the brilliance and beauty of their final products.  Alessio deems this step crucial to the proper presentation of their fused, total vision.

The Twins view their varied approaches as a creative balance, converging in a single vision of Hawai‘i’s beauty.  “When there is balance, there is beauty,” intones Alessio. “It is true in art and it’s true of people. Balance means growing.” “Nature is mathematical and symmetrical,” Marcello agrees, elaborating on Alessio’s theme.  “Nature always points to balance.  There are even statistical curves that point to philosophical balance.  This is an incredible guideline from nature that should be applied everywhere, to politics and society as well as art.”

“I would say our real struggle sometimes is finding the balance of composition for the objects we use in our painting,” Alessio continues.  “That’s the foundation and we spend a lot of time deciding that. At least half of our work occurs before the first brush stroke.”

The Twins, as they are known, collaborate as seamlessly in the creative process as they do in everyday conversation. Chatting with a friend or visitor, they deepen each other’s insights, and complete each other’s sentences.  Working in the studio, they engage in a dance of mutual inspiration that’s so intimately coordinated, it’s impossible to tell the leader from the led. “Sometimes the vision comes from him and sometimes from me,” says Marcello. “It’s so magical that even we find it tough to identify the boundaries and who contributed how much to a particular work or a magical moment.”  Alessio adds: “Often Marcello has the vision and I do the painting, but it’s truly teamwork from beginning to end.  We complete each other; we feel we become one energy that expresses a single idea.  It feels good to know we have two people focused on the same goal, to create beauty.” 

The brothers agree their collaboration is based on “a spiritual chemistry that transcends the blood relationship.”  Says Alessio:  “I see that many creations are a convergence of visions that come from different directions and human beings.”

Echoes Marcello:  “Although we put completely different energies into a piece, we arrive at the same result.” Hawai‘i does not exhaustively define The Twins’ choice of artistic subjects.  The full range of their work, on display at the Lahaina Galleries (Maui, the Big Island, California and Oregon), includes portraits of Old World faces and Old Italy city scenes.  There is also an abundance of floral images and traditional still-life subjects. Yet lovers of Hawai‘i may be forgiven for feeling that the Islands inspire many of  The Twins’ most vivid and compelling creations. “Art is the idealization of life,” says Marcello.  “I think with art, we find the sublime in reality. I see our work as an idealization of Hawai‘i, but it grows from the reality of Hawai‘i.  We want to ensure what we create is rooted in the dream of every human being.”



Lahaina Galleries
800.228.2006
www.lahainagalleries.com