5774
Coni's Underwater Art Exhibition (2013)
SummaryPainter Constanza Tagini Nightingale, or Coni as she is known, is preparing for her next exhibition. Main Body
Coni joins us from Chile and now lives in Mount Maunganui where she has her art studio
Her love of art started the first time she used a colour pencil and since then her passion has only grown stronger.
Coni grew up in a house full of paintings that included impressionist paintings by her Grandmother and realism paintings by her Uncle. It was the smell of oil that she grew to love and hours were spent contemplating nature, colours and the textures of these works.
These early influences gave Coni the strong desire to become a painter and artist.
Coni in her Mount Maunganui studio (2013).
She grew up in Talca and was to later study for a Bachelor in Arts in Santiago. It was here she learned technique, colour and composition. After 2 years her funding ran out but this did not deter her . She continued to attend, never missing a class and the desire to complete her education persisted.
Coni says, "What I learned nobody can take it away. Knowledge is free."
"Great artists do not only come from big institutions, they learn through a desire to create with their imagination and through constant use of their hands".
After university Coni did an assortment of different workshops including film, art direction, animation and photography, eventually landing a job as the art director in two theatre companies. Coni enjoyed this work immensely, creating scenery, masks, puppets, costumes while also learning about lighting and other aspects of the theatre.
Coni’s preferred medium is oil on canvas and she often makes her own oil paints with the use of pigment. She also likes the tondo or circle and has been using this format for the past 9 years.
“The circle makes more sense with what I want to represent and believe. The circle is a true shape that derives from nature, whether it is cells, planets, micro-macro cosmos. It can also be reflected in the cycle of biology or life. I like how it has a universal meaning as a symbol of wholeness, perfection, completion, equality, and can be infinite without beginning or end.
'Endless Journey' Oil on canvas 99.5 cm. diameter 2013
Coni has many other art influences. She loves Rembrandt for his use of contrasts, loves Bosch with his prolific imagination covering themes of darkness and Leonardo Di Vinci for his ability to become the complete master. Van Gogh, Escher, Dali, Kandinsky, Courbet, Cézanne and many other great artists have inspired her .
"New Zealand has inspired me so much with its rich spectrum of colors that are found in nature. This has changed the colours of my own palette drastically giving my art practice far more depth. It is now that I am focused on aspects of the ocean and the mysteries of the micro and macro cosmos".
"I find it fascinating that we haven’t discovered all kinds of the different creatures that exist in the deep sea or how diverse the multitude sea-life vegetation really is. We come from water; water is our basis of life and I find this a wondrous place of contemplation.
"Art is amazing and infinite, I am very grateful and honored to be able to contribute my own ideals", she says.
Coni's new 2013 exhibition 'Underwater Art' opens on the 6th September and runs until 30th September at the Mauao Performing Arts Centre - 11 Tōtara Street Mount Maunganui.
She will be joined by wood sculptor David Rendu.
For more information contact Coni at conita663@gmail.com
by Pete Morris (August, 2013).
Pete Morris is an occasional painter and an art lover. He is a freelance writer with a particular interest in promoting the visual arts in Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty.
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AcknowledgementTe Ao Mārama - Tauranga City Libraries
Personal Information
First Name(s)Constanza Tagini SurnameNightingale
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AuthorPete MorrisArchived Kete Linkhttps://perma.cc/5KQ5-BY8XType of ContributionCommunity storyTaxonomyStories | People
Pete Morris, Coni's Underwater Art Exhibition (2013). Pae Korokī, accessed 09/11/2024, https://paekoroki.tauranga.govt.nz/nodes/view/5774