The owl - curated by Flavio Scaloni

A curation by Flavio Scaloni, Gallery Manager at Galerie Lo Scalo - The owl is a captivating artistic subject, embodying a powerful duality. Its nocturnal nature makes it a symbol of mystery, intuition, and the unconscious, while its association with the Greek goddess Athena links it to wisdom and knowledge. Psychologically, the owl represents a journey into the self, inviting us to see beyond the obvious. In Art History, the owl has long appeared as a mysterious figure. Post-1950, artists continued to explore its symbolic depth. Pablo Picasso, who kept an owl as a pet, frequently featured it in his later work, creating drawings and ceramics that captured his enigmatic presence, such as his ceramic plate Owl (1951). The Surrealist painter Max Ernst also used bird-like figures, including owls, as a recurring motif to explore subconscious themes. The world-famous photographer Richard Avedon, known for his iconic portraits, turned his lens to the animal kingdom, capturing the intense gaze of a Great Gray Owl in a striking photograph from his series In the American West (1979-1984). This collection celebrates the owl as a timeless symbol of wisdom, introspection, and the quiet power of the unseen world.

18 Artworks

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