Luigiua Zilli brings a bit of Italy to Burnaby

By Dan Hilborn
Published June 4, 2005


When Luigia Zilli first arrived in Canada six years ago, she knew she was going to miss the lovely scenery of her childhood home in the Veneto region of Italy.

But Zilli had an advantage that others simply couldn't match.

As an aspiring young artist who had apprenticed under one of the most respected sculptors in her home country, Zilli had wonderful memories of the landscapes, flowers and other scenes of Italy.

After she settled down in Canada, met the man of her dreams and started a family, she began the process of turning those memories into a collection of paintings that captured the hearts and votes of visitors to the Burnaby Arts Council Gallery last fall.

Zilli's oil painting titled Sunday Morning Ride won the gallery's People's Choice Award and, with it, the opportunity to show a collection of her paintings in the council's gallery this summer.

The opening reception for Luigia Zilli: An Italian Stroll runs from 2 to 4 p.m. this afternoon, June 4, and the exhibition will stay on display until June 26.

"I have been painting for almost 20 years, and many of my paintings are in private collections in both Italy and Germany," said Zilli. "This is my first solo show in Canada."

The paintings, many of which are done purely from memory, are recollections of Zilli's childhood, in and around the city of Venice and on her travels to other parts of Italy. Painted in a bright style that combines elements of realism and impressionism, her colours are vivid, the subjects are clear and the mood is unmistakably upbeat.

The drawings in the exhibition are all works completed in the past year and a half, and many of them were painted after Zilli won the honour of having her own showing at the gallery in Deer Lake Park.

"When I first came to Canada, I had a break and did not do any art. That's because I started a family, and now I have two children - aged four and two," she said. "But last fall, when I decided to participate in the juried show, I won first prize and that gave me the boost to keep painting."

If there is a hint of a master's works in any of her paintings, it may result from the fact that Zilli spent four years apprenticing under the tutelage of Carlo Ballajana, one of the most respected sculptors in Italy whose works adorn some of the greatest art galleries on the continent, including the Vatican.

"I started as his helper, and little by little I started to learn his techniques," said Zilli. "It's quite different in Italy. Here, I don't know if you could do the same. Here, you can go to school to learn, but the way that is best is by practising. Every day you try something different, so you make the work better."

Zilli has been busy painting since the fall juried show, and many of her newest works will be on display in An Italian Stroll.

And once this Burnaby Arts Council show is finished, the young mother expects to turn her brush on a new series of paintings - possibly of the landscapes around her new home in Canada.

"I have plans to do different things," she said. "I'd like to have an exhibition back home (in Italy) one day, possibly bringing Canadian landscapes."

Luigia Zilli: An Italian Stroll has its opening reception at the Burnaby Arts Council gallery, 6584 Deer Lake Ave., from 2 to 4 p.m., today, June 4, after which the exhibit runs until June 26.

For more information, contact the arts council at 604-298-7322.