By Staff Writer
Italian artist Pietro Palummieri, artistically known as Palù, is a sculptor and painter of Apulian origin in Italy. He lives in Maruggio, in the province of Taranto, where he captures his primary inspiration from the local territory to create his art pieces.
When he came to visit Oman and checked out many of its old villages, Pietro was inspired to embark on a journey to understand the country and the villages better.
His gallivanting all over Oman has resulted in dozens of artworks which he is now on display at Bait Al Zubair in partnership with the Embassy of Italy in Oman.
Titled “Italian Emotions in Oman, Pietro said that he has a deep sense of respect for the villages in Oman as they reminded him a lot of his own city of Puglia located in the Southern Part of Italy.
“I have visited many wilayats and villages in Oman, especially those in the interior region, and was very moved by the buildings and historic buildings in them,” he shared.
“I come from the city of Puglia in South of Italy which is the touristic city holding a lot of historic and heritage buildings, I felt the sentiment of being as if in Italy whilst visiting many local Omani cities such as Izki, Al Hamra and Manah, along with the Wilayat of Ibra and many more,” he added.
Pietro documented his visits to different Oman locations by artistically recreating them all of which can be seen throughout the exhibition. Pietro said that the exhibition will hold over 50 art pieces and they not only showcase the beauty of the cities and villages of the Sultanate of Oman but preserve them for the future generation to see.
The paintings range from natural landscapes and historic buildings to other natural scenes such as plants, trees, beaches, and the sea along with numerous sculptures and figurines that the artist created during his stay in Oman.
As an artist, even when he was in Italy, Pietro has always been inspired by the shapes within nature. The spiritual world criss-cross in Palù’s work gives life to an artistic and sensory voyage in the search of a private ambience.
An extremely prolific artist, he uses graphical and pictorial techniques very diverse from one another. Some of these are water-based colours, oil, and red lead pencil tips. For his sculptures, he utilises a special type of concrete using terracotta as a starting point.
He has participated in art exhibitions worldwide and has visited Oman recently which opened the door for him to enjoy and explore the beauty of Oman.
The exhibition “Italian Emotions in Oman” will continue until Thursday, September 29, 2022, at Bait Al Zubair in Muscat, and visitors can see the exhibition during opening hours from Saturday to Thursday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
