ETNALONGA Painting

I was born in Florence in 1957 where I grow up end presently live. After the studies in Artistic Liceum and some experiences in the field of avant-garde theatre, at the half "˜70, I started an over 25 years course in the art and artistic handcraft world. In 1976 I begun to built theatrical and artistic paper maché masks. In 1978 I founded "Atelier d'Arte I MASCHERERI" (a real forge of ideas and artistic enterprises), that in a short time imposed itself to the national an international attention, allowing me to travel all over the world, exporting my art, fruit af an iconographic and artistic research above the theatre and the mask, the connected rituals and the carnival tradition. Through that experience I could know artist and artificers of the most different tendencies. Beside the masks and the paper maché sculpture, at that time I was also developing my personal pictorial research: in 1977 I was associate with "Baphomet Cultural Center"in Florence, at that time goal and stage of painters, sculptors, critics and personages of the art scene. In 1981 took place my first exibition at Ken's Art Gallery of Florence (still existing!), followed by others in Italy and abroad, invited in USA, Japan, Singapore and Germany. In the first '90 I was given up mainly to paintings, but at the same time it take shape an other great passion of my life: the music, that I always cultivated over all as percussionist, drummer, jazz, R&B and salsa lover. From 1992 up to 2002 I had a quite big succes as EL CHEVERE Sabor DJ, organizing salsa nights, festival of live latin music. This long and various experience enrich my pictorial activity with inspiration, benefits and allowed me to get in touch with oter artists and countries in the world. Around the half '90 up to the 2002, I made some studio trips along Italy and abroad (3 of them in the Caribbean countries where I sold some of my paintings and enriched may musical experience). In that period I realized sketches, drowings, writings and various matirial useful to became foudating base and nucleus of the nextpaintings. My figurative painting tower in his center the feminine figure in a simbolic atmosphere, in a spiritual space; A sort of anti-conventional neopaganism. It is in the beginning of 2002 "Le sante Sospese"(susopended saints) idea start to take form.