"I wish I were Italian" - exhibition of painter Thomas Dielman in Brussels

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The series 'I wish I were Italian' by the painter Thomas Dielman is inspired by his fascination for color and for Italy and follows the course of a single day.

In March 2023, his work will be exhibited at GC Het Huys in Uccle (Brussels). The artist himself says:

“Colors have a huge effect on me. Walking into a room with walls painted a color other than white changes how I feel. Setting foot on Italian shores has the same effect. The beauty of Italy makes you gasp.

From precious lapis lazuli→dangerous orpiment→unpredictable Verona green→artificial fluorescent pink, in stripes on mustard gold and silver grey. With fresh sky blue on the ivory white saucer and lots of cocoa brown on the first coffee with hot, steamed milk of the day !!! , 37 x 44 cm

At the turn of the century I lived in Parma for a year to complete my law studies as part of the Erasmus programme.

A world opened up for me. The Italians' attention to architecture and art made me more self-aware.

My world took on color, my imagination was sparked and took on wings.

Squares and churches whose proportions are correct and where you feel like a prince by walking on and past them. Statues carved from marble in which you suspect a heartbeat. Innate pride that makes you adopt a straighter posture.

Paintings that look so appetizing you'll want to be a part of them. Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni A Special Day. Italians who were born with taste in their DNA and who have made a dizzying contribution to art history.

Beauty that does justice to the mystery of life and that makes you return your faith in this very life when things go wrong.

A truth that you recognize, that resonates deep within yourself and that makes you feel seen.

One year in Parma taught me nothing about law, but it made me realize that a search for beauty is not a waste of time, but a very valuable use of your time.

Polka dots in ocher, creamy medium pink, grenadine, azure, peridot, primula, navy, strawberry, bistre and goldenrod with a view of the capri blue salty gulf of Palermo with rolling clouds!, 115 x 168 cm

The beach of Rimini, Nessun Dorma by Puccini, Pietà by Michelangelo, the lemon scent in Sicily, Santa Maria Novella in Firenze, Acqua di Parma arancia di Capri, il Gattopardo by Visconti, mortadella with pistachios, il Grand Canal in Venice and the storm of Giorgione.

Ingredients: green, yellow, white, red and black with in mind an open-air performance of Norma by Vincenzo Bellini with opera curtain on the right in malva and on the left pinkish beige, 68 x 83 cm

Their absolute mastery in the visual arts has been reflected in the names of many colors with an Italian link. Either a link with a city or region: Venetian red, Raw Sienna, Magenta, Verona green, Naples yellow, Rose de Parme, Tyrian purple, Capri blue, Pompeii red or by a car (Ferrari): rosso corsa or by a painter: Paolo Veronese…

I wanted to give the colors an absolute leading role by giving them an abstract space in some parts of the canvas, separate from any figurative role.”