Antonio Meneghetti (1936-2013), the founder of the OntoArte movement, was an Italian artist, musician, philosopher, scientist, the author of more than 70 monographs including those concerning the issues of creativity and the influence of the unconscious on creative processes.
The etymology of “onto” goes back to the ancient Greek ‘on, ontos’, the present participle from the verb ‘einai’ which means “to be”. Hence, there appears the understanding of the term “being”: moving and living.
The direction of OntoArt is a philosophical expression of active art, “the art of life”.
Antonio is distinguished from other authors by the totality of artistic expression. He said that creating a work of art is exclusively a manifestation of ambition allowing you to express your own aesthetic vision.
His works express the connection between man and nature, the Universe, an endless space which allows everyone to see the spiritual beauty, boundless potential, and creative possibilities of a man. It is not just an art school, not just an artist before us, but a multifaceted and virtuoso demonstration of what a master is capable of, brilliantly mastering the knowledge and his artistic technique.
Observing the development of contemporary art, Meneghetti noted that it has lost its humanistic meaning. He wrote about the need to bring back the value of a man of integrity. Spiritually and physically healthy, as life created him. Then, being focused on a person, art will be able to regain its former wealth.
The figures in OntoArt paintings may seem motionless, but in reality, they live, breathe. They lose clarity of outlines becoming the expression of the absolute. This requires a sophisticated technique to instantly transfer intuitive feeling into art form.
The appeal to the man as the highest humanistic value is the main theme of Meneghetti’s works where the abstract technique gives him the means to convey this to the viewer.
Antonio Meneghetti said:
“Humanity needs creative souls, today and in the future, more than anything else”.
Model: Nataliia Gotsii
Photographer: Natasha Kot
Publisher: Svitlana Lavrynovych
Fashion Supervision: Anna Tet
Styling: Anastasia Blahodarna
Makeup/Hair Viktoriya Shostak
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Location: FOIL Ukraine