OBLIQUE STRATEGIES (2014) Original Acrylic Painting by Paolo Scaglioni

I was deeply influenced by Brian Eno’s Oblique Strategies, and in this case the title emerged only at the very end of the painting process. As I was working, the expression and posture of the figure seemed to speak to me directly, almost as if they were saying, “I am an Oblique Strategy.” The title therefore became a kind of recognition of what had already taken shape within the painting.
This is somewhat unusual for me, because I normally begin with the title—with an idea, a phrase, or something I want to represent—and allow the painting to develop from there. In this case, however, the process worked in reverse: the image came first, and the title revealed itself through the work.
I am interested in this shift between intention and discovery, and in the possibility that a painting can suggest its own meaning as it develops. The figure’s expression and posture seemed to embody precisely this idea of an indirect, unexpected path—a strategy that emerges rather than being deliberately imposed.
The work is executed in acrylic on canvas.

Materials used:

Acrylic colors

Details:

• Acrylic painting on Canvas
• One of a kind artwork
• Size: 70 x 98 x 2cm (unframed) / 70 x 98cm (actual image size)
• Ready to hang
• Signed certificate of authenticity
• Style: Surrealistic
• Subject: People and portraits