The walls of Sabbioneta

In this artwork, PAdova does not intend to illustrate a piece of concrete landscape, but rather he wants to transcend the objective data and opt for an unrealistic reading of what surrounds it. A tangle of arborescences and ripples expands, in apparent disorder, in the space of the representation and the bright shades of green, mixed with touches of darker shades, give dynamism to the representation. The painting, datable 1977, is an example of a constant dialogue with informal poetics. As it is the practice for the artist, he draws inspiration from the Po Valley landscape, well known to him, and from its colors; however, the nature is investigated to reveal its unusual aspects. The color becomes a dense and rich matter, whose thickness is tangible, and it refers to the real consistency of the vegetation. The painter's imagination determines a glimpse of the landscape that is far from reality, but for this reason it's poetic, mysterious and engaging. The use of the narrow chromatic range of greens and blues is deliberate, as it refers to the integration of natural elements such as water, air, earth and sky.