Alberto Di Fabio's Mandalas: From Quarantine to Transcendence

During the coronavirus lockdown, Italian artist Alberto Di Fabio created a new series of mandalas, synthesizing Hindu and Buddhist spiritual references with his own artistic journey. The works, partly previewed at Galleria Luca Tommasi, are more fluid and less material than his previous pieces currently on view at GR Gallery in New York and Gaggenau Design Elementi in Rome. Di Fabio describes his paintings as 'universal prayers for the world to come' and aims to leave a 'great book' explaining his thought. The mandalas represent a culmination of his quest for elevation and transcendence, which began in the 1990s with mountains painted on Chinese papers printed with mantras. The artist transformed his home and garage into studios during quarantine, using video calls to connect with friends. The series echoes Van Gogh's sunflowers painted in Arles in 1888, both created during periods of solitude and serving as catharsis. Di Fabio's mandalas signify a rediscovered happiness and the power of art to transcend physical constraints.