Osvaldo Mariscotti: The Living Line

Upsilon Gallery presents The Living Line, a solo exhibition bringing together paintings and works on paper by Osvaldo Mariscotti (1960–). Curated by Marcelo Zimmler and Evangeline Li, the exhibition explores the relationship between nature, organic growth and geometric abstraction through the work of Osvaldo Mariscotti.

Taking the artist’s The Valley and Linear Valley series as its conceptual starting points, the exhibition considers the line not merely as a formal element of painting, but as a means of articulating the structures, rhythms and transformations of the natural world. Trees, with their intricate systems of branches, roots and patterns of growth, offer a compelling point of departure. Their forms suggest an underlying relationship between organic development and geometric organisation, inviting a reconsideration of how nature may be interpreted through abstraction. Rather than approaching landscape as a subject to be represented, The Living Line proposes nature as a source of formal investigation. The exhibition situates this enquiry within a broader history of modern abstraction, particularly the theoretical contributions of Paul Klee (1879–1940) and Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944).

I. Nature as a Generative Principle

For Paul Klee, nature was not simply an object of observation but a source of insight into the processes through which forms emerge and develop. His writings and teaching at the Bauhaus explored the relationship between movement, growth and artistic creation, suggesting that the act of drawing could reveal processes not immediately apparent to the eye. Within this framework, the line becomes more than a descriptive boundary. It acquires the potential to suggest movement, transformation and the continuous unfolding of form. The Living Line draws upon this understanding to consider how the organic structures associated with trees and landscapes might be translated into an abstract visual vocabulary. The exhibition invites viewers to contemplate the relationship between natural growth and pictorial construction, where the line operates as both a structural element and an expression of movement.

II. The Autonomy of Line

While Klee’s investigations offer a framework for understanding the generative qualities of form, Kandinsky’s theoretical writings provide another perspective on the expressive possibilities of abstraction. In Point and Line to Plane (1926), Kandinsky examined the line as an independent artistic element, capable of producing visual tension, rhythm and spatial relationships.

Within abstract painting, lines need not function solely as representations of objects. Their direction, interaction and placement can establish an autonomous visual language.

In relation to Mariscotti’s Linear Valley series, this perspective opens a dialogue between the structures suggested by nature and the formal possibilities of geometric composition.

The exhibition considers how line, colour and spatial organisation may evoke the experience of landscape without depending upon its literal representation.

III. Between Organic Growth and Geometric Order

At the centre of The Living Line lies a dialogue between two seemingly contrasting principles: the organic and the geometric. Natural forms are characterised by variation, irregularity and growth, while geometric abstraction often emphasises structure, repetition and compositional relationships. Yet these principles are not necessarily opposed. The branching of a tree, the organisation of a landscape and the repetition of natural patterns suggest complex relationships between variation and order. Through the lens of abstraction, such relationships can be reconsidered as visual structures. The exhibition explores this intersection, proposing that geometry may serve not as a departure from nature, but as another means of engaging with its underlying forms.

IV. The Living Line: Nature Beyond Representation

The title The Living Line brings together the exhibition’s central concerns. The word living refers not only to the biological life of trees and landscapes, but also to the potential of artistic form to suggest movement, transformation and continuity. The line, meanwhile, functions as a fundamental element of abstraction, connecting the artist’s existing visual language with the structural possibilities of nature. Through this relationship, the exhibition proposes a broader question: How might abstraction reveal the processes of nature rather than simply reproduce its appearance? In considering this question, The Living Line places Mariscotti’s work in dialogue with a longstanding concern of modern art: the relationship between the visible world and the independent language of painting. Rather than positioning abstraction as a rejection of nature, the exhibition considers it as a means through which nature can be continuously reimagined.