The double spirit of the ex libris made by Natalija Cernetsova

(follows from the previous page)

... all the graphic lovers a whole day devoted to art and devotes a section to the thematic exhibition-competition of ex libris (in 2005, as winner of the competition "Rotary-100", I have personally participated to the inauguration). We also remember the numerous initiatives, exhibitions and competitions organized by the AIE (the Ex Libris Italian Association), of which Dr. Mauro Mainardi is President. Thanks to the enthusiasm and the passion of the many associates, in Italy, more than in the other European countries, through studies, searches, publications, exhibitions, it shows the deepest respect for the tradition and the history of Italian ex libris, but, at the same time, there’s interest for the contemporary ex libris and the development of graphic techniques, that favours creativity and active participation of young artists”.

Cernetsova doesn’t travel in Italy only, bur in all of Europe: in fact, during the year, , also the other ex libris national associations (Belgian, Swiss, Dutch) organize the meeting for all their members. Natalija says that “these international conventions allow to introduce one’s own art to all the interested parties, because they offer an optimal occasion of meeting between an artist and a collector and the possibility of exchanges and contact with the possible buyers. It is therefore a lot important to know the foreign languages, and this has been a strong motivation in order to learn them, already from my first congress in 1990. It is a big advantage everywhere and it really makes the communication easy. For me, to study a foreign language doesn’t mean only to know how to express correctly and try the grammar, but also to know the country, the traditions, the lifestyle, the literature, the cinema, the music, the art, and so on. Thus, I have lived long “English”, “German”, “Italian” periods. Now, by now from more than a year, I’m living a “saison française”: I’m eagerly learning the beautiful language and I’m discovering the rich and fascinating French culture”.

Natalija Cernetsova, exl op. 228, Maria Teresa & Riccardo (Brondolo)
C3, 150x100 mm, La Musa Erato

We were able to meet her in Germany. In fact, since 1994, she takes part to the congress of the DEG (the German Ex Libris Society, of which she is a member, along with the societies of Italy, Belgium, Japan). The congress takes place every spring in a different city and it is the biggest yearly ex libris forum in Europe, because it connects many collectors and artists of different countries.

In the program of Natalija of 2006, other than the creation of small graphic works, there’s the participation to the International Ex Libris Congress, organized every other year in a different country by FISAE (Federation Internationale des Societes Amateurs d’Exlibris). This important event is usually characterized by the ample presence not only of European and Scandinavian ex libris lovers, but also of those coming from America and Far East (China, Taiwan, Japan). This year’s congress will be held in August, in the colourful Switzerland, in Nyon.

And just for a Swiss buyer, currently, the artist is preparing an ex libris, whose subject is the fable “The Cat with the Boots”. It is one of the cases (by now much rare), in which the person who has demanded the job has chosen to ask the artist to interpret its last name, that in German means "boot”. Moreover, Natalija will recall, with the grace of her graphic touch, also the grace or Mozart music, since in 2006 runs the 250° anniversary of the birth of the great musician; therefore many collectors want to commemorate it, commissioning to the artists a “Mozartian ex libris”, in which it is celebrated the brilliant composer or one of his valuable musical works.

Therefore, it is noteworthy not only Natalija’s preparation in artistic field, but also her cultural one: in fact the travels, the meetings, the continuous study of the technique and the graphic have made the style of Cernetsova mature, fresh and knowledgeable.

The Madonnae and San Francesco, Casanova and Bacchus, fabulous spires and timeless woods are the symphonies etched, to be listened to note by note, and explored centimetre by centimetre in these small, great masterpieces that are to be carefully observed, like Flemish paintings, to discover a leaf, a face (that often recalls the one of the artist herself), a door opened towards the mystery of these creations. In the more than 220 ex libris produced from 1988 to date, all the graphical mechanisms embed perfectly; they keep the secret of a successful formula. The carillon sounds, the merry-go-round swirls in these prodigies of skill, where an ancient art is renewed in modernity.

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