Wish upon a painting: Norman artist explores desire and fear in her work – Norman Transcript

Norman artist Leticia Galizzi is a native of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. She lived on both coasts of the United States before coming here four years ago.

As a way of gaining insight into the Oklahoma psyche and preparation for continuing artistic pursuits, she chose a unique method. Galizzi set up a table on a Main Street sidewalk and invited random passerby to write down their fondest wishes and leave them with her.

Without giving their names, but whatever wish they had would be written down and put in a box, she said. Eventually I will make paintings from this material for an exhibition. Of over 100 wishes, only one person wanted something material, and she wanted a dog. No one wished for a fancy car or anything like that. Many wanted to be better people.

Galizzi was impressed by the friendliness, generosity and character exhibited by her chance sample of Norman residents.

Some people asked me for more paper and they wrote front and back, she said. They were having fun with me, a person they dont know. It allowed me to see what kind of place I was coming to. It made me feel very happy and welcome here.

Galizzi is a spouse and mother of two. She holds graduate degrees in Applied Linguistics and Painting. She teaches Beginning Portuguese at the University of Oklahoma. Shes also an arts educator at the Firehouse Arts Center.

Resonator Institute hosted an April exhibition of her paintings in downtown Norman. Her work is bold, vibrant and attractive. Galizzi presides over public art appreciation sessions on Monday evenings at Benvenutis Ristorante (contact leticiagalizzi@gmail.com for information).

Choosing art was not an easy path for me, Galizzi said. I grew up in a dictatorship where art was almost not an option. Artists were considered people who did not work.

Galizzis undergraduate degree is in Business Administration. For a time, she worked at a hospital administration consulting firm, but was not passionate about it. Later, while working on the Linguistics Masters degree, she knew art was what she really wanted to study.

Creating as an artist now is what I always wanted to do, she said. Now that I have the opportunity, Im very intense about it. I wanted this for a long time. I get to have exhibitions and show my work.

Galizzi has a show in Nice, France this summer and one later this year at JRB Art at the Elms gallery in Oklahoma City. It has taken time, but Galizzi has learned not to overthink her art.

She connects it to her experience with psychotherapy.

People will ask what Im doing and I tell them I dont know, she said. It takes time, but then maybe I give myself permission to see what Im doing. When you let your subconscious show, sometimes its unknown to yourself. You dont know that its there. Sometimes you may be afraid of this. You may fear what you desire.

Stemming from her youth in the historic city of Ouro Preto with its cobblestone streets and Baroque architecture there are ornamental elements in Galizzis work.

The region I come from has a very particular kind of Baroque, she said. Its just part of my soul. Theres a desire to add it there and I use it in a very repetitive way. Its a way that I organize my thoughts.

Many of Galizzis paintings are large scale, which she admits can be draining to work on.

A big painting does not allow you to control the whole, she said. In a small painting, I look at everything and have very good control of what Im doing. A big painting demands a lot of courage, because you have to be brave with your gestures. If everything goes very wrong, you have to redo everything.

But theres no option except to be brave. If youre too precious about it, youll stop there. When I look at the whole, I may feel its not ready, so Ill need to come back and work on it. Its a process that demands a lot from my brain and a lot emotionally because of my need to take risks all the time.

Galizzis OU professor husband has suggested that possibly she could make her paintings smaller so theyd fit in the car. Her retort is that maybe he could author his books with fewer pages.

I want the challenge and surprise, she said. What I get back from that painting is being able to see the unseen and the ability to think about something that is bigger than me. I like that the canvas is a place where fears and desires can come out.

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Wish upon a painting: Norman artist explores desire and fear in her work - Norman Transcript