In a landscape

In a landscape

Via Bramante 5 Milan, 20154, Italy Wednesday, July 5, 2023–Friday, July 28, 2023 Opening Reception: Wednesday, July 5, 2023, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.

Always an abstract artist, Vandal was inspired by Song dynasty painters of 12th century China, and for the first time, his paintings take shape – or the hint of it, hovering somewhere between abstraction and landscape.

through hollow land lands and hilly lands by leonardo anker vandal

Leonardo Anker Vandal

Through hollow land lands and hilly lands, 2023

Price on Request

the moon weeps in sympathy by leonardo anker vandal

Leonardo Anker Vandal

The moon weeps in sympathy, 2023

Price on Request

water lilies (drip painting) by leonardo anker vandal

Leonardo Anker Vandal

Water lilies (drip painting), 2023

Price on Request

mine, all mine by leonardo anker vandal

Leonardo Anker Vandal

Mine, all mine, 2023

Sold

i’m weeping with my flowers by leonardo anker vandal

Leonardo Anker Vandal

I’m weeping with my flowers, 2023

Reserved

i want to carve it deep in every tree by leonardo anker vandal

Leonardo Anker Vandal

I want to carve it deep in every tree, 2023

Price on Request

wherever you may lead me by leonardo anker vandal

Leonardo Anker Vandal

Wherever you may lead me, 2023

Price on Request

somewhere by leonardo anker vandal

Leonardo Anker Vandal

Somewhere, 2023

Sold

wanders nachtlied, wanderer's nightsong by leonardo anker vandal

Leonardo Anker Vandal

Wanders Nachtlied, Wanderer's Nightsong, 2023

Price on Request

das wandern, wandering by leonardo anker vandal

Leonardo Anker Vandal

Das Wandern, Wandering, 2023

Price on Request

der wanderer (d489) the wanderer by leonardo anker vandal

Leonardo Anker Vandal

Der Wanderer (D489) The Wanderer, 2023

Price on Request

not all who wander are lost by leonardo anker vandal

Leonardo Anker Vandal

Not all who wander are lost, 2023

Price on Request

In a Landscape is Leonardo Anker Vandal’s first journey through the land of form. Always an abstract artist, Vandal was inspired by Song dynasty painters of 12th century China, and for the first time, his paintings take shape – or the hint of it, hovering somewhere between abstraction and landscape.


The technique and palette are familiar from the autumn-hued Adagio paintings that have occupied him for the last decade. His familiar influences are all here, hidden under the surface or in a title: the poetry of Keats, the wistful Lieder of his beloved Mahler, the idea of the artist as The Wanderer or traveler – this latter concept shared by the Song painters.  In some only the merest hint of atmosphere appears, like the sun struggling to show itself through clouds. In others, the dark outlines of mountains take shape. Never to be seen is a human form, as is common in Western tradition. Neither Vandal nor the Song artists painted from life – or at least not external life. Both his landscapes and theirs recall an inner wandering.


In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde warns that an artist should create beautiful things, but should put nothing of his own life into them. Vandal breaks this rule. But then again, so did Wilde, and every artist. Vandal’s story is there, but concealed in the ethereal contours of the canvas. So is his hand: like Helen Frankenthaler, Vandal pours the pigment, but it flows where it will. His action is essential, but once taken, the work takes on a life of its own. When Pygmalion wills his sculpture Galatea to life, she is no longer his alone, but must become her own woman out in the world. Where one viewer sees serenity another may see sturm und drang. As Wilde said, all art is surface and symbol. Those who go below the surface do so at their own peril.