AIMI KAIYA art

09/10/2025

09/10/2025

09/10/2025

XV Florence Biennale (18–26 October 2025, Fortezza da Basso) – THE SUBLIME ESSENCE OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS: Concepts of Dualism and Unity in Contemporary Art and Design. Advertising page in exibart 128 (April–September 2025 issue)

exibart

09/10/2025

09/10/2025

✨ 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐨 𝐋𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐋𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐗𝐕 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐁𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐞

As part of the special programme of the XV Florence Biennale (18-26 October), Gregorio Luke, an expert on Mexican and Latin American art and culture, has tailored two lectures for contemporary artists, focusing on Rembrandt, the chiaroscuro master, and David Alfaro Siqueiros, a revolutionary in life and an innovator in art.

For twenty years Gregorio Luke has lectured for the Florence Biennale. Gregorio always asks: How can this lecture be useful to an artist today? He has given over 1,000 lectures throughout the U.S., Mexico, Europe, China and South America, speaking at prestigious institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution, the San Diego Art Museum, the Detroit Institute of Art, and universities such as Harvard, Columbia, among others.

- 𝗟𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘁 (𝗪𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝟮𝟮 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿, 𝟭𝟴:𝟬𝟬)
Light and darkness are the very essence of Rembrandt’s art. With these elements, he captured like no other artist the human expression. At first, he was admired for the truthfulness and honesty of his paintings. Unfortunately, as society became richer, tastes changed. During the lecture, Gregorio will delve into the world of this tragic genius, shedding light on his tumultuous life and his magnificent art.

- 𝗟𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗶𝗿𝗼𝘀 (𝗦𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝟮𝟱 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿, 𝟭𝟳:𝟯𝟬)
David Alfaro Siqueiros is a master of duality. He was imprisoned and exiled for his political ideals, but he is also a major influence in contemporary art, from Abstract Expressionism to Pop and Chicano art. Because of his controversial politics, Siqueiros has never received the recognition he deserves. This lecture by Gregorio Luke will shed light on the many things young artists today can learn from Siqueiros.



📍Lecture on Rembrandt: Wednesday 22nd October, 18:00
📍Lecture on Siqueiros: Saturday 25th October, 17:30
📍Theatre Area—Spadolini Pavilion, Fortezza da Basso
📍Details are available on the Calendar page of the Florence Biennale website

07/10/2025

When we step beyond the shadow of darkness,
a sound too wondrous to describe begins to rise.
We behold new colors,
light shimmering like the heavens,
the fragrance of oud and cinnamon at dawn.

Skin once numb awakens to a pure truth,
every sense a hymn of praise.
For we were born to glorify His name,
with breath, with sight,
with hearts returning to creation’s song,
free from fear once more.

All of this bears witness:
the Creator is greater than all.

AIMI KAIYA

07/10/2025

The Lord of Shadows

The Lord of Shadows feeds on broken souls,
those who never seek healing.

His darkness seeps through,
wearing the mask of a hero,
riding a white horse like threads of silk,
cloaked in velvet,
making us tremble.

At night he creeps,
stealing strength from the wounded.
Yet he speaks of mercy,
ensnaring them as servants,
to be broken again and again.

This is no accident,
but the magnet of hidden wounds,
buried beneath the iceberg.

His pain calls to ours
not because we are weak,
but because our merciful spirit
has signed the covenant of healing.

Yet mercy may be devoured by the dark,
and those who believe
will fall forever.

For this is the task of the Lord of Shadows:
to tear our covenant apart.

AIMI KAIYA

07/10/2025

The Thief Who Came to Steal Nothing

I once feared the dark
believing we could never be friends again.
It hurt me, frightened me,
with an unknown too vast for my heart to bear.

Until one night arrived,
an uninvited guest,
a silent and unseen thief,
came to visit and forced me to speak with him.

He bound me in invisible chains.
I thought, “Darkness is death.”
I must die; he must have come to harm me.

But no,
he revealed instead
that I should remove my heavy cloak and jewels,
until only my bare feet remained,
until only I remained.

I looked into his eyes,
like a black hole from a bottomless galaxy.
There I saw both truth and temptation
fused into one—sincerity,
the one thing humanity both fears and desires.

And I saw it.
I felt it.
I understood it.

He was a thief, yes,
but he came to steal nothing.
He only showed me
that I never needed to possess anything at all.

I am only a passerby
in this room of darkness,
seeing myself through a mirror,
seeing emptiness and silence.

And then I knew
I am but a small light,
a faint firefly glow,
yet bright enough
to see the door
marked Exit.

AIMI KAIYA

Cr.Photo : Rembrandt. Towards eternity, Elena Prudnikova, 2019

07/10/2025

The Night of Repentance
At the Holy Wedding

Bride and groom step into the sanctuary,
a symphony resounds, seraphim sing praises,
angels soar above the raining flowers,
and sacred beauty clothes the ceremony.

Amidst the crowd, a man stands still, an old friend.
His eyes are heavy with the shadow of emptiness.
He once traded flesh to soothe his aching soul,
fled into fire, chasing lust’s illusion,
but found only thirst without end,
and silent wounds etched deep in spirit.

As the music swells in heavenly harmony,
he beholds the bride, pure as crystal flame,
he beholds the groom, steadfast as holy stone,
and between their hearts he sees it shine:
a covenant woven in heaven’s light,
a love not of possession,
but of surrender, sealed in truth.

Tears overflow his weary eyes,
for he has seen at last
what he sought was never fleeting pleasure,
but the sacred love God Himself ordains,
a bond eternal in the gift of marriage.

And in that hallowed night of heaven’s song,
the wandering soul was called home again.
He fell to his knees in silence,
and from his heart rose but one prayer:

O Lord, I yield, I return,
to love made holy,
and faithfulness to You forevermore.

AIMI KAIYA

Cr.Photo : Fair Lady By Edmund Blair Leighton 1914

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Edmund_Blair_Leighton_-_My_fair_Lady.jpg