Wednesday 1st February 2023 was the launch of THE COLOUR STORM POP-UP, a gallery in central London selling unique pieces created by the internationally acclaimed writer, Damian Dibben. The collection of one-off furniture pieces and curated art-works was inspired by the research and writing of his novel, also called The Colour Storm, which will be released in paperback on 16th February 2023 after being published in hardback to huge acclaim earlier last year.
Set in the cut-throat art world of renaissance Venice, Damian’s novel The Colour Storm is about the search for a new colour. The daring young painter, Giorgione, is in the fight of his life to beat his rivals and find it first. With its themes of colour and invention, atmosphere of dark drama and revolutionary light, of grandeur and decadence, this is a searing tale of creation, ambition, rivalry and passion at one of the most seismic turning points in history.
Celebrity attendees at the launch included actresses Natascha McElhone (The Truman Show, Solaris, Ronin) , Anna Chancellor (Spooks, Four Weddings and a Funeral) Golda Rosheuvel (Bridgerton), Indira Varma (Obi Wan and Game of Thrones), Lyndsey Marshal (Being Human), Charlotte Randle (A Thousand Kisses Deep) and Sarah Coomes (Offending Angels), actors Hugh Sachs (Bridgerton) and Daniel Cerqueira (The Woman in Black, Judy), Nikki Yates (founder of Wild at Heart luxury florist), event producer Sara Blonstein, stylist Nicky Yates and documentary maker Moray Mclaren. The pop-up ran until February 7th.
Gifted
The hero of The Colour Storm is based on a real person, the young and exceptionally gifted Giorgione, a pioneering figure of the Venetian school of Italian Renaissance painting at the beginning of the 16th century. Little is known about his short life, and few works can be definitively attributed to him, yet the influence of his work was profound during the Renaissance, and far beyond. Giorgione was ahead of his time and created a new way of seeing and painting, an almost impressionistic style where mood and atmosphere suffused everything. He is credited with freeing up the medium from its traditional shackles of symmetries and conventions, and moving towards a more naturalistic approach, characterised by vivid colours and force of expression, giving full expression to mood and feeling.
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It was Giorgione’s innovative use of colour, texture and subject matter which his pupil Titian developed further, going on to be remembered as Venice’s most celebrated painter. It’s a tragedy that Giorgione’s early death prevented him from also finding enduring fame.
