Novelli expands on his visual language defined by luscious colors, tropical imagery, and collage-like layered compositions. Roughly translating to “tourmaline sky,” Turmalinas No Céu explores what Novelli terms a “tropical delirium,” a type of aesthetic utopia where imagery imbued with personal meaning materializes into paradisiac landscapes.

 

Exotic and yet familiarly primal, viewers can feel the pulse of Novelli’s nocturnal jungle scenes. Howler monkeys peer out from behind mountains of sliced agate, while glowing moons coax tropical flowers to bloom. Alongside scenes of fantastical rainforest flora, fauna, and celestial bodies, are smaller canvases that Novelli describes as invitations for introspective experience. In contrast to the spindly jungle scenes of the larger canvases, many of these smaller scale works feature hazy color gradients and slices of Brazilian gemstones sprinkled over the surface, delivering a powerful visual punch.