“Tribute to Trento”
Critical review, May 1980, special edition
Recent events and culture – Society of Professional Engineers of the Province of Trento
Extract from the critical review by Diego Gadler

“(…) Obviously, the painter did not stop at the two important exhibitions in 1972 and 1974. In the spring of 1976 his solo exhibition at the Il Castello art gallery creates a stir with its beautifully and cleverly sketched portraits in a metaphysical style. This is yet another positive step for him. But then again, a year later, in that same Il Castello art gallery in Trento, he holds a new solo exhibition, a unique and meaningful event, as its title suggests, “A Tribute to Trento”: a wide collection of oil paintings about our suburbs, squares and palaces, an inspired and original interpretation of the city as one devoid of people, “solitary”, imbued with enigmatic and static atmospheres. Perghem Gelmi conjures up dream-like images, as if he wanted to interrogate the secrets of the building structures, the scenary and the complex sense of the city, its urban modes and its ancient origins, the juxtaposition of its buildings, the sense of its spaces and architectural styles. As a result, the paintings become a mystic game, made up of both metaphysical correspondences and realistic combinations, originated by his unbridled creativity, which gives way to a new, unexplored vision, translated into fascinating and refined colour combinations. You won’t find improvised, scatty drafts or the hesitant traits of someone who does not know where to begin or where to end, who does not know which is the true meaning he wants to achieve with his landscapes. What you will find instead is the awareness of someone using his creative skills and his strict sense of measure. It becomes clear that Perghem Gelmi is continuosly testing his ways of expressing himself, his colour intuition, his true vocation. This is what I felt when I viewed “Tribute to Trento”, a fond and exceptional tribute to this wonderful city, whose citizens often experience with carelessness, without noticing its manyfold charms. This is not the case for artists, or writers. And this is also the theme of the book “Tribute to Trento” which we are now going to introduce to you.

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