Sunny Umbria in Cold Southampton

     If it wasn't for the boots, scarves, furs, and hats on display at Tripoli Gallery on Saturday night, one might have thought it was August again from the warm and sunny art on the walls.

     Darius Yektai, taking a break from the dark and brooding works he is known for, spent two weeks in Umbria last summer, traispsing around Montecastello di Vibio with paints and canvases on his back to recapture his love and the essense of painting. 

     Although he studied art in Paris and took several trips out of town to view collections, he said on Saturday he had never made it to Italy back then and was pleased to have finally made the trip. A visit to Florence was also a highlight and a work no doubt inspired by it, "The Three Graces" is on view in New York at Lyons Wier Gallery.

     The paintings a Tripoli are bright and yummy with often thickly impastoed paint lush in glossy oils. The buildings, geranium pots, and night skies are quotidien, yet weighty with a depth that belies their unassuming regularity.