444 / Celestial Means of Locomotion

444 are the days Vincent Van Gogh spent in Arles, from February 1888 to May 1889 before moving to Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.

444 is the name of an ongoing project, a selection of works including paintings, photographs, and drawings by Luca Reffo.

The project is a reflection around the exceptional nature of 444 days, an interval of time in which Van Gogh transformed Arles and all of its surrounding territory, from Montmajour to Sainte-Marie-de-la-Mer, from Fontvieille to the countryside of Provence, in an open-air study. His research, driven by the desire for brighter colours and the dream of Japan and new business opportunities, lead him to a revolutionary vision of painting, in particular, landscapes that can be perceived as a measure of the feeling and mirror of the soul of the world.
444, through the rereading of the real and symbolic elements of the territory, it brings together the evocative dimension of the image with the introspective and visionary nature of Van Gogh’s letters. It expresses from a different point of view his extremely devoted research aimed at conceiving beauty as a synthesis of the spirit.

Luca Reffo
www.lucareffo.it