Clara Brunelli

Clara Brunelli was born in Visano (BS), Italy, and has spent most of her life in Calvisano (BS). For several years now, she has been residing in Garda (VR). A former professional photographer and a self-taught painter, Clara is an avid traveler with a special love for the Sahara Desert. Together with her husband, Fabrizio, she has often ventured into this vast landscape in search of meteorites. In fact, many of her artworks include authentic meteorite fragments discovered by the couple in Libya, in November 1999, on a plateau known as Hamada al Hamra. The total weight of the meteorite, which shattered upon impact with the ground, is 30,077.4 grams. It was analyzed at the University of Siena and officially registered by The Meteoritical Society under the classification H5/6, named HAH 296. This is an ordinary chondrite meteorite, with an approximate age of over 4.5 billion years, believed to have fallen to Earth a few hundred years ago. Clara began incorporating meteorite fragments into her artworks at the end of 2010, launching a themed series titled: “From the Infinite to the Earth: Journey of a Meteorite”. Through oil paintings enriched with pieces of that ancient cosmic stone, she narrates the journey of this celestial object—traveling through nebulas, galaxies, planets, and constellations—before landing in the desert where she eventually found it. There is nothing random in Clara’s paintings. Each landscape, each color, and each atmosphere stems from her personal experiences, emotions, and memories. She loves the Sahara, she loves meteorites, and as a result, she has fallen in love with the very place they came from. Driven by a deep curiosity about the cosmos, Clara developed a unique approach to portraying it—an artistic vision that diverges from scientific conventions and instead follows her own interpretive system. This gave birth to what she defines as: “Cosmicism” Cosmicism refers to a pictorial style and/or philosophical tendency in which astronomical and cosmological elements dominate the composition. These may include the curvature of large-scale space, spacetime, galaxies, cosmic orbits, meteorite presence, and more. In this artistic expression of physical reality through color and form, the human being is present—but only in spirit. What remains is the emotional response: the awe of gazing at a star-filled sky or the wonder of holding a meteorite in one’s hand—a stone that carries the message of a fossilized, ancient space. This space is not only universal in scale but also represents the intimate foundation of who we are, as inhabitants of Earth. Life on Earth may well have originated thanks to a meteorite. And in any case, the elements that make up both meteorites and ourselves are the very materials the universe has been creating through stars since the beginning of time. — Dr. Romano Serra Department of Physics, University of Bologna. Clara Brunelli’s work stands out for its pictorial intensity, where bold colors and emotional depth converge. Her decisive palette creates a dynamic interplay on the canvas, shaping a distinctive visual language that never loses sight of its symbolic and conceptual substance. Her cosmic visions evoke a world of profound suggestion, born from a deeply personal exploration. Brunelli maintains a living, ongoing dialogue with her creations, which become tangible expressions of an inner world projected into the vastness of space. The atmosphere in her pieces, infused with a sense of cosmic mystery, draws the viewer into an active role within her artistic journey. Her oil-on-canvas technique is solid and assured, enriched by masterful use of chiaroscuro that enhances the expressive power of light. The inclusion of real meteorite fragments adds a physical and almost ritualistic dimension to her art, blending earthly material with astral inspiration. In the “METEORITE” series, the artist develops a rich and coherent visual language, capable of conveying deep emotions through images of powerful narrative force. Color, a foundational element in her work, is used with deliberate intensity, playing a key role in defining the identity of her compositions. Clara Brunelli’s painting blends intimacy and universality, where each visual element reflects a deep emotional experience. In her “SUPERNOVA AND COSMIC LIGHTS” series, she explores digital techniques to create glowing effects and vivid contrasts, expanding her artistic language.