BRUNI Gallery

About

Bruni Sablan was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil circa the mid-twentieth century. Artistry has been her heritage. Her father Joseph Parello, of Sicilian decent, a civil engineer and architect, also painted. Her mother, Clo Parello, of Lebanese decent, was an accomplished classical pianist and beloved piano instructor for many years in the Northern California bay area.

Bruni’s father introduced her to American jazz at a very early time in her life, she was five years old. She describes him as a "quiet soul" who loved the music of Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole, Artie Shaw, Louis Armstrong, June Christy, Sarah Vaughan, and many more. At the same time, her Sicilian grandfather, Caetano Parello, was teaching her how to "see" art… He was a sculptor/painter himself. When caught "correcting" an Italian masterpiece owned by the Parello family, the child received accolades from her father and grandfather, although she was properly reprimanded for interfering with a great work of art by the rest of the family….

Bruni grew up with art and music in her blood, and lived for a while in Los Angeles during a hazy, passionate time when the great Brazilian music masters had become prominent in the U.S.A. She sang and traveled with the likes of Joao Donato and Walter Wanderley. – But, painting is what kept her "sane" during those turbulent years.

After ten years of marriage and a beautiful daughter, Kristina, -Now a singer, songwriter, and sculptor – Bruni immersed herself in the art and developed (over the last twenty-five years) what has become a legendary body of work, "The Jazz Masters Series by BRUNI."

Today, as restless as ever, she continues her pursuit of painting "every great jazz musician who ever lived." Some of her tributes, such as Miles Davis, encompass more than two hundred and eighty canvasses. She presently is working simultaneously on five bodies of work: the continuation of the Jazz Masters Series; a tribute to the great humanitarian Mother Teresa; a Tribute to Africa entitled "Africa: Look at Us"; a tribute to the legendary Brazilian musicians and composers, past and present; and her abstract still-life and figurative paintings.

Bruni is a highly spiritual being, and feels she connects with the souls of her subjects, which results in a tremendously fast, energetic, and sometimes aggressive venture. This can leave her in a state of complete exhaustion. But, her energy and inspiration seem to get replenished endlessly.