Following the series of interviews of the artists exhibiting at our friends over at Sweet'Art first summer arts festival, which takes place between August 18th and 23d, here's the third interview - Gianluca Pisano. Enjoy!
To find out more about the festival head over here. GIANLUCA PISANO Tell us about your work and practice as an artist.
I was born in Sardinia, Italy, and studied Fine Art at the Accademia di Belle Arti, a school was staffed by excellent artists whose practice tended toward either abstraction or conceptualism. It was this during this period when I developed a fascination for the large dark surfaces of the Baroque paintings found in churches throughout Italy. The teaching provided the contemporary critical context within which to develop my work, which I came to Londion to do, in 1996. What inspires you? The focus of the work is divided between the human figure and sometime the landscape, each re-interpreted to include contemporary themes. For instance, my worked canvases are concerned with the abstract shapes and surface textures of the painting as object, whilst the dark content of the paintings is concerned with the intensely human condition of being situated in a strange world. Whilst I have worked with digital art and made images through computer technology, it is important for my work to return to the medium of painting. If the abstract and conceptual aspects of my paintings are contemporary, their presence recalls the Baroque, especially the painters who pursued and developed Tenebrism, from the Italian, tenebroso (murky), also called dramatic illumination. This is a style of painting using very pronounced chiaroscuro, where there are violent contrasts of light and dark, and where darkness becomes a dominating feature of the image. It is a great pleasure to look at Italian Baroque painting and, in particular, to imagine myself in a dialogue with the masters. I learn from looking at those paintings and in my various research readings and althought I use modern materials it is like going back to centuries old methods that pay attention to the medium of painting. I’d like to be a better painter than an artist to be honest. What are you main plans and goals currently with regard to your practice? Learn, learn and learn a little more. What has been your most fulfilling or exciting experience of being an artist to date? The years I have spent studying at the art school…we were young, didn’t know anything and had too much energy and we believed we would conquer the world, it was great. It was happiness. What kind of people do you enjoy spending time with the most? My wife and few dear friends. Where will we meet in 5 years time? In my bigger studio with my bigger paintings and a large sofa to sit and ponder.. I’m a painter, not much changes on the outside most of the exciting stuff happens in my head. |
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