Kunst am Kanal – Art into the (Danube) flow

As you may know, Vienna is a city that developed in the proximity of the Danube. A former arm of it, the Donaukanal (Danube Canal) delimits the city centre, and it is a cozy urban yet green place to hang out, especially during summer. Along its path there are free areas for making graffiti, public vegetables gardens, outdoor exhibitions, many small and bigger bars, and the most interesting clubs (for example Grelle Forelle, which I mentioned more than once previously). And many different music and art events take place here, free events where people can gather in a chill setting.

Couple of weeks ago it was Kunst am Kanal, Art on the Canal, organized by the club Das Werk in cooperation with its two art ateliers, Lichtbogen 334, the nest of the visual artists from the collective 4youreye projectionArt, and Dachsbau, a co-working space for artists to rent and exhibit their work. Das Werk means “the factory”, but also “the art work”, and that’s what this club promotes aside from music.

Dachsbau and Lichtbogen 334, side on the Kanal

Contemporary art can be easily seen as snobbish, due to its hermetic messages and aesthetics, the high prices and the steered value, not necessarily based on pure talent (see my post about Roberta Sinatra and her study that analyses the trends in the art business). It’s the underground facet, instead, that can offer a glimpse of closeness to a wider audience and become part of a bigger context, integrating into the surrounding of music, drinks and good vibes. The final result is not individual anymore, rather a sum of different contributions, styles, perceptions, points of view; and the location, even if the same one, acquires each time a new unique appearance.

Moreover, these events can also give the possibility to minor and free-time artists, or simply creative talents, to express themselves: collaborations and projects can bloom, most likely not for decorating a fancy loft, rather for creating a collective experience.

Noemi Kiss, Galerie Helmut, Das Werk (pic by Noemi Kiss)

The new huge graffiti of two hands exposing the teeth of a ferocious dog was mapped by the visualists collective 4youreye for projecting colourful visuals that gave a whole different feeling of it; at Werk a new exhibition space offered a solo from Noémi Kiss, an architect and philosopher (and woman that I deeply admire) who rose in the last six years as conceptual artist, using simple and poor materials (concrete, carpets as example) to give them new shape and purpose. In this occasion she presented five different reinterpretations of three-dimensionality recreated on beautiful antique Persian carpets hung on the walls, creating a door –or a window– for the viewer to look into.
And then much more is offered, involving all different forms of performative arts, and the music: live concerts during the daylight, dj sets at night, offering a wide range of styles and sound.

Kunst am Kanal 2019 (pic from Facebook by Eckhart Derschmidt)

A special paragraph deserves Lichtbogen 334, with its dark ambience particularly fitting to the projections introduced: a “digital mirror” altering colours and movement, that I already mentioned in the post about the Playground Festival; a panel with two plaster cast faces emerging out of it, one happy one sad, lightened by changing shapes and patterns; two lysergic skulls decorating the shutters that divide the exposition space from the storage for the 4youreye equipment.

Haselbusch, Lichtbogen 334

The Kunst am Kanal festival takes place once a year, but still there are many other events where lights, colours and moods mix together to create the special atmosphere that characterises this part of the Kanal. All this arty melting pot just opposite to the District Heating Plant designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser, a famous Austrian artist I will definitely talk about, and just adjacent to a complex of buildings ideated by Zaha Hadid, uncompleted due to financial cuts and changes that – rumors say – made the architect not satisfied anymore with the project to the point that she wanted her name dissociated from it. Still, these buildings are masterpieces here for us to admire and, thanks to these occasions, to rediscover in a different light.

District Heating Plant, Friedensreich Hundertwasser

Zaha-Hadid-Haus, part of the building complex

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Confessions of a minstrel

Dear readers,

sorry I am not a good blogger. I cannot produce constant content, I write only when something really catches my interest and my attention (and my inspiration too…). I write to promote good art, good music, good events. I overthink my writings, because I want them to be precise, well written, of high quality. On the Internet, as a blogger (although I don’t feel this label so much) among million bloggers, I choose quality over quantity. I choose to talk about what positively inspires me, I have no interest in openly criticizing something I haven’t appreciated, because I think there is already enough negativity and criticism around and I want to be on the positive side; maybe it simply wasn’t my taste, maybe I didn’t get it –therefore, I won’t recommend it to you.

This said (to slightly justify myself too), it’s summertime here, and I may have partially put aside my hunger for culture; you can still decide to scroll through the old posts and read about Mark Rothko, about the exhibition Beauty from the designers Stefan Sagmeister and Jessica Walsh, about the visionary architects and artists Lucio and Duilio Forte, about the interview with Electric Indigo. I am sure you will find something appealing for your taste.

I am taking this time also to rethink about my blog, about what I’ve learned, about what I would like to change or improve. It’s been a year now, and many things have grown!

I would like to conclude with a poem I’ve written some time ago (not yet inserted in my poetry page) that nicely fits to this post. It is still raw, sounds a bit like a song from a minstrel: and minstrel, rather than blogger, is how I feel.

All my gratitude if you have followed me through this, and my warmest welcome if you have just started to read me.

See you the next chapter.

 

How to avoid disappearing

I sit and listen to music.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Nothing
else.
I am wasting my time

because I technically do
nothing.

Tic toc tic toc
Time is running and you are not producing
Tic toc tic toc
Time is passing and you are still unmoved
Wear your coat, get to work,
don’t be absurd
about live for love.

I am totally with you,
I need my dreams to come true.
Reality is tough, though,
even worse than
silence in ropes,
even if I change,
I can’t change.
Even if I change,
why do I?
To conformize?
Why do I?

Modify my shape
Shape my body
Get healthier, more active
Stop compromising

I sit and listen to music.

Mark Rothko – A journey into human emotions

Mark Rothko has been one of the most influential artists of the last century. Despite his great production –nearly 800 works were left in charge to the heirs after his death – and the different periods that have characterised it, he is known in particular as one of the protagonists of the Abstract Expressionism, the first American current that got international recognition. And that is also how I got to know him: through his colourful undefined rectangles. When I’ve started to see his paintings on the many online art channels I follow, I genuinely wondered why he has become so important in art history. I started to read more about him, and his works were described as a pure journey into the human emotions, to be experienced in first person. Then the exhibition at the Kunsthistorisches Museum, the Museum of Art History in Vienna, came.

Violet, Black, Orange, Yellow on White and Red (post-title), 1949 (image taken from wikiart.org)

While Rothko has revolutionised the art world during his times, I think in Europe he still hasn’t the recognition he deserves, if we consider other artists like Marc Chagall, Max Ernst, Henri Matisse (and I haven’t mentioned these artists as merely contemporaries of him; but let’s proceed step by step). Europe in history has always been the centre of the artistic movement with respect to the rest of the world (and here it is interesting to mention my post about a study from Roberta Sinatra, where it is shown that nowadays the major museums and art institutions are almost concentrated in the United States). And it is from the old continent that Rothko takes his inspiration.

Untitled, 1944 (image taken from wikiart.org)

But let’s start from the origins: Marcus Rothkovich was born in 1903 in Dvinsk, a city in Russia, nowadays in Latvia, from a Jewish family. Since an early age he shows a perceptive and sensitive soul, particularly affected also by the times he lives in: before the First World War there is already a feeling of intolerance against Jews all over Russia. When the situation worsens, his father decides to emigrate with the family to Portland, in the United States. Here Marcus becomes a great student and receives a fellowship for Yale University, although he is still not devoted to art only and chooses a major in humanities. He will never finish his studies at Yale, though he will get, 46 years later, an honorary doctorate in Fine Arts.

Interior, 1936, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, US (image taken from wikiart.org)

After having dropped out of Yale due to financial reasons, he decides to move to New York and continues his studies in drawing and design. He enrols in the class of the famous Modern artist Max Weber, who shares the same background of being Jewish and immigrant with his student and soon becomes friends with him. Max Weber had travelled to Paris and met Henri Matisse, with whom he studied for a short timee. Thanks to him and to the increasing interest in museums and exhibitions, Rothko gets introduced to his contemporaries in Europe, like the Fauves (the French group around Matisse) and the German Expressionism. This will be the beginning of a long exploration in the art world, from which Mark will constantly take inspiration to create his personal and unique style. Other strong influences –and artists that will deeply inspire him – will come from Milton Avery, Giorgio De Chirico, Michelangelo, but also Nietzsche, the Greek mythology, poetry, music.

Underground Fantasy, 1942, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, US (image taken from wikiart.org)

His artistic development can be divided in four different periods: the Realist years, from 1924 to 1940, the Surrealist period, from 1940 to 1945; the transition ‘til 1949 that will lead him to the Abstract Expressionism period, his trademark style.

The works characterizing his first two stages are mainly landscapes, interiors, still-life, New York subway scenes, clearly inspired by his first mentor, Max Weber.

Untitled, 1942, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, US (image taken from wikiart.org)

In 1940 Marcus Rothkovich decides to change his name in Mark Rothko, uncanny because disconnected to any nationality. The period during the Second World War has a strong influence on his style, bringing a deep change in his conception of art, making for him inconceivable to keep painting like before. This change makes him revisiting the Greek mythology, whose brutal tragedies of violence and revenge and strong passions well reflect the modern times. The transition in his works starts with the abandon of concrete subjects to focus on colours and shapes (the so-called multiforms), getting then to his classical stage of pure abstraction, influenced by Dada and Surrealism coming from Europe.

Multiform (post-title), 1948, 118.7 x 144 cm, National Gallery of Australia (NGA), Canberra, Australia (image taken from wikiart.org)

What emerges from Rothko’s art, in particular from the last period, is the absence of any guidance to interpret his works, later reflected also in the removal of the titles, with the artworks simply numbered. His intention is, indeed, to leave the viewer, through the colours and the large sizes of the canvasses, free to experience their own feelings and emotions.Mark Rothko hasn’t been a poor, unfortunate artist: he has rather been successful and estimated. Yet, he has always refused any label and has always felt somehow misunderstood by the art world. A double proof of his great talent and ability of touching human vulnerability.

Untitled, 1968, Gemeentemuseum den Haag, Hague, Netherlands (image taken from wikiart.org)

There is a lot more I would like to add about this artist that has deeply impressed me; but I would, instead, suggest to simply take the chance to visit the great exhibition that the Kunsthistorisches Museum is offering in Vienna until the 30th of June, or simply to get curious about him, and to open your mind to the beauty that is not necessary expressed in the form of an idyllic landscape.

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Head image: Self-portrait, 1936 (image taken from the official page of the exhibition)

All the information are taken from the book Rothko – Pictures as drama, from Jacob Baal-Teschuva, Taschen Books editions, that I bought at the Kunsthistorisches Museum after having visited the exhibition. I give high value to the quality and correctness of my contents, but I am also just an enthusiast (you can find my self-introduction here). Please leave any comment or addition that can improve or give a wider view on this great artist!

The beauty of Beauty

Illustration of different ways of sitting, human beings

Do we sit on chairs and eat on tables for its proper function or is there also an aesthetic motivation behind it? And what is created to be functional should leave aesthetics out to maximize and focus on the function only? How do our senses work and why do they tend to conglomerate in the same idea of beauty? These are just few of the questions answered or simply addressed by Stefan Sagmeister and Jessica Walsh, creators of the exhibition Beauty, on show until the end of March in the MAK Museum, the Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna.

The location itself is an architectural masterpiece in the style of the Neo-Renaissance, offering a permanent collection from different artistic periods: Viennese design from the 20th century, a Baroque, Rococo and Classicism section, Art Nouveau, Empire Style, Asian art. Currently it is possible to visit a commemorative and comprehensive solo exhibition of the works from Koloman Moser, an eclectic Austrian artist died one century ago; and Chinese Whispers, an exhibition taking Chinese contemporary art to Vienna. But let’s go back to our (my) focus.

The main hall of MAK; art installation “Two hundred and Seventy”, artist Nils Voelker

Beauty is an interactive, informative journey into the concept itself, how we define and perceive things. This topic links as well to my last post where I talked about the difficulty – even impossibility – to identify parameters in art and, therefore, quantify the value of an artwork. “Beauty is a combination of shape, color, form, composition, material and texture to please the aesthetic senses, especially the sight”: this blue neon sign welcomes you in the majestic entrance of the museum, where a huge installation made with Two Hundred and Seventy (that is its title too) plastic bags following a programmed choreography, giving the idea of a huge sailing ship floating upon everyone’s head.

“For Plato beauty is a moral value. What is good is beautiful, and what is beautiful is good.”

I love the arrangement of the exhibition, which spreads all over the museum: in different rooms, up the stairs, even in the toilets. One area is dedicated to the exploration of our senses, how we tend to have the same unconscious parameters to identify beauty. A consistent part of Beauty is inevitably, referring to the background of the authors, about design, being architecture or interior, facing the relative importance of aesthetics, functionality and environmental sustainability.

The evolution of the drinking glass, ca.1500 – 2000

In the past, aesthetic was the driving force when designing something new, getting less and less importance with the development of technology and market needs. During the 21st century in particular it almost disappeared  – and this is nicely shown right in front of the entrance, with representative piles of books showing the trend of the use of the word itself  in literature throughout the centuries – to get recognition back in the last decades.

Few experiments and considerations are proposed on the concept of beauty, leaving the clear evidence that beauty is unnecessary, yet we need it. We search for it, we recognize it spontaneously. Sometimes it is everywhere, sometimes, hard to find; still I think it needs to be educated, and put in the right context. We can as well think about the different ways to interpret it among times, cultures, society. Said all this, let’s leave some space to personal taste and sensibility. And when we have different opinions, still we will get the same feelings and pleasure. Then we can talk about it: but in the end, emotions are what brings us to the same point. Enjoy (and bring) beauty, enjoy this Beauty if you can!

Can we overlook the aspect for the benefit of our environment? Different examples of ecological and fair trade items: the book Small is beautiful from the research economist Ernst Friedrich Schumacher, the Mango Wooden Radio, the DIY Cellphone, a simple refrigerator (Terracooler) and water purification system (Watercone, Wadi and Life Straw)

Why beauty matters? This is the contest Sagmeister and Walsh launched within the exhibition. Have a look at their Instagram page to take part in, send the most beautiful thing you’ve ever made or seen.

Roberta Sinatra and the algorithm of art

Back in my quiet little village in Italy I was reading my favourite newspaper, “Il corriere della Sera”, and I found an article that particularly got my attention: Roberta Sinatra, an Italian physicist, has found an algorithm to analyse fashions in the art market. In order to do so, she studied almost half million careers of artists worldwide during the last 35 years to determine whether there were some common factors responsible for the fortune (or not) of an artist.
Success in art, like in every human activity whose value depends on individual perception, is strongly influenced by other factors than talent only (that is, de facto, unquantifiable). Recognition and values are determined by a network of experts, collectors, art dealers and institutions that will determine the visibility and prestige of an artist.
From the study Roberta carried out, Quantifying reputation and success in art, published on Science, it emerged that talent alone is not sufficient to reach fame. The most important factor is geography, specifically referring to the network available for an artist. Given the role of the major institutions as art portfolios, the researchers have mapped the network around these cores, finding a dense community mainly located in Europe and North America with access to selected artists frequently exhibited, while more peripheral areas appeared isolated, showing little or no exchange outside their local network. Within these cores, a high correlation was found between their centrality and the economic value of the artworks exhibited.

Coexhibition network: the map represents the existing connections among countries and institutions, with the cores identifying the the top institutions. (Image taken from the paper)

The beginning of the career, defined by the average prestige of the first five exhibits, is the stage determining the future development of an artist. Artists exhibiting in or connected to prestigious institutions since the beginning of their career had better chances to continue exhibiting and easier access to top institutions. On the other hand, artists starting from a low-initial reputation, i.e. in a peripheral network, had a high dropout rate, although an increasing access to the top institutions was shown for the ones who persisted.
For a deeper comprehension Roberta and colleagues tried to define how the reputation of an artist grows. With a probabilistic model they found out that reputation doesn’t depend on the current exhibit only; an average of 12 exhibits is what defines the “memory” of an artist, determining her/his advancement within the institutions and, therefore, an affirmed reputation.

I think that this study has confirmed with numbers what was already easy to expect (that is the reason about conducting a study, too…). It is unlikely that talent only is enough, in any field, to emerge, few lucky exceptions aside (read about the interview to the collectors John and Stuart Evans and their role in the art world). I also think, though, that the study has considered a period in between the traditional networking and the increasing diffusion and power of Internet and social media, and I believe this will be a new key factor to analyse while posing the same question again. On the other hand, the quantity of (more or less) artistic production has increased dramatically, leading to a higher concurrence in terms of visibility and, therefore, possibilities. Maybe this is just the result of sharing publicly what was hidden before in our drawers or timidly shown to our closest ones. Maybe this is motivating people to be more creative and free with their imagination. Maybe this is moving the conventional networks and spreading to new connections and expressions.

Whatever it is, I personally know the need of create, the calling that never stops: and I think that is the special flame that makes you an artist.

Vienna Contemporary 2018 Second part

As I already mentioned in the first part of the post about Vienna Contemporary, the countries present are mainly from Central- and Eastern Europe; still, few galleries come also from Korea, China, Northern Europe. A special focus is dedicated to Armenia after the recent Velvet Revolution, which took place in April and May 2018 and has revolutionised as well the national perception of art, creating a new dimension of artistic language that just until recent times has been the only way to protest.

What literally surprises me is when I see the name next to three drawings: Kostya Novoselov. And when I start reading the caption my supposition gets confirmed: he is the Konstantin Novoselov who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010 for having succeeded in isolating a single layer of graphite, the exceptional graphene (and since I am a scientist too I like to show you the structure of both: the Art of Nature).

The three drawings are realised with the same material he has studied so extensively: graphene ink (and Chinese ink) on rice paper. I find this simply amazing.

Kostya Novoselov, New music, 2018

The molecular structure of graphene (a) and graphite (b) (fig. by Rory Brown taken from here)

And a huge Carrara marble from the artist Thom Puckey represents a naked woman walking on her knees and one hand while holding a gun and hiding a knife behind the back. I find impressive the contraposition between the use of such a classic and noble material to picture, in my opinion, what is probably one of the most controversial topics at the moment: the subordination of women, the social vulnerability that puts them –us – on a constant alert and defensive mode; and still the awareness and the strength to react in any possible way –with any possible means.

Annie Gentils Gallery – Antwerp (BE); artist: Thom Puckey

An interesting and varied collection of artworks is displayed by the H.A.N. Gallery from Seoul: a frame with overlaid grids that recreate a picture in black and white (Seungmo Park); a futuristic light installation (Susanne Rottenbacher); and some metal elephants whose legs recall the visionary animals of Dalì (Wook-Jang Cheung).

Gallery H.A.N. – Seoul (KR); various artists

Gallery H.A.N. – Seoul (KR); various artists

The Trafo Gallery, which I already mentioned in the first part of this post, offers as well some futuristic art, representing Michal Cimala with his robotic lit mannequins; while the Tobe Gallery exhibits some portrait photography in which the light (or better the darkness) and the subjects remind in a way the portrait paintings from the Renaissance, giving a timeless allure to the picture.

Tobe Gallery – Budapest (RM); artist: László Mészáros

At the booth of the Bechter Kastowsky Galerie the artworks acquire new dimensionality by hanging one on the other and getting complete by the wallpainting.

Bechter Kastowsky Galerie – Vienna (AT); artist: Philip Patkowitsch

These are just few examples I found interesting to mention, mainly to show the variety of the selections made for introducing what is going on in and around the European art world. I hope I did stimulate your curiosity, and maybe we’ll see each other there next year!

For galleries and artists out there, the call for 2019 is now open. Have fun with art!

Artelier Contemporary – Graz (AT); artist: Sonja Gangl, O.R.G.A.S.M. #2

 

Vienna Contemporary 2018

Two weeks ago Vienna was hit by a great number of artists, collectors, gallerists, or simply art lovers thanks to two big events dedicated to contemporary art: Parallel and Vienna Contemporary. Due to time restrictions I decided to visit the latter since, well, I don´t like to be redundant but, I kind of ran into it…

Marx Halle, entrance of Vienna Contemporary; artist: Golif

Vienna Contemporary is an international art fair born from an idea of Christina Steinbrecher-Pfandt in 2015, to gather more and less famous artists coming mainly from Austria, but also Central- and Eastern Europe.

Bechter Kastowsky galerie – Vienna (AT); artist: Philip Patkowitsch

I feel excited by the opportunity of visiting it, and very curious about the selection. I start walking around, being impressed by the size of the exhibition –120 galleries and 500 artists– and the variety of styles, techniques, and people. It is very interesting to find connections among the galleries coming from the same country, in terms of colours, materials, forms, arrangements. And together with the exhibition there is also place for open discussions and interviews. I am happily lost looking around when I realize the first talk is starting. (Now I really don´t want to write a journalistic article about it, even if that´s what it may result in the end; but I do find worth to mention some interesting things I have listened to).

Artload – “A-live” interview series at Vienna Contemporary; curator and moderator: Vivian Gandelsman, guests: Stuart and John Evans

The talk I attend is with Stuart and John Evans, a father-and-son couple of art collectors, who present themselves and their role in the art world.

A collector has a crucial part in supporting artists, helping them getting into the market, introducing them to galleries or sometimes even financing them; and as well their attentive eye and –most of all– their passion for art make them a touchstone for newcomers, whether gallerists or new collectors. This, of course, requires a constant dedication. For the last ten years, in particular, they have been searching for new art from Latin America and started to build a new collection.

While listening to them describing their recent travels to Brazil, exploring different little shops and ateliers, I can shape a very nice picture in my head: the talented hidden artist discovered by the resolute and fond seeker. And this is what I like to imagine in an ideal world: that anywhere you are, any background or environment you have around, if you are talented you will emerge. Well, collectors make it happen! And not only because they can afford to buy expensive pieces – on the contrary, often it is thanks to them if the quotations of an artist arise. But the first, main reason moving them is the deep love for art. Stuart Evans uses a beautiful sentence while talking about his background:

“Art is transformative, but when you commit it rewards you.”

Probably you can apply it to anything, sure; we are still talking about human intellect, and human intellect has multiple directions but the same modus operandi, in the end.

I keep looking around with one big question buzzing in my head, the one I didn´t dare to ask at the open discussion: how can you tell whether a craft/hand work is actually an art work? I look around and I see so many different works: some are beautiful, some are very well done, some are…a big question mark. The answer, though, comes by itself while imagining all the different stories behind any single brush stroke, behind the lens, behind every concept; some may like it, some may not; still, certainly there is a story worth to be told.

(to be continued…)

Trafo Gallery – Prague (CZ); artist: Michal Cimala

Vienna Contemporary – partial overview

 

Lucio and Duilio Forte, architects of imagination

Today I would like to introduce you a very talented artist and friend I got to know already some years ago: Lucio Lars Forte. This time we move to Milan, more specifically in a peripheral area where open fields give a greener feeling of the city.

Lucio is Italian with Swedish origins; he studied architecture and from there started to develop his own, unique style, mixing different techniques and materials, joining architecture with painting and comics, another great passion of him.

Sistema indipendente (Independent system), 2014, watercolor, Indian ink, glue on paper (48 x 98 x 3 cm)      – …now the base lives in an independent system… We can go      -Where to?

Together with his brother, Duilio Forte, as well an affirmed artist, he shares an old industrial plant renovated as studio atelier: Orygma, his own space, and AtelierFORTE. The latter serves as (but is not limited to) atelier and showroom; and everything about and inside this building complex is pure and mesmerizing art, thanks to the creations, sculptures and design elements from Duilio. Here is a video he made to present his atelier and works he created, truly worth to see.

Tipp Tapp, Duilio Forte 2018

I had the great possibility to visit the whole structure on different occasions, thanks to the warm and friendly environment present at every exhibition that Lucio organizes.

I ended up in this bucolic place after having read about a collective exhibition called Sottosuolo (Subsoil in English): just few but beautifully written words to introduce the overall concept of the selected works. I could see from the map that the place was reachable after a long way with the bus from the city centre; but careless I decided to go there. And finally, after many glossy and snobbish vernissages in the centre of the city, I could find an authentic one, a celebration of art with music, wine and people willing to interact with each other.

This is how the atelier may look like, in my opinion (and Lucio seems to confirm the inspiration).

Lucio Forte 2009, oil on canvas (70 x 120 cm)

When I ask him how he would like to be presented, he tells me about immortality (modest!). He defines himself as an “architect deep inside the soul”, explaining that with his art he wants to create suggestions: illusionary maybe, but what gives us the opportunity to live more lives just by using the limitless power of imagination. Then, finally, we can reach immortality.

Uomo giallo (Yellow man), 2015, oil, tempera on canvas (50 x 70 x 1 cm)

And science fiction offers a great setting for a new idea of immortality, by mixing science – the knowledge acquired by testing and proving – with its opposite and origin at the same time –fantasy. Then, everything becomes possible.

Sottosuolo (Subsoil), 2013, oil on canvas (80 x 60 x 2 cm) from my personal collection

Lipstick (Lipstick), 2012, mixed media on panel (78 x 70 x 2 cm)

Currently Lucio is starting a new project, Subcity Art Gallery, “a new underground  reality in the local artistic scene” where small-format selected artworks can be found at an accessible market. For the ones who may have the chance, don’t miss the opening on the 20th of September!

 

All the artworks with description and availability can be found on Artsper.

Head image: Lucio Forte 2009, mixed media on paper (21 x 30 cm)

Prelude

The first common reactions people have towards a contemporary artwork are “I could have done it myself”, “Is this really called art?”, and so on. Scepticism and lack of beauty are often the strongest impression hitting the audience. While in the past there was usually a trend, a movement defining a specific style, or theme, or function, nowadays it gets harder and harder to distinguish between art and trash, sometimes forgetting that art is, de facto, the mirror of the times we live in, and that most often also the greatest artists had to deal with critics from their contemporaries. Yet, still a lot is produced, still art is a fundamental part of our lives, to shape minds and souls, to give colour and thrill.

Together with the love for literature and writing, art has always been an integral component in my life. I started to develop a strong passion from the scholastic books, and then kept myself updated by reading, visiting museums, exhibitions, attending smaller vernissages to get to know also what is on the emerging edge. Meanwhile I took a different approach to expressing my creative side by choosing to become a chemist, the art of mixing and transforming matter, of separating and identifying compounds.

Italian born, for two years I have lived in the magnificent city of Vienna, which from the very beginning on has taken my heart and soul. As you may know, Vienna has been for long time the centre of the European culture, attracting a wide and varied collection of artists and intellectuals; and this is still completely reflected in its spirit and atmosphere, a sense of majesty and decadence that is almost touchable. I started to explore the local artistic scene, and found a plenitude of totally new dimensions of making art among the classical and modern allure of its architecture.

Along this personal journey I have felt extremely lucky to have got to know many intellectual, open minded, creative artists who have opened their work and philosophy to me. With this blog I would like to collect the most memorable conversations, to share my impressions and opinions about different topics and trends in art, presenting it as a simple enthusiast, creating an open space for discussion free from prejudices and clichés.

Art is for everyone, it just needs an attentive and sensitive eye to be caught and a brave-enough mind to be created.

 

Image: Salvador Dalì, Living Still Life, 1956