In my forest series – The bronze folios

Bronze Folio – Bronze Folio (FB-022) 2012 cm 104×80

The first works that were extrapolated from the overall project, were the ones I like to refer to as the bronze folios. As you may recall, the project originated with a random encounter (as it often happens to me, and perhaps it may be worthwhile to reflect on the problem of randomness) with the work of the etcher/engraver Carl Wilhelm Kolbe, proto-romantic artist of the 1700s, whos work I stumbled upon during the summer of 2010, while in the process of researching the creations of Hendrick Goltius, in particular his flying figures, in relation to my work on the human form (the ceramics belonging to

the they are alone series, which will be discussed later). As you may well know, Kolbeís Arcadian images served as the basis and foundation, following the artistic construction and re-modelling efforts I undertook, for the series of works titled In my forest. Starting from the two-dimensional work of the engravings, as I chose to assemble them, I eventually arrived at the voluminous aspect (with the true and genuine desire to instill physical thickness upon the image) while preserving the frontal perspective of the work. The willingness and desire to offer a voluminous perception from a frontal point of view,

was primarily driven by the need to avoid visual distractions that are always possible when viewing works of art from all perspectives. This (so to speak) naturalistic perception and multiple points of view always stuck me as a distraction from a thoughtful and reflective survey of the work in question. The decision to start with an engraving and not with a real image I think, at least in this case, can be considered as being motivated by a desire to recapture an image that has already been explored during its original creation and brought to life with a naturalistic vision.

Foglio di bronzo – Bronze Folio (FB-006) 2011 cm 132×102

Foglio di bronzo – Bronze Folio (FB-014) 2012 cm 76×101

The portrayal, only seemingly a landscape, which draws upon the work of the engraver should be, in this case, interpreted as the idealisation of an entirely conceptual inner vision. I suppose it could be asserted that those engravings are nothing but the final outcome of an ideal vision of a man and of the world that surrounds him. Thus the choice of subject represents nothing more than an opportunity and a pretext to express an inner choice, or rather a vision. This mediation, already established by the original engravings,

was further accentuated by the artistic construction and remodelling work that I implemented, something that has ultimately contributed to the creation of an ex-novo (or new) image. This therefore resulted, into an additional and more pronounced distortion that cannot, in any way, be attributed to a description of reality. The quest for a frontal perspective, the incorporation of different images, dissonant and sometimes incongruent among themselves, the use of monochrome patina or the use of the colour matching that of the metal

used, have somehow contributed to the total and complete obliteration of the original image (the forest, nature) thus recreating, or at least attempting to recreate a fully contemplative inner need that is completely disconnected from the visual narrative. The desire to create confusion is to some extent attained through the use a solid material and by the heavy nature of the medium, used as a drawing pad in order to thus supply and make possible a rather unusual perception.

Foglio di bronzo – Bronze Folio (FB-037) 2013 cm 220×165

Foglio di bronzo – Bronze Folio (FB-019) 2012 cm 133×102

Foglio di bronzo – Bronze Folio (FB-017) 2012 cm 167×118

Many of these works have since sustained further refinements, specifically the creation of light passages obtained by piercing the bronze. Together with a process that in a way entailed the carving of the bronze folio, the perceptual aspect of the work was deliberately intensified, forcing the observer into an active examination of the subject which arises from the spontaneous ability of the eye to reconstruct the vision of an image that is not fully defined: the recomposition of the empty space, the inevitable visual reconstruction of the folio by the eyes of the observer, do nothing but intensify (even unconsciously) the possible interpretation of an image lacking confusion and superficiality.

Milan march 18 2013

Foglio di bronzo – Bronze Folio (FB-007) 2011 cm 96×71

Foglio di bronzo – Bronze Folio (FB-018) 2012 cm 186×143