What inspired you to create art and become an artist?
Art and artist are words that sound very vague and in my language carry a kind of judgement. So I will talk about painting, which is what I do, and painter, because that is consequently what I am. And the simplest and most honest answer to your question is that painting has always given me great pleasure. And I think that at a certain point, when this pleasure comes to fill you, whether you want it or not, you end up pouring it out, with other people and in other places, becoming a painter.
What is your artistic background, techniques and subjects you have experimented with so far?
I started taking drawing and painting lessons as a child but then for a long time painting was an intermittent presence in my life. In 2010, however, something changed: painting came back, very strong, and from then on I devoted myself to it full-time. This prompted me to try many different solutions, as if I had to make up for lost time and knowledge, experimenting with many techniques and trying to put together a synthesis of what I had learnt. And it is a process that continues to this day.
What are the 3 aspects that differentiate you from other artists, making your work unique?
That is not for me to say. I would add, however, that in my opinion painting is a path not too dissimilar from the development of calligraphy, unique for each of us despite the rules imposed by teachings and tradition, and is often recognisable even when we deliberately try to imitate another person.
Where does your inspiration come from?
From painting itself first of all. From those objects and their infinite possibilities, their smells, surfaces.... But also from any kind of idea, be it pictorial, musical, literary or other, that I find strong, successful, that does not leave me indifferent. I have also been involved in music for many years and trying to establish a dialogue between it and painting is always very motivating for me.
What is your artistic approach? What visions, sensations or feelings do you want to evoke in the viewer?
Specifically, it depends very much on the series of paintings I am working on. More generally, I would say that there is one aspect that I often try to convey in my works, namely the attempt to represent a complex phenomenon, its pictorial translation I would say, in an intelligible but not overt way. To seek a balance between the shown and the hidden, between the declared and the merely suggested. Hints then, which I hope can be completed differently in each eye, but anchored in something concrete and never aleatory.
What is the process of creating your works? Spontaneous or with a long preparatory process (technical, inspired by art classics or other)?
I like to search directly on the canvas for the image I want, doing my utmost to preserve certain steps in this continuous process of addition and subtraction. This happens within a certain 'frame' I have given myself, namely the series I am working on. Each series has its own characteristics, partly decided before the act of painting and partly constantly being redefined. I also work a lot on paper in small formats, to prepare myself for what I want to do. However, they are not really preparatory drafts, but rather a kind of 'training' to construct and absorb a certain language of signs, forms and structures. For your second question, I think that when you have been working on something for a long time, the separation between spontaneity and preparation becomes very blurred and is no longer recognisable.
Do you use a particular working technique? If so, can you explain it to me?
I think one aspect that characterises my work, although I am certainly not the only one to do so, is to produce all the materials I need from the most essential elements. Whether oils, acrylics, watercolours, I produce almost all the colours I use from powdered pigments by grinding them by hand. Sometimes it can be a slow process, but it really takes me to the root of the pictorial fact.
Are there innovative aspects to your work? Can you tell us what?
I hope so, but I don't think it's for me to say.
Do you have a format or medium you feel most comfortable with? If so, why?
With very large canvases, or very small works on paper. With the former because you have a full-scale relationship with what you are painting and it's like removing a filter between you and the painting. With small works, on the other hand, I love the possibility of twisting them and giving them another direction quickly without any delay between what I think and what I see appearing in front of me. If only these two aspects could be combined!
Where do you produce your work? At home, in a shared workshop or in your laboratory?
And in this space, how do you organise your creative work? I have a rather large studio near Bologna where I can really do anything and with any kind of material. The limit is only my skills, and my motivation. It is not perfect: cold in winter, terribly hot in summer, far from the sea or other beautiful places, but entering it gives me deep joy every day. I usually carry out several jobs and start each day from the one I consider the least successful; I begin the day by preparing the colours I will need. And when I fail to make progress I return to paper to look for a way out.
Does your work take you travelling to meet new collectors, for fairs or exhibitions? If so, what does it bring you?
Yes and no. At fairs I prefer that only my paintings go and I am happy for the galleries to handle everything. For exhibitions it's a different story and they can become a great excuse for a trip that I wouldn't have done otherwise, like in 2019 for an exhibition I had in Hong Kong. What I would like most, however, is to travel so that I can paint elsewhere a few months a year.
How do you imagine your work and career as an artist evolving in the future?
As you continue along a certain path, whatever it may be, you become more capable and aware, but also more demanding and strict. Therefore, personal evolution can only take place by being able to realise something that meets the expectations of that moment. I therefore hope to be able to continuously transform what I do in the direction of what I desire and feel necessary, but it is a process that does not happen easily. What is certain is that I will continue to paint throughout my life, where this will take me is yet to be discovered.
What is the theme, style or technique of your latest artistic production?
For the past few months I have been working on a new series entitled Lost and Found, both on paper and canvas, also using materials that are new to me. I have just started presenting the first works and there is still a lot to do. In part, I am trying to leave behind a certain intimist and nebulous atmosphere that has characterised the last few years and which I consider to be exhausted, in favour of a greater openness to the noise of what surrounds me, to the beauty and to the many uglinesses of our time, starting with compositions that are somehow intertwined with the things of our everyday life. I would say that these paintings are like an awakening after a beautiful dream. An attempt to reconcile desire with the ordinary things of life.
Can you tell us about your most important exhibition experience?
In 2018, I was able to hold a large solo exhibition in Bologna, Discanto, free to take care of every detail. It is undoubtedly the one that has given me the most satisfaction so far.
If you could create a famous work in the history of art, which one would you choose? And why?
I think of cave paintings like those in the Altamira and Chauvet caves. They are terribly expressive and silent and thousands of years later retain their mystery. Painting that retains its enigma can speak to countless generations.
If you could invite a famous artist (living or dead) to dinner, who would it be? How would you suggest they spend the evening?
I would invite two of them, friends in life, to break the ice: Alberto Burri and Afro Basaldella. I would start off with the idea of asking them a thousand questions but I am sure I would end up not saying a word, listening to them in silence.
Olimpia Gaia Martinelli
