What prompted you to create art and become an artist? (events, feelings, experiences...)
One of my earliest childhood memories that often comes back to me is of my sister and me, still and curiously silent—despite being at an age of mischief—perched on the edge of my father's desk, watching him calmly handle canvases, colors, tubes, rags, palettes, and brushes. In ethology, 'imprinting' (as in making an impression, a mark, minting) is a type of learning through exposure: I think those very early experiences have indelibly marked my view of the world and art. Later, I pursued scientific studies and realized that the purely analytical and methodological dimension of science was not fully satisfying without a touch of irrationality, or the addition of a gesture guided by chance and instinct.
What is your artistic background, and what techniques and materials have you experimented with so far?
My passion for photography began in university, through an almost fortuitous encounter with the charm and magic of the darkroom. I remember studying physics, analysis, chemistry in the mornings... while in the afternoon, when I could, I would sneak into the fine arts academy classrooms to attend photography courses or seminars. Later, I started working in software engineering and appreciated all digital technologies, from photo editing to animations, from 3D virtual scenarios to the world of artificial intelligence. But I never lost that ancient taste for printing, the smell of paper, the pleasant tactile sensation of the mediums, the contaminations with painting, always trying to merge innovation and craftsmanship.
What are the three aspects that differentiate you from other artists, making your work unique?
Bernard of Chartres used to say that we are dwarfs standing on the shoulders of giants: this means that no work is ever completely original, but also that each of us always has something unique. The trick is to understand how to move on the edge of this contradiction between uniqueness and difference. My peculiarity is that I cannot separate science from art, I do not like to be influenced by fashions or prevailing tastes, and I prefer spaces of solitude and silence. The study of philosophy has also shaped my approach to art and made me appreciate authors like De Chirico. Slowly, I have managed to reconcile differences and affinities.
Where does your inspiration come from?
Reading, both non-fiction and literature, is certainly my main source of inspiration, along with music, both classical and modern. I am more interested than ever in the ideal aspect of things rather than a more phenomenological view of the world. The "how" and the "why" before the "what." So, I observe a lot but photograph lately with extreme deliberation. I also seek inspiration in open spaces, in emptiness, in meditation, away from the noises of our time, which are often the cause of too many confused thoughts.
What is your artistic approach? What visions, sensations, or feelings do you want to evoke in the viewer?
Art lives through the viewer, who is the primary partner of the creator. To collaborate well, the viewer needs to be stimulated with doubts, questions, open-ended queries, double meanings, paradoxes, and when necessary, even with irony and irreverence. It is always necessary to break away from a vision made of clichés, inflated images, or overly predictable ones. I like to create what I call "visual discontinuities," breakpoints that push us to inquire, to continuously question ourselves. To not be overly aggressive with my viewer, I always seek a formal balance that provides visual pleasure and rest (but not to the mind), without ever abandoning a deep-seated background of imagination and kindness.
What is the process of creating your works? Is it spontaneous or does it involve a lengthy preparatory phase (technical, inspired by classical art, or other)?
The creation starts from a spontaneous seed, a first light, a latent image. This is followed by a long and intricate preparatory process, guided by my scientific soul. I use a methodology as rigorous as possible, made up of trials and errors, where the work is like a mathematical theorem to be falsified. I test it, attack it from various angles, to bring out weaknesses or aspects to be better defined. This process can last months until I reach a more stable and defined form. But any result is never final; it represents just a moment of reflection, because new ideas, new seeds, are already lurking and can change everything, reigniting the torch of imagination. Despite commitment, rigor, and passion, it is always play that guides the path, a kind of carousel that continuously spins without ever stopping, in search of an uncontaminated gaze, just like that of children.
Do you use a particular working technique? If so, can you explain it?
I almost always start with a group of photos or a sketch from a previous project that I left in an embryonic or incomplete state. Then I begin to process the initial images, adding and removing elements until I find the right balance for the visual structure I have in mind. After the initial phases, I adopt a more deconstructive approach which involves removing elements to clean up the scene and make the image purer and more essential.
Are there innovative aspects to your work? Can you tell us about them?
Photography forms the basis of most of my works. It is the discipline that has seen the greatest technological innovations in art and is an invitation to experiment as much as possible. For example, I have started to train a generative neural network on my photos, to try to create images using artificial intelligence techniques that most closely resemble my style. Another thing I do is take photos along with 3D scans of the same subject to then combine them in post-production. I am currently interested in exploring how to customize the software for guiding a drone, to use it for more efficient shooting angles and higher quality images. Ultimately, photography itself, as it is understood today, is among the most innovative elements due to its extraordinary ability to make everything that is false appear true (or plausible), and vice versa.
Do you have a format or medium with which you feel most comfortable? If so, why?
In terms of mediums, as mentioned, I enjoy experimenting, so where possible, I often change the entire workflow of my equipment (cameras, computers, scanners, printers, papers...). However, I feel much more comfortable with square images: they give me a sense of greater harmony. Moreover, my personal approach to filling and emptying the scene is, in a sense, simplified by this format. I believe this choice also stems from a deep interest that links mathematics and art in the search for balance.
Where do you produce your work? At home, in a shared studio, or in your own studio? And in this space, how do you organize your creative work?
In my home studio, I have various spaces to think, operate, and study. My work begins with a text that synthesizes the artwork, then I take the initial photos and start processing them on the computer. Sometimes I also use sketches or preliminary prints to clarify some of the subsequent steps. After a first "prototype," I enter a sort of loop: I begin to revise the text to better define the aesthetic and operational aspects, improving the production and post-production activities as well. The workflow follows the pattern of a melody, with highs and lows, pauses, vibrant and calm moments. I find it nearly impossible to work unless I am accompanied by good music.
Does your work require you to travel to meet new collectors, for fairs, or exhibitions? If so, what does this bring you?
I traveled for several years, but in this period, I have chosen a quieter and less hectic life. Therefore, I travel much less, but I try to meet in other ways people interested in my artistic and professional journey, such as authors, promoters, curators, or collectors.
How do you envision the evolution of your work and your career as an artist in the future?
This period is full of opportunities and new knowledge. For example, I am very focused on the study of creativity: a meeting point between consciousness and the unconscious, still so mysterious and little explored. I would also like to create my own "research lab" where I can experiment and delve deeper into this subject through the creation of new works and ideas that support my path. I believe my artistic career can find space in this vision, also thanks to greater opportunities to be noticed by gallery owners and curators and to new technologies that break down some barriers.
What is the theme, style, or technique of your latest artistic production?
The theme of my latest artistic production is a reflection between Earth and Humanity, a partnership that seems to have been interrupted, broken. I thought of recreating an imagery of human figures formed solely from earth, roots, and other small debris. Here, the human figure takes shape through the silent work of roots, via a slow construction guided by an ancient chant, a sort of primordial energy from which both the earth and humans have gradually derived their existence. Stylistically, I chose a dark key to create a visual shift between the real world and our perception, which is tainted by the refusal to connect with nature. This is the origin of these disturbing visions, born from the inability to recognize and accept our most authentic origins. To better harmonize these images, I chose to use construction techniques starting from artificial agents, while maintaining strict formal control of the results to ensure the right photographic quality. This work is also giving life to a new artist's book with images and words in the form of a story.
Can you tell us about your most significant exhibition experience?
The most important exhibition experience I had was a few years ago in a solo exhibition at the Palazzo Serra di Cassano, home of the Italian Institute for Philosophical Studies in Naples. It was important for several reasons: the opportunity to reconnect with people from whom circumstances had distanced us, the chance to place the exhibition within a conference that sealed the more comprehensive character of art that I see as a cultural experience, and the feeling of walking through the same halls where, as a university student, I had the pleasure and privilege of listening to important scholars, artists, and Nobel Prize winners from around the world.
If you could create a famous work of art from history, which would you choose? And why?
That's a tough question that might even jeopardize the outcome of an invitation to dinner with a favorite artist! I would choose to create Michelangelo's David: as a passionate admirer of statuary, from ancient Greece onwards, David represents for me the pinnacle of creative process perfection. This work seduces me with its strength but also the fragility of that single block of marble, its imposing nature but also its sense of lightness; the elegance combined with the richness of details, the singular concentration of the biblical hero that represents the emblem of a rigorous and unattainable method of work.
If you could invite a famous artist (living or deceased) to dinner, who would it be? How would you suggest spending the evening?
If available, I would like to invite Giorgio De Chirico for dinner next weekend. To make him feel at ease, I would ask him to share his early experiences with Nietzsche's readings, which kickstarted his metaphysical painting. I would accompany this initial chat with a light dinner (remembering that De Chirico suffered from annoying abdominal pains during his stay in Florence) and then delve into a more rigorous reading of some of his works, full of charm and mystery, gently provoking him, perhaps with the complicity of a good glass of wine, to offer his most hidden inspirations.
Olimpia Gaia Martinelli
| ArtMajeur Magazine
