Anglo-italian artist. I studied painting and drawing in my formative years and completed my undergraduate degree in Architecture at University IUAV in Venice. Between 1991 and 2010 I nurtured my passion for painting and drawing alongside my work as an architect taking part in various group and solo exhibitions in Padua, Milan and Turin. In 2008, in search of new artistic solutions and leaving painting as unique form of expression behind, I began the production of artworks using printed paper recycled from magazines, newspapers and catalogs. In 2010 I decided to left my work as an architect in order to concentrate solely on the creation of artworks in paper.
I use repurposed paper sourced from all over the world but mostly donated locally by newsstands, typographies and private individuals. I reuse the paper in many different ways, selecting it considering its quality, thickness and colour, and always in innovative ways to create one-of-a-kind pieces. Digital computer technology as well as technological instruments such as paper cutting machines or scanners are part of my creative process and intertwined with traditional hand manual work and non-artistic materials, like books and magazines. I use them as a way to mix different types of media, allowing more human interaction, rather then as a way to simply make the process of creating easier. Technology is for me both an help and a way to expand the artisanal expertise and overcome the limitation of traditional human hand making .
I create 2d and 3d physical collages. I always start with a digitally-made initial concept, that I then translate into physical pieces. Using repurposed paper is also a way for me to convey and communicate the importance of the reuse of materials and the value of sustainability in every practice. Paper always challenges me and force me to find new ways and techniques to reuse it emphasising its properties and caracteristics, balancing merits and defects of this material.
Printed-paper is one of the mediums through which advertising and consumption messages are spread and by using it I try to explore the role that consumption has in the construction of our identity. We are what we buy and consumption functions as a way to create a sense of self. But consumption has an illusory e momentary nature. As fashion, any product grows obsolete very quickly. Nothing lasts for long, everything is disposable. In the same way our identities are also temporary and changeable, in a state of continuous flux.
Portraits and abstract works make the viewer engage with matters beyond what is immediately visible raising public awareness about issues relating to our environment, our privacy and identity.
