SOLD TODAY!

5-10 November 2012

Show at Room 212

Untitled, thread and pencil on linen, 90 cm diameter, SOLD

Untitled, detail

SORRY, I AM RIGHT-BRAINED!

This work answers the questions I posed in my previous post. 

I have stitched a self portrait using what seems to be a juxtaposition of two different techniques, however, the red paint-like-drops sit on what was the actual back of my initial piece, which has now become the front. Here, the black thread draws a very sketchy line, but in fact the other side shows the opposite: a very controlled pointillist contour. 

By doing this, I want to bring together the two methods, the unconscious and the conscious stitching, both on the same surface. This allows me to enhance the texture and colour of the upper right hand side of my face and, therefore, draw attention - in a symbolic way - to the functionality of that same side of the brain, where any creative process begins. 

In this case, the eye itself has a very important relevance, for it is, in philosophical and pictorial terms, the connection to the soul; it also places an emphasis on the actual observational process related to creativity. 

Voilà!

Thread on linen (work in progress), thread on linen, 6" hoop

- front -

'La Creatività' (finished), thread on linen, 6" hoop

- back -


Please see my: 'You are two-faced...' post.

SEEING REDS

After looking through Arina Gordienko's work, I suddenly became more aware of the colour red. I also started sketching away and found that we can be a really good source of inspiration to ourselves. Self portraits, in fact, encourage deep observation and reflection. 

Here, I have covered my forehead with some layers of red, following Gordienko's approach, however, despite my understanding of her beliefs in spiritual connectivity with the Universe, my thoughts drifted more towards the idea of creativity itself. In particular, the right side of the brain, which is known to be the most expressive in artistic and emotive terms. 

How would I enhance this whole concept in a self portrait, while adopting the use of thread and drawing?

ARINA'S SILENCE

I have just discovered the evocative work of Russian painter Arina Gordienko, who, as a mature student, gained an MA in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Art and Design, University of the Arts London, in 2008. 

In her self portraits and also her drawings there is the constant use of the colour red, which, as well as representing beauty in Russian folklore, is symbol of connection with the Universe and everything that's in it, according to Buddhist teachings. 

By including it so strongly in her work, she wants to send a message of hope out to the world.

LISTEN TO THE SILENCE, OPUS 2
oil on canvas
170/150cm
2008

'BLUE MEDAL'

This is the documentation of my latest stitching work. It is not finished yet, but what I want to show here is the small embroidery hoop which stretches the fabric and leaves it in place. It frames the piece and also makes it ready for hanging:

SUSPENDED BEAUTY

When I went to see the work of Pae White at Manchester Art Gallery a few years back, I was captivated by the beauty of her delicate installations. I still find them so fascinating...

Pae White, Grotto

To find out more about Pae White 'In no particular order' exhibition please click here

                                                    

YOU ARE TWO-FACED...

These are images of the reverse of some of my stitching works. I think they are visually very interesting considering that the patterns created are unintentional.

VERSATILE THREADS

thread on canvas, work in progress, 20x20cm

CARVING NATURE

I admire the work of Yoshihiro Suda, it is craftsmanship taken to the highest level.

Only those who look closely enough will appreciate the amazing reproduction of...an ordinary leaf.

"Yoshihiro Suda is based in Tokyo. 

He creates hyper-realistic flowers and weeds from wood."

"He situates his pieces in surprising places, growing unexpectedly out of pristine gallery walls and pushing up out of forgotten corners. His interventions reveal the beauty in the simple and apparently unconsidered."

Both Yoshihiro Suda and Susan Collis (please see previous post) participated in 'Out of the Ordinary: Spectacular Craft' exhibition held at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London (13 November 2007 to 17 February 2008).

SUN & ROSES...

Similarly to Collis, I too began to look at the complete replacement of the medium (of paint) with a visual impression of its elements (colour and physicality/texture). I suppose that here the ambition lay in the attempt to highlight the qualities of something which is no longer before the accustomed eye; to reconstruct a memory of it.

This is an example of my work:

 'Alcuni uomini trasformano il sole in un puntino giallo, 

                                    altri trasformano un puntino giallo in sole'

                                        thread on fabric, 20 x 20cm, SOLD

'I’d rather have white roses on my table
than diamonds on my neck'
thread on linen, 20 x 20cm, SOLD

(I have just thought about the title I gave to this piece above and would like to add:

'...specially if the table is by Susan Collis!')

'TROJAN HORSE'

Here is the amazing work of Susan Collis, one of the most inspiring artists I came across during my Ba at Manchester Metropolitan University. I thought I would include her in my writings because I strongly feel that the concepts and ideas behind my own paintings, and three-dimensional drawings, relate, in some ways, to what Collis tries to communicate with her installations.

The beautification of the banal, the re-staging of the elements, the victory of the over-looked...that is what I am talking about!

"Susan Collis's work might at first glance appear to be out of place in an exhibition, and you have to look closely to discover it. Mundane things, seemingly left behind from a previous exhibition, are actually meticulously worked by hand."

Susan Collis, 'Since I Fell For You', 
2010, 100% Cotton, 2002, 
Boiler suit, embroidery thread, 
63 x 183/4in.

'Since I Fell For You' (detail)

Susan Collis, 'Enter, Us', 2009
Screw made of  18 carat white gold,
White sapphire and turquoise

Susan Collis, 'Trojan horse', 2007, 

wooden table, diamond, fresh water pearl, oyster pearl, 

mother of pearl, conch shell, Brazilian opal, white opal, 

white howlite, magnecite, gold mother of pearl, 

cultured pearl, agate, orange calcite 

'Trojan horse' (detail)

STITCHING DROPS

My aim is to mimic pictorial accidents, or occurrences, by replacing altogether the most fundamental medium; in my paintings, in fact, there is no trace of paint yet its presence is still traceable. The explanation to this lies in the long process of combining and then eliminating, one by one, all the media involved in my work at a particular moment in time, until paint itself was no longer needed, for its essence had been transposed onto the other compositional elements of my work, most of all: thread.

'Zeffiretto', thread on linen, 20 x 20cm, SOLD

'The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you have to put up with the rain', 

Thread on canvas, 92 x 92cm

As an important and foremost contingent aspect of my practice, time is essential for the development of my ideas of imitation, however, it becomes the contrasting element of my work, for the execution of a paint drop, which is normally created in seconds, takes much longer when reproduced by stitching its features on canvas. 


'The Fountain of Good', 
Thread on canvas, 
20 x 20cm, SOLD

I wanted to use paint's density and texture, but without actually painting.          

PINS ON TREES

'AWAKEN'

Dress-making pins on a log 104cm high

This piece, made appositely for Bucheli Gallery, revolves around the idea of artificial growth. Although the aim of the piece is to describe the physical world and pay homage to Nature, it also exploits the human ambition of imitating and, often, recreating Nature itself.

My attempt here is to bring together the organic and the artificial by integrating them and, at the same time, challenge the viewer's perception of what constitutes a natural phenomena. 

The log has been enlivened by artificiality; I achieved this by presenting the viewer with a common pattern to be found in Nature, employing, instead, an ordinary object, for example a dress-making pin, and placing it within a different context.


With 'Awaken' I wanted to try to incorporate all the concepts that I learnt by doing on-site installations during my MA year at Wimbledon College of Art (University of the Arts London). I wanted to work in a more intimate, practical and accessible way; I thought I would achieve this by creating a movable sculptural object.


This installation with dress-making pins (below) was called 'The Present' and would occupy the outdoor and indoor spaces of my MA studio in Wimbledon:

Note how a spider came along and made my pins his home!