FRAMES

"Frames", Oil on canvas, 1994, 100 x 60 cm.

A man walks, he notices something while he is going, then he goes further. The three shots, placed next to each other, partially overlapping, do not tell us what he saw, but do tell us something. Through the man eye we sense that what he saw hit him. Maybe he thinks that he should stop. Perhaps the thing he saw demanded his attention. But the man chose to move on, and to remain indifferent.

https://www.saatchiart.com/art/Painting-Frames/46606/1047240/view

The dreams of Veronica

"The dreams of Veronica". Oil on canvas, 80 x 60 cm, 1994. ORIGINAL SOLD.

www.federicocortese.com

Three prisoners

"Three prisoners". Oil on canvas, 100 x 60 cm, 1993

Original available for sale:

https://www.saatchiart.com/art/Painting-Three-prisoners/46606/1047296/view

Imaginary maps

From the series “Big Code”, oil and pencil on paper, 70 x 44 cm, 2011 - 2012.

When we consider a road map or a map of the territory we note that they contain different information that are represented by different means, according to the purpose for which they were created: each time we find colors, symbols and words that recall a precise meaning. What happens if I take these techniques of representation, these symbols, and take off the scope for which they were created and mingle them with each other? Will it be for the reader a text in a foreign language, that is meaningless, or through the world of associations and references that each of us possesses, will generate a new language and associate to those images a new meaning?

These drawings  are similar to the series "Code" but larger. While in that series the initial idea of the map is entirely invented, here sometimes I start with the virtual exploration (via Google Maps) of a real city, whose name then appears in the title of the drawing. But even in this case the real city is only a pretext. Its forms are gradually modified and reinvented. New symbols are added, the hierarchy of colors and the associations between the various elements are gradually distorted and lose their original meaning so that hardly an inhabitant of that city would recognize it as his own. With this process of work I explore the possibilities of change and evolution of the original language.

www.federicocortese.com

Mexico City

Kansas City

Matryoshka

"Matryoshka". From the series "Abandoned rooms", oil on canvas, 80 x 60 cm, 2016.

This series of paintings was inspired by the metaphysical landscapes of De Chirico. I have always been fascinated by their clear vision of the architecture, with the precise  design of the shadows, almost anticipating the modern use of three-dimensional modeling software. In the way I feel, however, more introverted and almost unsociable, the outer space is transformed into a closed one, private and protected, from which the human presence is totally gone away. In those rooms then, it may happen that some strange objects and some unexpected decorations appear, suggesting that the person who lives there has overcome the lack of relationship to the outside world with the richness and complexity of his inner world. 

Original painting available for sale:

https://www.artfinder.com/product/matryoshka-03dd/

Estuary

"Estuary". From the series “The earth seen from the space”, oil on canvas. 50 x 50 cm.

The first time I used Google Earth was fantastic. I could not believe that someone had photographed the entire planet, and that the exploration of this world was accessible to all. Browsing by chance I discovered amazing sceneries, looking at the city streets from far away I could accomplish wonderful virtual travels. I discover unexpected color blends at the mouths of the rivers or along the coast of the sea, shades that make uncertain the border between land and water. The cultivated fields create a dense mosaic of colors. The view from a great distance reduces the details and makes possible a new form of representation of the landscape. Basically, the only thing that is changed is the point of view.

Original available for sale: 

http://www.zatista.com/product/details/52609/Estuary

the pergola

"the pergola". Oil on canvas, 40 x 40 cm, 1991. Original painting available for sale.

www.federicocortese.com

Alphabet

From the series “Alphabet”, china ink on paper. 20 x 20 cm, 2010.

A barcode is the graphical representation of a series of numbers. What does creates the aesthetics of a bar code? It comes from lines, their thickness, the spacing.We can think of it as a language with its compositional rules, its grammar and its syntax.

I imagined to isolate these rules, separating them from the original purpose for which they were created, and I tried to change them gradually to invent a new language and perhaps new meanings.

www.federicocortese.com

the tower

"The tower". Oil on canvas, 40 x 100 cm (15.7 x 39.4 in), 1990. Available for sale (US$ 1100, shipping included).

“Zi hua”, how to write Chinese characters

pencil on paper, 30 x 40 cm.

I wanted to learn to write Chinese characters, but I've lost control! I have always been fascinated by the art of the ideograms, and when I was in China I spent hours and hours, enchanted to observe people trying to dip the brushes into water, and to draw on the ground ephemeral signs intended to evaporate, with controlled and sensual movements. But my nature is baroque! The gesture that I started cannot be stopped, the hand begins to draw on the paper some convolutions, scrolls and doodles, at first timid, but soon prevailing over the same character and its meaning! And the gesture that remains, even if free and decorative, is extremely rewarding for me!

Original available for sale.

www.saatchiart.com/ico71

MEDUSA

"Medusa del Bernini". From the series “The color of memory”, oil on paper, 35 x 35 cm, 2016.

Oritinal available for sale:

http://www.zatista.com/product/details/55284/Medusa-del-Bernini

Virtual model

"Virtual model". Oil on paper, 21 x 15 cm, 2016.

Original available for sale:

www.federicocortese.com

Penguins

"Penguins". Oil on canvas, 40 x 70 cm, 2016.

abandoned room

from the series "Abandoned rooms", oil and pencil on paper. 21 x 15 cm, 2016.

This series of paintings was inspired by the metaphysical landscapes of De Chirico. I have always been fascinated by their clear vision of the architecture, with the precise  design of the shadows, almost anticipating the modern use of three-dimensional modeling software. In the way I feel, however, more introverted and almost unsociable, the outer space is transformed into a closed one, private and protected, from which the human presence is totally gone away.

www.federicocortese.com

original sold

original sold

original sold

The color of memory

From the series “The color of memory”, oil on paper, 21 x 15 cm, 2016.

These works come from some thoughts about classical sculpture. We know that the sculptures were originally colorful, and that the Egyptian, Greek, and Roman cultures, but also the pre-Columbian cultures, favored, to decorate them, very bright colors. But the passage of time has given us these sculptures predominantly white, so, from the Renaissance until today, the sculptural representation of man is almost always monochrome. And it is interesting to think that if by some historical accident, the same thing had happened with painting, today we would paint with one color, and we would find it quite natural, just as the monochrome sculptures seem entirely correct. Obviously this reasoning should be much more complex, but for me it was only the starting point for a reflection on the way we perceive reality, and what is that influences it. Looking for an expedient that makes it look colorful something that is not.

www.federicocortese.com

Abandoned room

(original sold)

(original sold)

(original sold)

(original sold)

from the series "Abandoned rooms", oil and pencil on paper. 21 x 15 cm, 2016.

This series of paintings was inspired by the metaphysical landscapes of De Chirico. I have always been fascinated by their clear vision of the architecture, with the precise  design of the shadows, almost anticipating the modern use of three-dimensional modeling software. In the way I feel, however, more introverted and almost unsociable, the outer space is transformed into a closed one, private and protected, from which the human presence is totally gone away. 

Original available for sale.

www.saatchiart.com/ico71

Butterflies and moths

From the series “Please do not kill butterflies”, pins, oil and pencil on paper, different sizes.              

Available for sale:

www.saatchiart.com/ico71 

"Dildos" and "Bunsen"

ORIGINAL SOLD

From the series “Blender”, oil and pencil on paper, 54 x 42 cm.

This series of drawings was inspired by the programs for virtual modeling that are used in architecture. With these programs you can create extremely complex and improbable forms, which could not exist in reality. It’s a virtual reality, extremely fascinating, where what attracts most are the sinuous arabesques of the shadows, the light reflections, the sensuality of the curved surfaces.

Original available for sale:

www.saatchiart.com/ico71

WINTER WOODS

WINTER WOODS

Oil on wood panel, 106 x 63 cm, 2015. Original sold.

This painting was inspired by a scene in the movie "Grand Budapest Hotel". The two protagonists are travelling on a train, crossing winter melancholic landscapes, covered by snow and with few leafless trees emerging from it. The scene gives a sense of expectation, and what is dead in it suggests a new beginning.