“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