The drawings of the crazy

“The drawings of the crazy”, oil and pencil on paper, 38 x 38 cm, 2010.

In the museum of criminology in Turin are kept the drawings made by people who were once imprisoned in mental hospitals. Often in these drawings appears a chilling pattern made of geometries and symmetries, a sort of cage or prison made ​​of dense colored lines, arranged strictly within a rigid structure of compositional rules. It 's a bit like if those people were not only locked up against their will, but perceived in their head and their thoughts another prison, another cage, and with these drawings were able to represent it, with a dense overwhelming decoration. The affinity of these works with Buddhist mandalas is curious. In one case we associate these works with the idea of ​​meditation and stillness, in the other we are dealing with a mirror of anguish and despair. But the border between the two worlds seems to be fragile.

These paintings are available for sale at the price of 140 US$ each one. Contact me in case you are interested in more information about my work, the sales prices of individual works, or the availability for work on graphics.

Orange flowers

Oil on paper, 21 x 15 cm, 2009. These original paintings are available for sale at the price of 140 US$ each one. Contact me in case you are interested in more information about my work, the sales prices of individual works, or the availability for work on graphics.

https://www.federicocortese.com/

Flags

From the series “Flags”; oil pencil and ink on paper; 44 x 55 cm. 

During the Winter Olympics in Turin in 2006 a large celebratory structure gathered the flags of all participating countries. These flags were displayed one next to each other, in a large matrix, which revealed that the criteria of composition and the formal rules that generated them were more or less equal for all. Also in this series each drawing is a matrix, and each element of the matrix reproduces always the same basic geometric structure, within which, the color fields, the decorations, the shades and symbols may change, in an almost infinite variation. Each small rectangle is a flag, independent and completed in itself, but linked to the other by the formal rules that generated them. Each flag is a possibility in an infinite number of possible variations, where the final choice of a single element has been delayed or has not been accomplished at all. Each drawing is a series within the series.

These pieces are available for sale at the price of 480 US$ each one (shipping included). Contact me in case you are interested in more information about my work, the sales prices of individual works, or the availability for work on graphics.

Surreal fish

Clown fish. ORIGINAL SOLD.

From the series “Ancient beasts”, oil and pencil on paper, 30 x 21 cm, 2005.

The medieval illustrators represented animals that they had never seen, described by others, or derived from mythology. This generated monstrous creatures. From here comes the idea of a common set of animals, which are deformed with the help of redundant decorative codes. To simulate the ancient miniatures, I use ink and uniform color areas.

Heart fish. ORIGINAL SOLD.

Shark fish. ORIGINAL SOLD.

Abandoned room

Oil on canvas. 50 x 50 cm, 2018. ORIGINAL SOLD.

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.

Butterflies and moths

from the series “Please do not kill butterflies”, pins, oil and pencil on paper, 2017. 

Please, all these dead animals ... Of course, not everyone of us can or want become vegetarian. Sure, in some cases, maybe, the medical experimentation needs them to get results. But we really have to kill them for our frivolous activities? ... Is it necessary to have so many pink pigs die in front of a camera? Do we really need to dissect sharks in formaldehyde, to starve stray dogs tied to a chain in the corner of a gallery, or to make innocent ants go crazy in twisted tubes of plexiglas? To make these drawings, no butterfly was killed. 

"The hop moth". 44 x 35 cm, ORIGINAL SOLD.

"The mourning moth". 44 x 35 cm, ORIGINAL SOLD.

"The hop moth". 34 x 23 cm, ORIGINAL SOLD.

Goldfish

Goldfish. Oil on paper, 21 x 15 cm, 2017.

This original paintings are available for sale at the price of 140 US$ each one (shipping included). Contact me in case you are interested in more information about my work, the sales prices of individual works, or the availability for work on graphics.