“It will not be the light of the sun that will allow us to escape from the darkness but the understanding of things”
“Hunc igitur terrorem animi tenebrasque necessest
non radii solis neque lucida tela diei
discutiant, sed naturae species ratioque” Lucretius (vv. 146-148)
This selection of works is the first vestige of a pictorial research that finds in nature– and particularly in the forms of trees and plants – a fount of inquiry and inspiration. This was how I came to borrow the title, “De Rerum Natura,”as homage to the poem written by Lucretius in the first century B.C.
In “De Rerum Natura” the philosopher identifies the understanding of nature as an essential instrument in nearing humankind to the essence of things, and thus to authentic happiness. He criticizes the acquisition of material goods, proposing natural goods in their place and contests the submission to religious diktats, placing nature at the center of the universe.
Parting from these premises, my research is based in Lucretian thought, a founding basis and stimulus with which to observe the nature that surrounds me. I am particularly focused on the observation of trees and plants, which are not often perceived of as identifiable individuals but as blurred backgrounds.
As in the Dino Buzzati novel, The Secret of the Old Woods, trees are transformed into presences, assuming the appearance of creatures that are different from humans anatomically, but equally capable of feeling and evoking the same sentiments and passions that the human spirit can. The form of the plants and trees becomes a pretext for recounting stories of a world that has become unknown or simply forgotten, immersed as we are in today’s digitalized reality.
Wonder / Oil on canvas, 180 x 180 cm
Within / Oil on canvas, 140 x 140 cm
Johnny / Oil on canvas, 125 x 125 cm
Austin / Oil on canvas, 150 x 150 cm
Green Fever / Oil on canvas, 100 x 100 cm
A Breve Di-Stanza / Oil on canvas, 180 x 165 cm
Lords of the Lake / Oil on canvas, 165 x 150 cm
La Regina del Deserto / Oil on canvas, 120 x 100 cm
Adagio / Oil on canvas, 140 x 120 cm
Ipse Dixit / Oil on canvas, 100 x 100 cm
