How do you describe your own art practice?
I believe that my artistic practice can be described through continuous research about the use of new materials and new combinations, I like to do experiments but at the same time I maintain a lot of precision in execution. I prefer to study non-canonical materials for the realization of my sculptures, working on the most varied techniques, such as electrostatic flocking or bismuth fusion, or even the process of tropicalization of metals. At the same time I read a lot of books – by Stefano Mancuso or Emanuele Coccia for example – and I accumulate visual content from video documentaries.
Which question or theme is central in your work?
Certainly the study of the Anthropocene, its effects and its most current declinations, guides my research. It is with this perspective that I study environmental issues, to simulate possible and dystopian scenarios, the result of climate change or catastrophic events such as the extinction of several species, the collapse of habitats, and the import and export of different living organisms.
What was your first experience with art?
The first experience came with Arte Sella, the large park in Trentino Alto Adige, for which I was selected to make a sculptural installation of more than five meters in the middle of a forest, back in 2012. For the first time I found myself with my work alongside great works such as Giuliano Mauri’s “Cattedrale Vegetale” or John Grade’s “Resérvoir – Ascesa,” a first step outside the Academy of Fine Arts .
What is your greatest source of inspiration?
Plants. I am also a great collector of them, of pachypodium for the most part; Madagascar leaf palm, an endangered species that I intend to preserve as much as I can. Its native environment is constantly changing due to humans; I currently own more than 50. My connection with plants is fundamental in my work, starting from their observation I study their functions and aesthetic qualities which I then convey in my art practice.
What do you need in order to create your work?
For my work, I have a very well-equipped studio in Milan that I have enriched over the years with many instruments for making fusions, casts, metalworking and designing site-specific structures.
What work or artist has most recently surprised you?
Jimmie Durham will always remain an artist I feel very close to my practice in so many ways. His ability to reinvent himself was endless, a continual surprise even today.
