Paolo Staccioli

Ceramic, aluminium, iron and bronze are the base elements used by Paolo Staccioli to create his artistic universe with his craftsmanship and interpretation of antique legends and myths. It is a poetic total work of art that is growing continuously, and in which we encounter the same thematic family of figures time and again: surreal individuals who are removed from the concepts of space and time although they connect the present and the past. Staccioli's vivid colours have been developed by the artist himself. They are the result of countless experiments involving salts as well as colouring and copper oxides. Applied on top of each other in many work steps and firing processes, the layers of paint are enamelled with lustrous finishes and reinforced with glazes. The iridescent effects created in this way smooth every sharp contour. Opalescent colourings compensate for the strict geometric shapes. “What is seen for sure” becomes blurred. The bodies appear light. A fascinating play of light and shadow. Each work lovingly tells another ironic story of voiceless, motionless, peaceful warriors or androgynous warrioresses who are reduced to a torso in an Etruscan-inspired way, or of travellers whose origin and destination are unknown to us, or of strong persons who, just as Atlas, are carrying the whole heavenly sphere on their shoulders.