Valerio berruti's Page

Relationship status

single

College / University

d.a.m.s. turin

Program

critic of art

Graduation

17 October 2003

Member type

Artist

If you're an artist, what kind of art do you make?

Drawing, Installation, Painting, Sculpture, Video

I am...

Without my studio, my poetics would not be the same.
I live and work in a deconsecrated church from the 1600 located in Verduno, a small town lost in the middle of the Langhe (a hills region in Piedmont in the north of Italy).
My space it’s really a part of me, and it’s there that I artistically grew. I have always dreamt of owning a church and my dream came true in 1996 when I was finally able to buy one. I then renovated myself. It’s the thing I care for the most, and the fact that is located in my native region only makes it more special.

About my artwork

I use fresco technique because, more than others, requires punctual timing, like in a rite, a timing that cannot be changed. The repetition of identical actions allows me to get into an ideal state of mind and to elevate the act of painting into something sacred. The magic of fresco, also due to its complexity, does not allow for any mistake. The painting is not on the surface but within the plaster itself, which is what makes it so durable in time. The combination of my sign and the fresco creates, I believe, a very special result, it sort of gives to the work its own autonomy. Frescos, once completed by the artist, live their own life, they are like breathing creatures, they darken with humidity and are attackable by atmospheric and meteorological agents. Despite the use of modern mediums, the final result in my works is similar to the walls of a medieval church. The observer feels like if he is watching something that typically and historically belongs to Italian culture.
The subjects of my works are always people dear to me. My sister, cousins, and friends images come from family albums. They are like fragments of a memory that even though does not belong to me directly becomes a part of me through my paintings. However, by painting them I free them from their distinctive characteristic and I give them a universal and metaphoric value.
I paint kids as metaphors, so that anyone can recognize himself in them and by them being moved. They are icons of the collective imagination where the protagonists are common people.
My animations are made of hundreds of drawings edited as if they were a video, but the result is not a traditional cartoon. Through the video you see my work coming to life and moving in the space.

Artists I like

yoshitomo nara, marcel dzama, marc rothko, giorgio morandi, julian opie, egon schiele, giotto,

Interests

every thing is interesting

The centre of the artworld is

New York

My artreview.com URL:
http://www.artreview.com/profile/valerioberruti
You can use this URL in your email, on your website, or on your facebook profile.