"When you walk on the earth after flying, you look into the sky because you were there and want to come back" (Leonardo da Vinci)
4th October 1957. It is not perhaps the most significant dates in history, but it is one that celebrates the first launch of an artificial satellite in orbit, representing a turning point towards the maximum human aspiration: to be able to explore the "infinite" universe. If the philosophies and religions are full of every possible reasoning about the relation between the man and space, even the history of art has always been affected by this issue that we can consider existential to humans. In this case, however, the intent of Maurizio Carpanelli is not to demonstrate to theories about these universal questions, but it's to let his inspiration on celestial bodies is the basis for the realization of this new cycle of works. The cornerstone of carpanelliana theory is that the concept of limits doesn't exist. If this "no boundaries" it can rationally be applied to cosmic galaxy, it is rather different if you wanted to take as the statute of making art. Here takes place the intersection of talent and imagination, whose conjunction makes the artist inclined to constant innovation towards the overrunning of artistic boundaries. Support + material + instrumentation is his personal winning formula that that allows him to experience a novel technique and original. The special characteristics of the enamel and the use of the glassy support turn out to be a happy solution to get the feel of the space sector, made up of liquid and gaseous substances  that give the impression of moving constantly. The water and the air, despite their clear and elusive nature, here appear concretely visible. In each slab color has its own identity, not only for the choice of pigments and various combinations which recall the characteristics of the individual celestial body, but especially for the mode of drafting and amalgamation of the pictorial matter itself, which creates unique effects and unique for each planet, so that each one is different from all others and is recognizable thanks to its specificities. Carpanelli, using plexiglass, not only has been able to maximize the effect of enamel, but he could play on the idea of the absence of color and the transparency of the material, allowing them to avoid blocking the viewer's gaze. The artist is able in this way to make the color a real body, equipped with a mass and thus capable of generating a shadow. In this case, however, the trace of its drafting projects, on the wall on which is placed the picture, a shadow, which no longer remains a subject only painting, but in its real and concrete physical presence becomes an integral part of the work , reaching the final effect of a three-dimensional surface.
Monica Boghi

Monica Boghi

2016-11-01