How and when did you discover your artistic calling, and what were the first steps that led you to embark on a journey in the art world?
Ever since I was a boy, I've felt that drawing, color, and the pictorial gesture were something that belonged to me. After compulsory education, I chose to attend the CSIA in Lugano, but my true artistic journey began outside of school. After finishing school, I hung out with local artists to seek out exchanges: I particularly remember the exchanges with friends Rolando Raggenbass and Fabrizio Soldini. Observing their work, listening to them, inspired me and encouraged me to paint and find my own expressive style. My exhibition debut came in 1985, thanks to a group show curated by Gino Macconi, another highly regarded Ticino artist who appreciated my work at the time. From there, everything began, one step at a time; exhibition opportunities came, and my expressive exploration continued with passion and curiosity.
What were the professional experiences that most contributed to consolidating your need to express yourself through colors, canvases and brushes?
Over the years, I have traveled extensively, all over the world, and each trip has also been an opportunity to visit museums and galleries of all kinds, to experience different cultures. Seeing certain works firsthand, confronting the beauty, intensity, and even fragility of art, has always pushed me to return to my canvas with renewed energy. A crucial role was played by Carlo Gulminelli, a painter and friend, whom I consider a true mentor. With him, I had an authentic, profound exchange, made up of words, silences, and pictorial gestures. He was one of the first to believe in me and to encourage me to move forward. Even today, I have the privilege of having ongoing exchanges with other artists, not only in Ticino. I think, for example, of three sculptors whom I greatly respect and who have deeply impressed me with the quality of their work, but also with their perseverance and that sense of need that I also feel deeply within me: Ante Dabro, Paolo Borghi, and Pierino Selmoni, and also the painters Leonardo Pecoraro and Jacques Minala. I've shared precious moments with each of them, not just talking about art, but also about friendship. These human and professional relationships have been, and still are, the lifeblood of my creativity—they help me grow, reflect, and stay connected to the profound meaning of artistic creation.
If you had to define your painting, what concepts and words would you use?
My painting is instinctive, emotional, and symbolic. It has never been merely technique or form: it has always been a means of expressing what I feel. Over the years, my interest in humanity, in its emotions, in its expressions has never diminished—in fact, it has grown. I have continued to pursue a continuous exploration of the very theme of the representation of the human being, seeking to capture those moments that memory brings back to me, even after a long time.
Often, they are fragments linked to childhood, affection, love, and family. They are images and sensations that speak to values that are dear to me. The canvas, for me, is like a silent diary: it collects emotions, memories, and reflections that perhaps I couldn't express in the same way with words. Many ask me why I use brighter or darker colors at certain times, whether the faces I depict are at times calmer or more disturbing, or whether it has something to do with my current state of mind. For me, it's simply about letting myself go, letting the canvas, the brushes, carry me wherever my painting ultimately takes me, and considering the figures I paint simply as witnesses to human reality, which is not always the same.
What projects are you currently working on?
In recent years, I've been fortunate enough to participate in several exhibitions that have been particularly meaningful to me, both in Ticino and abroad. I fondly remember the beautiful exhibition in Venice, organized by Artrust, as well as the exhibition experience I had in London during the Covid period. Another special moment for me was the invitation I received to exhibit in a gallery in Seoul, which came about almost by chance after a chance meeting with the Gellerista at the Zurich Art Fair, where I was participating with Casa Galleria. These opportunities have given me new inspiration and allowed me to showcase my work to a wider audience. These experiences and these collaborations with these four galleries have encouraged me to continue my search for exhibition projects that allow me to transcend what I've experienced in nearly 4 years of exhibitions, to go further, and in particular to paint increasingly large formats.
Can we announce what and where your next exhibitions will be?
I'm currently preparing three exhibition projects. In July, for the second consecutive year, I'll be participating in the Urban Break Seoul art fair, as a guest of Harang Gallery. This is a truly unique opportunity that demonstrates this Korean gallery's interest in introducing my expressiveness in such a unique context. I've also been invited to participate with four Momò artists in a group show that will take place in locations around Lake Como and Lake Maggiore, as part of an event organized by the artists' associations of the provinces of Como and Varese. I'll be participating in another group show in Berlin at the end of August, while on August 4th I'll be opening a major solo exhibition at the Art Gallery in downtown Freiburg, which will be open for three weeks. This last exhibition has been a major focus of my work for over a year now, as the exhibition space is so large and the number of works on display is considerable.
Looking to the future, what evolution would you like to bring to your way of conceiving and creating a work of art?
The future is always difficult to predict, especially in the artistic field. My artistic expression has evolved over the years, as I've grown, aged, gained experience, and matured. But one thing is certain: the desire to paint has become increasingly important in my daily life. It's a true need, one that accompanies me every day and gives me energy and meaning. Precisely for this reason, I feel the desire to continue evolving, to seek new paths, perhaps even more essential, freer ones. I'd like to be able to say more with less, to take away instead of adding, and always maintain that emotional tension that for me is the heart of painting.
Along this path, as I mentioned before, I'd also like to find new galleries to collaborate with, especially in central Switzerland and Germany, to engage with different audiences, broaden my perspective, break out of certain familiar contexts, and open myself to new stimuli. The encounter with those who view my works is always a discovery—and it is precisely there that, often, the true evolution that I believe is essential to continuing my pictorial narrative arises.
