Nicola Samori is an Italian artist who graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna in 2004. He is known for his work as both a painter and a sculptor. Samori’s distinctive style involves transforming classical art by infusing it with his personal touch. The resulting artworks maintain a semblance of classical style while embodying a new, unique aesthetic. His pieces often emerge from a deliberate act of aggression towards the original art, resulting in a transformative and striking finish.
Figurating
Through this process, Nicola Samori heightens awareness of the physicality of his creations. His mastery over plasticity invites viewers to contemplate the myriad ways they can engage with the artwork, prompting an internal dialogue about the creative process. Typically, the final atmosphere evokes a dark, twisted, and often violent outcome, captivating observers not only with the finished product but also with the compelling journey that led to its realization.
When discussing the process itself, it’s evident that through his craftsmanship and talent, Nicola Samori adeptly mimics natural decay or dissolution, which distorts and fragments the final result. However, rather than presenting a disfigured version of the initial artwork, he offers a re-figured one. While rooted in classical depictions dating back to the Renaissance and Baroque eras, Samori transcends specific dramatic setups. The figurative process often remains concealed, as his compositions may comprise entirely his own work or involve an applied process to a pre-existing canvas. What can be definitively stated is that his works exhibit a cohesive quality, drawing from a theatrical, dramatic realm and imbued with a sacred aura. With a keen interest in religious settings and themes, Samori recontextualizes the topic of religion, presenting it in a plastic, skinned form that resonates with contemporary thought. He achieves this by uniquely and creatively blurring the boundary between the sacred and the profane.
Desfigurating
The “desfigurating” aspect of the process emphasizes the process itself, fostering a nuanced awareness through the paradoxically gruesome appearance of the canvases. Samori delves into the nature of wounds through this technique, illustrating how they become physical, tangible marks that preserve memories and evoke entire timelines of events. While classical paintings often present a static final result referencing allegories, spaces, themes, or motifs, Samori’s work highlights the technical process to such an extent that it transcends the frame, engaging multiple senses through its plasticity. This physicality enables a sense of completeness to emerge, allowing us, as witnesses, to glean deeper insights into both the meaning and the form of the artwork, and ultimately, into ourselves.
Reconfigurating
The complete reconfiguration unfolding before us forms a loop, inviting us to connect with both the artist and the artwork to grasp the underlying forces at play. Through a movement that oscillates between a broad historical or collective past and a personal, individual one, we’re prompted to incorporate what we see into our own narratives. This reconfiguration occurs not only visually but also within our consciousness, molding memories and, ultimately, influencing our perspective on aspects arising from Nicola Samori’s artwork.
Volta del Mondo vs. Transito della Madonna
Let’s take a brief glance at how a shared formal aspect in two paintings communicates across time, mutually reinforcing each other. To do so, we’ll closely examine Nicola Samori’s “Volta del Mundo” alongside Caravaggio’s “Transito della Madonna.”
If we examine the Baroque painting, we notice a red curtain in the upper part of the canvas. Conversely, in “Volta del Mondo,” there’s a draped layer resembling fabric covering the area where the head could or should have been. Both depictions possess a theatrical quality, with even Caravaggio’s evoking an artificial sensation that serves to conclude the opera, offering closure. Just as the curtains fall signaling the end of an act or play, the death of the Virgin marked the conclusion of the Christian narrative. This ending serves as a starting point for interpreting Samori’s artwork, where the peeling layer suggests decay, while the physical posture of the man appears to either resist or embrace dissolution.
Stepping beyond the frame while considering the implicit meanings weaves a narrative that resonates universally. Viewers are immersed in this narrative through two primary avenues: visual storytelling and disruption, with sensory perception serving as a gateway to memory access. The culmination of this activated mechanism is a consciousness that draws nearer to the artwork encountered, with a shift in perception serving as the pivotal element.
Similar to the veil of Maya that shrouds the world, this veil might symbolize a quest for disenchantment, leading to the deconstruction of our entire being, leaving behind the traces of the process.
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