Simone Tomasello
Wrestling Series: Lucha Libre
Can you tell us about the process of making your work?
I start every morning by going to studio where work is already planned from the day before. Each project starts with research then I select the material like wood, wax or canvas. But if we are talking about making in practice my creativity, I believe that it is simply based on method and constancy as basics of my work-process. I love to take notes after watching a movie, a documentary, after reading or listening music and then immediately create some sketches – especially for complex projects maybe large series of canvas or sculptures. Sometimes I search for dynamism in the way I use some tools: for example I love how painting can be immediate and uneven, symptoms of the inadequate context and timeframe I am surrounded.
How would you define your work in a few words (ideally in 3 words)?
Energetic, drammatic and surreal.
How did you come up with the idea of your ‘Wrestling series’ paintings? Is there any story behind these works?
The ‘Wrestling series’ was really fun to develop. In 2006 Rey Mysterio, the hero of wrestling gave me a high-five during a fight-show in Italy! I’ve always been fascinated by wrestling fight and I wanted to describe the imagery of wrestlers in a natural and surreal context, imagining them in nature without show lights and special effects.
Spray painting techniques seem to dominate the artistry of your recent body of your work; Is this your current creative style of work or would it be something more significant and meaningful that you wish to further excel in the future?
Only recently I started to use air-compressors and spray-guns, that I had for a while stored for car paints. One day a client gave me a Japanese Iwata mini air-compressor which I used for my recent work. It is significant to say I have always had this tension for experimenting, the desire to learn new techniques and new experiences.
Do specific artworks have been created by random experiments or a creative automatism in your studio or do you always come up with a particular concept or narrative in the very beginning?
Only small canvas or simple projects started without sketches, otherwise most of my artworks are based on drafts and drawings. For example with large canvas format, I always start with sketches to prepare the work-process as better as possible. Drawing for me it is very important. It gives me less room for errors, especially when working with over-layering of colours.
Is there any particular theme that utterly triggers you to engage your art with?
Of course! Especially with topics like graffiti, skateboarding, internet pop culture, reggae music or historical events and symbols. I combine my personal life, influenced by the living in the underground of my province with war stories or world climate disasters. In my work, I am interested to portray great poets, cowboys, influencers, sportsmen, superheroes, historical and religious figures in typical war stories, climate and economical crises, and hunger contextualised in the modern world. How contemporary society is forged by the culture of ‘internet, movie, photography and literature’.
Large or small scale canvases dilemma; are there any kind of standards that drive you to decide which surface length is better fitted for your final painting visualisations?
I think it depends on the final goal of the artwork, whether the intention is going to have an influence on the planet – especially when we talk about materials and techniques, used in a large format.
Can you mention any artists you, lately or generally, take inspiration from?
Gauguin, Matisse, Jean-Michel Basquiat are some of the names that have always inspired my work – my desire one day, is to shorten the gap between myself and those great artists. While in Italy I feel very closed to painters like Modigliani, Antonio Ligabue and Renato Guttuso.
What about the place where you work? What’s your studio space look like?
My space is in Italy, precisely in Pesaro, near Urbino, where I studied animation and artists like Piero della Francesca, Raffaello Sanzio, etc. lived and worked. The studio is based near the sea and I am lucky to have a big space where I can do large works, sculpture in wood, concrete, plaster, resin, silicon and another room where I focus on animation, illustration, graphics and video making.
Which are your plans for the near future?
The future is unpredictable – for the next few months I am planning to meet people who can help me to spread my work, galleries that collaborate with emerging artists, especially abroad, in Europe, America and Asia to promote my paintings worldwide.
Thank you ArtVerge for the opportunity given to tell abit of my story and my work I really appreciated.
All images courtesy of the artist