Utopia

It’s no mistery I paint signs, but I rarely paint walls. I found them less attractive, I’m a bit scaried of height and they must be done on site.

Sometimes though, there are some proposal you can’t refuse and you hand over a hand to good people who try to organize cultural events in a major rural area.
Aalto Festival has come to its second edition: a small market held by illustrators, printers and all sort of good vibes stuff; book presentations; talks; exhibitions and workshops.

The location is amazing, a brand new theatre in the center of Cupramontana, a small but well know town for wine production in Le Marche. Each year they request a different artist to paint the wall of the garage, a huge blank canvas protected from adverse weather conditions which can be seen from outside even when the location it’s closed.

With that said, I received the call from the organizers, who gave me a blank cheque, and I took the chance to keep drawing my melty-fluidlike-experimental caps because they seem to be commercially repellent. I chose a vibrant blue and kept it absolutely flat. I had just three days maximum and I didn’t want to be overwhelmed by the amount of work that had to be done.
I drew the same letters in gold enamel, with a pretty rough structure to make the overall artwork more legible. The ductus and the irregularness of the shapes are inspired by letters carved in stone: I wanted to pay homage to Kristoffel Boudens who I had the chance to meet last year.

Why Utopia?
Why not? These days people seems irritated by things that are impossible to achieve (or so they seem to be). Aren’t they an excuse to keep pushing in our own life? Why one should’t dream big? Why can’t I even try to be better and do better for others lives? The hope is not lost until I’m gone (for good).

Assistant: Sirio Aureli