We could have done this interview in English. After all, Rosso has been living in London for many years and says she feels just as comfortable expressing herself in English as she does in Italian. However, as this artist is a native of the beautiful island of Sicily in the south of Italy, we didn’t want to miss the opportunity to chat with her in her native language. It was definitely worth the gamble. An artist with such a vast and broad inner world owes an important part of her creative discourse to her memories, her connection with the family and the familiar and to the ruptures she activated in the process of transformation and conscious evolution when she emigrated from Italy.
She has earned an unusual number of awards for an artist her age, such as the Jackson Open Painting Prize in 2019 for the best full body portrait for her work ‘Walthamstow Central’ and the Harbour Gallery Award for the same oil painting. In 2017 she won the Holly Bush Woman Painter, and in 2016 the Winter Pride Arts Awards. Unlike many figurative artists, she has always drawn but began to paint after a brief venture as an art model. She is not afraid to paint herself, creating references full of ambiguity; above all, she loves to portray her partner and daughter, and owes almost all of her technical training to her strict self-taught discipline. Rosso conveys lightness and rebelliousness in equal measure when she appears on the scene, but above all she deserves to be described as a woman of almost irrational resolve. She has constancy and conviction, which is the difference between a portraitist who copies reality and a creator who materialises the realities she dreams of. Her voluptuous and surrealistic staging, replete with references to the times, also reveal her as an artist capable of achieving a high degree of closeness and at the same time maintaining a wise distance from the reality she chooses to depict in her work, with great will and determination.
Her very name, Rosso, is a tribute to her fiery interpretation of life, her paintings a window into her voluptuous inner world. She stands as the only ruler within it, despite the internal doubts she must fight – like any other creator – to remain committed to the evolution of her artistic discourse. Carla and Rosso made a great effort to stay on track with this interview, though applying the brakes to an encounter so full of coincidences and speculative desires is not, has not been and never will be, an easy feat.
Now, enjoy the interview!
Listen to Podcast
This interview was recorded on the 09th of September 2019 and released on the 15th of November 2019.
Related Links
www.rossoart.net
References during the interview
Etna 04:30 | Arena Magazine (Australia) 18:58 | Greta Thunberg 22:06 | Luca Indraccolo 28:53 | Candid Arts 29:18 | Sight-Size 29:20 | LARA (London Atelier of Representational Art) 29:41 | The Artist Magazine 33:05 | Patchings Art Centre 33:59 | The Harbour Gallery 34:11 | Tecla Tofano 49:32 | Anastasia Pollard 59:40 | Nick Cuthell 01:00:00
Image Credits
Drawing from life – charcoal and ink on paper, 2019 | Juggler – oil on plywood 85x 85 cm, 2015 | Bubble Bang oil on panel 72×72 cm, 2015 | Lullaby – oil and copper leaf on panel 90×90 cm, 2017 | Pink Symphony – oil on board 85 x 85 cm, 2016 | Foolish Me – oil on board 120×100 cm, 2017 | Ninna Nanna – oil on plywood 110 x 85 cm, 2017 | Abandon in pink – oil on panel 30×70 cm, 2019 | Dorothy In My Mind – oil on wood panel 110×90 cm, 2018 | Walthamstow Central – Oil on canvas 120×100 cm, 2018 | I Sogni son Desideri (Cinderella’s Dreams) – Oil on wood panel 90 x 105 cm, 2018 | Madame Moustache – Donna Baffuta – oil and human hair on canvas 100×120 cm, 2016 | Young Climate Rebel – oil and paper cut-out on plywood 122×90 cm, 2019 | Les Demoiselles – Oil and spray paint on panel 122×150 cm, 2019 | Drawing from life – charcoal and ink on paper, 2019
Production by Carla Tofano & Toby Deveson | Subtitles by Valentina Sarno | Onset artwork: Photography by Toby Deveson & drawing of Carla by Alexandra Veres | Title music written and performed by Maya Petrovna | Cameras & Sound kindly supplied by Jim Shannon & Murray Stewart
Avremmo potuto fare questa intervista in inglese, dopo tutto Rosso vive a Londra da molti anni e dice che si sente a suo agio ad esprimersi sia in inglese che in italiano. Tuttavia, poiché questa artista è originaria dell’Italia meridionale, della bellissima isola di Sicilia, non volevamo perdere l’occasione di conversare con lei nella sua lingua madre. E la scommessa è valsa decisamente la pena. Un’artista dal mondo interiore così vasto e variegato deve una parte importante del suo discorso creativo alla sua memoria, al suo legame con la famiglia e il familiare, e alle rotture che ha attivato come processo di trasformazione ed evoluzione consapevole quando è emigrata dall’Italia.
Ha ottenuto un numero insolito di premi per un’artista della sua età, come il Jackson Open Painting Prize nel 2019 per il miglior ritratto a tutto corpo per il suo lavoro ´Walthamstow Central´ e il Harbour Gallery Award per lo stesso dipinto ad olio, nel 2017 ha vinto il Holly Bush Woman Painter, e nel 2016 il Winter Pride Arts Awards. A differenza di molti artisti figurativi, ha sempre disegnato ma ha iniziato a dipingere dopo una breve incursione come modella d’arte, non ha paura di ritrarre se stessa creando riferimenti pieni di ambiguità, ma soprattutto ama ritrarre il compagno e la figlia, e deve quasi tutta la sua formazione tecnica alla sua disciplina ferrea autodidatta. Rosso trasmette leggerezza e ribellione nella stessa misura quando appare sulla scena, ma soprattutto merita di essere descritta come una donna dalla volontà quasi irrazionale. Possiede la costanza e la convinzione che fanno la differenza tra un ritrattista che copia la realtà e un creatore che materializza le realtà che sogna. Le sue strizzatine d’occhio voluttuose, surreali e piene di spirito contemporaneo la rivelano anche come artista capace di raggiungere un’altissima vicinanza e allo stesso tempo di mantenere una saggia distanza, con la realtà che decide con grande determinazione e tenacia di rappresentare nel suo lavoro.
Il suo stesso nome, Rosso, è un omaggio alla sua calda interpretazione della vita, e la sua pittura una finestra sul suo voluttuoso mondo interiore, a cui lei si impone come unica maestà, nonostante i dubbi interni che lei stessa deve combattere – come ogni altro creatore – per rimanere impegnata nell’evoluzione del suo discorso pittorico. Carla e Rosso hanno fatto un grande sforzo per non disperdersi con questa intervista, e sì che mettere i freni ad un incontro pieno di coincidenze e desideri di speculazione non è, non è stato e non sarà mai un compito facile.
E ora godetevi l’intervista!
Ascolta il Podcast
Questa intervista è stata registrata il 09 settembre 2019 e rilasciata il 15 novembre 2019.
Link correlati
www.rossoart.net
Riferimenti durante l’intervista
Etna 04:30 | Arena Magazine (Australia) 18:58 | Greta Thunberg 22:06 | Luca Indraccolo 28:53 | Candid Arts 29:18 | Sight-Size 29:20 | LARA (London Atelier of Representational Art) 29:41 | The Artist Magazine 33:05 | Patchings Art Centre 33:59 | The Harbour Gallery 34:11 | Tecla Tofano 49:32 | Anastasia Pollard 59:40 | Nick Cuthell 01:00:00
Crediti immagine
Drawing from life – charcoal and ink on paper, 2019 | Juggler – oil on plywood 85x 85 cm, 2015 | Bubble Bang oil on panel 72×72 cm, 2015 | Lullaby – oil and copper leaf on panel 90×90 cm, 2017 | Pink Symphony – oil on board 85 x 85 cm, 2016 | Foolish Me – oil on board 120×100 cm, 2017 | Ninna Nanna – oil on plywood 110 x 85 cm, 2017 | Abandon in pink – oil on panel 30×70 cm, 2019 | Dorothy In My Mind – oil on wood panel 110×90 cm, 2018 | Walthamstow Central – Oil on canvas 120×100 cm, 2018 | I Sogni son Desideri (Cinderella’s Dreams) – Oil on wood panel 90 x 105 cm, 2018 | Madame Moustache – Donna Baffuta – oil and human hair on canvas 100×120 cm, 2016 | Young Climate Rebel – oil and paper cut-out on plywood 122×90 cm, 2019 | Les Demoiselles – Oil and spray paint on panel 122×150 cm, 2019 | Drawing from life – charcoal and ink on paper, 2019
Produzione di Carla Tofano e Toby Deveson | Sottotitoli da Valentina Sarno | Arte sul set: Fotografia di Toby Deveson e disegno di Carla di Alexandra Veres | Musica scritto ed eseguito da: Maya Petrovna | Telecamere e Audio gentilmente fornite da Jim Shannon & Murray Stewart
Podriamos haber hecho esta entrevista en inglés, después de todo Rosso vive desde hace muchos años en Londres y asegura sentirse igualmente cómoda expresándose en inglés que en italiano. Sin embargo, siendo esta artista nativa del sur de Italia, de la hermosa isla de Sicilia, no queríamos perder la oportunidad de conversar con ella en su lengua madre. Y sin duda valió la pena la apuesta. Una artista con un mundo interior tan vasto y amplio, debe parte importante de su discurso creador a sus memorias, su conexión con la familia y lo familiar, y a las rupturas que activó como un procesos de transformación y evolución consciente al emigrar de Italia.
Se ha hecho merecedora de una cantidad inusual de premios para una artista de su edad, como el premio al mejor retrato de cuerpo entero Jackson Open Painting Prize en 2019 por su obra ´Walthamstow Central´ y el Harbour Gallery Award por la misma pintura al oleo, en 2017 obtuvó el Holly Bush Woman Painter, y en 2016 el Winter Pride Arts Awards. A diferencia de muchos artistas figurativos, a dibujado desde siempre pero comenzó a pintar después de una breve incursion como modelo de arte, no teme retratarse a si misma creando referencias llenas de ambiguedad, pero sobre todo adora retratar a su pareja y a su hija, y debe casi la totalidad de su formación técnica a su férrea disciplina autodidacta. Rosso transmite ligereza y rebeldía en idéntica medida cuando aparece en escena, pero sobre todo merece ser descrita como una mujer de una determinación casi irracional. Posee la constancia y la convicción que hacen la diferencia entre un retratista que copia la realidad y un creador que materializa las realidades que sueña. Sus puestas en escena: voluptuosas, surrealistas y repletas de guiños contemporáneos, la revelan también como una artista capaz de lograr un altísima cercanía y al mismo tiempo conservar una sabia distancia, con la realidad que con gran determinación y voluntad decide representar en su obra.
Su nombre mismo, Rosso (rojo en Español) es un homenaje a su cálida interpretación de la vida, y su pintura una ventana a su voluptuoso mundo interior, del que ella se impone como única majestad, muy a pesar de las dudas internas que debe combatir -como cualquier otro creador- para seguir comprometida con la evolución de su discurso pictórico. Carla y Rosso hicieron un gran esfuerzo por no irse demasiado por las ramas con esta entrevista, y es que ponerle frenos a un encuentro lleno de coincidencias y deseos de especulación no es, no ha sido y no será nunca, una tarea fácil.
¡Y ahora sí, disfruten la entrevista!
Escucha el Podcast
Esta entrevista se grabó el 09 de septiembre del 2019 y se publicó el 15 de noviembre de 2019.
Enlaces relacionados
www.rossoart.net
Menciones durante la entrevista
Etna 04:30 | Arena Magazine (Australia) 18:58 | Greta Thunberg 22:06 | Luca Indraccolo 28:53 | Candid Arts 29:18 | Sight-Size 29:20 | LARA (London Atelier of Representational Art) 29:41 | The Artist Magazine 33:05 | Patchings Art Centre 33:59 | The Harbour Gallery 34:11 | Tecla Tofano 49:32 | Anastasia Pollard 59:40 | Nick Cuthell 01:00:00
Créditos de las imágenes
Drawing from life – charcoal and ink on paper, 2019 | Juggler – oil on plywood 85x 85 cm, 2015 | Bubble Bang oil on panel 72×72 cm, 2015 | Lullaby – oil and copper leaf on panel 90×90 cm, 2017 | Pink Symphony – oil on board 85 x 85 cm, 2016 | Foolish Me – oil on board 120×100 cm, 2017 | Ninna Nanna – oil on plywood 110 x 85 cm, 2017 | Abandon in pink – oil on panel 30×70 cm, 2019 | Dorothy In My Mind – oil on wood panel 110×90 cm, 2018 | Walthamstow Central – Oil on canvas 120×100 cm, 2018 | I Sogni son Desideri (Cinderella’s Dreams) – Oil on wood panel 90 x 105 cm, 2018 | Madame Moustache – Donna Baffuta – oil and human hair on canvas 100×120 cm, 2016 | Young Climate Rebel – oil and paper cut-out on plywood 122×90 cm, 2019 | Les Demoiselles – Oil and spray paint on panel 122×150 cm, 2019 | Drawing from life – charcoal and ink on paper, 2019
Producción por Carla Tofano & Toby Deveson | Subtítolos por Valentina Sarno | Arte en el set: Fotografía por Toby Deveson y dibujo de Carla por Alexandra Veres | Música por: Maya Petrovna | Cámaras y Sonido cortesía de Jim Shannon & Murray Stewart
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