Jonathan Vivacqua ( Erba 1986 ) live and work in Milan, Italy. He received his Master of Art at Academy of Brera in Milan. In the 2018 he exposed in SOLO SHOW /OCEAN and with his artworks in Birthmarks / Voglie at The Flat – Massimo Carasi Gallery, Milan, Italy. In the 2017 he participated at “The second night of calm” curated by Christian Caliandro at Festival Veronetta, Verona, Italy; “Guest # 1” at Ultrastudio, Pescara, Italy; in “Art Night Out and Design Week” at Rossella Colombari Gallery, Milan; “Matter Matters”, curated by Claudia Contu at The Flat – Massimo Carasi Gallery, Milan, Italy; in 2016 in "The habit of a foreign sky", curated by Ginevra Bria, at Futurdome, Milan (2016). In 2015 he took part to a residency program at the Carlo Zauli Museum of Faenza and he exposed in “Artist Run Space” Space Bar, Taegu, South Korea and at “Protocombo” at Lissone Museum of Contemporary Art, Italy. A special projects to report is the recent collaboration with MARIOS (Milan fashion brand) for the S/S18 and some of the most important magazines in the sector (vogue, marie clare, glamor) Milan during the women's fashion week, where it was presented “Domala”, a large iron installation and a line of sculptures from ear.
Vivacqua has created projects, prototypes and created large installations of ambiental dimensions like: CR-6 climbable sculpure h 10 m; Domala, iron sculpture; General perimeters upstand trims aluminum, Armstrong; Perimeter profile L 25/25 Alu Series KS38 L. 3050 mm in black metallic guideprofile. A special collaboration with Marie Claire Maison 2018/2019
When did you discover yourself as an artist?
Since I was a child, I have been considered an artist because I was a good drawer and I knew how to read images, even though I had no idea of what to be an artist really meant. Visual art is a powerful language, able to rouse feelings much more than other forms of art. I think that this is very fascinating and full of meaning. Growing up nothing has changed but the fact that I now feel more confident about the role I have in this society and about my contribution as a human being, through my expressive signature which belongs to the artistic language.
What do your works talk about?
My works are not restricted to a specific theme. I am in love with shapes, making them smaller and simpler. Very often my projects are defined as minimal due to the fact that I try to cut away as much as possible, to get to the deepest essence and express the power of pure shapes. The absence of the superfluous makes it stand out. In the last few years, I have focused on construction industry and general industry. I feel a special connection with these two industries, which I have revolutionized by reversing the point of view: I have been using construction elements like art-works by adopting special processes and gestures. The relation with space is obviously the crux of any art installation: considering that construction materials are primary elements, both inside and outside a building, they become a perfect tool for reality distortion.
Where do you get inspiration?
I am attracted to industrial research that, as the society itself, needs to continuously evolve and be faster. I observe and employ the wide choice of materials, shapes and sizes available, which are real archaeological objects, now turned into contemporary elements by our generation. If we give a look to the past ages, we notice how much any building was full of momentousness and lastingness. Nowadays, otherwise, the aim is to pursue lightness, speed and quickness. For me, the most important thing is to work with materials reflecting us. While in the second phase of the work, it is very important to stress the role of the human being.
Which is the creative path once the work starts?
When you get the feeling that there is a lot of stuff but little essence, then it is time to change. You are probably doing something boring but you can turn it in the most interesting thing of your life or in an original point of view on something that you have always known. I believe if everyone gave its own view, there would be a revolutionary development for the whole world. For many people the work would be the first thing to overturn. Luckily, we are already attending this phenomenon (for better or for worse), but many of us still prefer to settle down in a boring but confident situation.
What do you think about the social media era? Do you feel involved with it?
I am extremely happy about not having had them in the first twenty years of my life but being able to use them nowadays. This great amount of fast communication inevitably affects my work. I suppose it is normal, it would have happened anyway, even if social networks had not existed. However, it has always been like this.
