MARCO BELFIORE MARCO BELFIORE

The great thing about irony is that it splits things apart, gets up above them so we can see the flaws and hypocrisies and duplicates.

( David Foster Wallace )

Initially my research was slightly obsessed with the tragicomic aspects of our day-to-day lives, life’s ba-nalities, the irony of fate: I took great pleasure in – and still do – agreeing with certain personal tastes in order to come up with a joke, a pun and discredit common beliefs, stereotypes and study their under-lying mechanisms.

My current work is more structured, there is less irony but formally they are more complex: today I prefer to set up «small fictitious theaters», narrate stories using iconic characters/situations that when inser-ted into specific contexts can result in unexpected meanings. Sometimes I create animations using my drawings as a starting point, or I use material from the internet and mix it with something else: I use any expressive technique, I do not force myself to comply with any formal or linguistic barriers and I am not afraid of making mistakes; I thoroughly enjoy works containing great detail and food for thought that at-tempt to establish connections between normal events/characters to events/characters that are rooted in the collective imagery.

Cosmic Bombero Music Project, 2015 - 2016

“This is the sound of all the sounds of all the stories. By separating and isolating some parts of it I came to notice the presence of collateral strings of sound. Between the interweaved tails of the reverberations I identified something familiar, for instance the typical sound of pink flamingos. Del- ving deeper I found myself floating amid the waves and heard someone shouting, warning me of the shark. As I was swallowed I appeared like a silly “tortellino” but happy to be laid amongst the bowels of sound.” Marco Belfiore, 2016

External Links:Spacepop Show (performance video) click HERELust For Despair (music video) click HERE Soundcloud (audio) click HERE

Something Russian, 2014 - 2016video animation, 10’ 05’’

I spent ninety days in and around Moscow trying to understand “something Russian” but I was swamped by too much space, too many people and too many stories. In this short time it was impossible for me to catch “something”. What I found was that most Russian’s don’t really know what “something Russian” is, but for sure I am not the only one who is curious about what it could be. Now I think that “something Russian” is everything out there. It might be a place not far from here, but it will cer-tainly be a little bit farther than where one might plan to go.

Something Russian, video still

Something Russian, video still

Spellbound, 2015mixed media on matte papercm 40 x 50

The Trial, 2014video-animation, 6’02’’

The face of an icon has a similar face to all those who recognize themself within it. This face becomes a choral narration that concludes its contract with eternity. The Trial is a film full of deformed icons, full of “interferences” from the history of cinema, art and literature. An invisible network of relationships seem to meet the protagonists of the film with other famous appearances. Orson Welles makes one of these appearances. The director was once a magician and he once said: “everything a magician does is done with mirrors”. But what happens when an artist tries to mix his own magic with the magic of others? The Trial is an attempt to discover this through a game of mir-rors, but it is also a reflection on the subtle connection between reality and otherness.

Scherzi della natura ( Freaks Of Nature), 2012 - 2013gouache, watercolors, pastells on cotton paper, cm 35 x 50 each

The Fenicano is a hybrid cross between a Flamingo (Fenicottero) and a Tucano; The Pappacano is a hybrid cross between Parrot (Pappa-gallo) and Tucano; The Fenigallo is a hybrid cross between Flamingo (Fenicottero) and a Parrot (Pappagallo)...

from above: Fenigallo, 2013; Fenicano, 2013

Scherzi della natura, installation views at Monica De Cardenas, Zuoz Ph: Andrea Rossetti

Clown White, 2012 video animation, 1‘ 54’’ loop

The video appears to be an impossible dialogue between dead celebrietes or an improbable “concert” of chimeras that, if at the first impression arouses curiosity and is entertaining, in the end become a little disturbing. In the circus the White Clown (or clown blanc from the original French) is seemingly dignified and serious and is the most ancient type of clown, he is the one who tries, uselessly, to restore order in general chaos. But far from metaphors and circus clichés, in Clown White video we find ourselves in a larger territory where every artist has to confront himself; a space crowded with obtrusive characters that have left an indeleble mark on our culture. During this video words and concepts become noise.

Clown White, still from video

Un attimo a Troia, 2012raw clay, cm 19 x 15 x 31

My horse in clay is a silent interference, it works well especially when I put it in contemporary exhibitions.

“... in the middle of dinner, in the middle of a book, while studying the mirror, may suddenly be taken off to Troy. In the grand boudoir of a wink they all turn into beautiful Helens...”Wisława Szymborska, A Moment In Troy, 1962

from above: installation view at Marselleria 2012, Milano; installation view at Museo Archeologico Eno Bellis, 2012, Oderzo

Un attimo aTroia (detail)

Un attimo aTroia (detail)

Exotic Spleen 2010 - 2012digital prints on photographic paper, cm 70 x 50 each

“Games with words and the fascination for the cliché of popular and artistic imaginary return in his two latest personal shows, “Life is A Beach” (2010) and “Exotic Spleen” (2011): again, using diffe-rent media, Marco Belfiore employs minimal visual directions to describe a disillusioned way of life that is constantly conformed with the ‘fine’ example of art thinking; a way of life that at the same time tries to sabotage and filter, from the most naïve and banal point of view there is: the tourist’s. And it is “Exotic Spleen”, the series of ‘postcards’ shot by the artist on a trip to Florida that flirts with that imaginary, in the attempt to identify the typicality of some of his own shots. So we walk thought a gallery of ‘fake’ land-scapes, typical of the exoticism of the photographic viewpoint. But Belfiore gives them an absolutely elementary nature, as if to reduce them to their zero degree; transforming every individual visual souvenir into a minimal object, commenting on them with short slogans which, despite the ‘poverty’ of the image, hint at a multiplicity of interpretations and a cultural density under the surface, that represent just as effectively the elusive essence of the Italian character”.Riccardo Conti ‘Italian Souvenir’, Pizza Magazine 2011

Exotic Spleen 2011, installation views at Spazio Morris, Milano

From the series Les poissons sur le visage 2009 - 2012Antoniodigital print, watercolor, cm 18 x 13

This series title Les Possins Sur le Visage is the literal transla-tion of fishes on the face - an Italian phrase (a pesci in faccia) which in Italian alludes to public humiliation. The series tit-le is in French because it sounds elegant, ironic, and adds the allure of surrealism that is clearly evident in my work in general. This series articulate my current interests very well. They show an elaboration of existing images, an aesthetic derived from symbolist and surrealist “black humor”, here represented in the enhanced and plastic look as well as in the pictorial nature of the image itself. This is a series of photographic portraits that I have found on the internet, and then reworked. Mixing digital media with drawing, these images are then printed on ivory colored cardboard. These are portraits of figures that have given considerable contribution to our cultural history. I have chosen only those who have influenced me directly, theoretically I could pay tribute to all of those who have struck me over time.

“Another example of how the artist is capable of using the instruments of irony to detonate the commonplace and suggest new meanings, can be found in the 2009-2010 se-ries ‘Les Poissons sur Le Visage’: a series of photomontages in which the popular expression “prendere a pesci in fac-cia” (editor’s note: literally ‘take fish in the face’, meaning to treat someone rudely or unkindly) is applied literally by the artist, who overlays fish onto a pantheon of famous per-sonalities, who are also in some way his cultural and artistic references. Beyond the provocation and the easy joke, the chimeras that derive from these surreal pairings evoke new interpretations, mysterious analogies, and secret narrations that the bizarre fish-masks conceal and reveal at the same time”. Riccardo Conti ‘Italian Souvenir’, Pizza Magazine 2011

Les poissons sur le visage 2009 - 2012digital prints, watercolor, cm 18 x 13 each

clockwise: Raymond Carver, Ian Curtis, Flannery O’Connor, Bruce Lee, Antonin Artaud, Antonio De Curtis, Nikola Tesla, Buster Keaton, Michael Jackson, J.D.Salinger

From the series Ghost 2010 - 2011Duchamp Appeared On The Bottom Of My Toiletacrylic on wood, cm 30 x 25

“Love of paradox, of the magical properties of words and the fragility of their meaning, is a constant element that is evi-dently in Belfiore’s heart and seems to contain and support every other theme present. His work very often presents itself as a Dadaistic synthesis that reconciles Duchamp and Totò”.Riccardo Conti ‘Italian Souvenir’, Pizza Magazine 2011

“Houdini was quite possibly the most famous escape artist in the world, but he was also fascinated with the supernatural and what waited on the other side. He turned to Spiritualism after his mother died and tried every way possible to contact her. Those close to him claimed that he was also convinced that spirits from the other side were helping him with his tri-cks and they were the ones responsible for his death defying escapes. On Halloween night he passed away from compli-cations due to his condition. Houdini promised a few special people in his life that he would make contact from the other side after his death if there was an afterlife. His wife would see a number of people who claimed to receive word from him, but none were able to give her the code they decided on before he died. Following Houdini’s death his wife Bess continued to live there for a number of years before selling the Laurel Canyon house to a female writer. She would later leave the house and it sat empty for several years before it was destroyed by a fire that ravaged the area in 1959. Though the house is long gone, some still believe that Houdini walks the ruins that remain. Many people have seen a dark shadow in the area, but only on Halloween night.

prairieghosts.com

Ghost, 2011 - 2012installation view

clockwise: Michael Jackson Appeared On a Wallett Of a Bullfighter,

Ghost 2010 - 2011acrylic on wood, cm 30 x 25 each

clockwise: Michael Jackson Appeared In The Wallett Of A Bullfighter, Paintghost Appeared In Curator’s Mind, Harry Houdini Appeared And Not Seen, Abraham Lincoln Appeared During Superbowl, Peggy Guggenheim Appeared On Max Ernst’s Door, John Lennon Appeared In The Closet Of A Baker, Max Ernst Appeared On Peggy Guggenheim’s Door, Laszlo Biro Appeared On Marcel Bich’s Bank

Statement, 2009video dv, 3’ 12’’

Tutorial, 2009 stop-motion animation, 1’02’’ loop

In my Tutorial various forms and meanings are intertwined creating alienating feelings. The final sequence - the suicide of the anonymous protagonist - is a personal tribute to Hitchcock’s Spellbound movie. Tutorial is a geometric, surreal and ironic interior-landscape created with black humor and a freeware software.

“A tutorial is a method of transferring knowledge and may be used as a part of a learning process. More interactive and specific than a book or a lecture; a tutorial seeks to teach by example and supply the information to complete a certain task. Depending on the context a tutorial can take one of many forms, ranging from a set of instructions to complete a task to an interactive problem solving session (usually in academia)”.Wikipedia

Statement and Tutorial, installation view at Acme Project Space, London 2009

From the series Encyclopedia 2007 - 2011Mammals Of The Order Cetacea And U.F.O.digital print, cm 18 x 24

The series of prints Encyclopedia (a work in progress started in 2007), derives from a collection of old German etchings and illustrations. Existing images become dilated and amplified through minute and almost unperceivable interventions in which I introduce unexpected, uncanny details. The interferences are someti-mes minimal and difficult to locate, once they emerge they make the image surreal. The titles are helpful in resolving this enigma. Using Photoshoshop mixed with pencil drawing, the images are scanned and photocopied to produce a unique and somewhat strange collection of new ideas in an old style.

Encyclopedia 2007 - 2011digital prints, cm 18 x 24 each

clockwise: Mammal Of The Order Cetacea And U.F.O., Artist And Birillo, Phenomena Of Clouds And Death, Pyramidis And De Dominicis, Anatomy Of The Slave, Pacific Leather

Patampa, 2005video dv, 3’13’’

“After the presentation of the third workshop, we went to visit Mi-Art, a Con-temporary Art Exhibition. From there I saw one video: Patampa, by Marco Belfiore.This is a very short video. In the video, a boy is trying to get through a hole in a fence like all the other kids do. He cannot. Other kids are waiting, he let them go. An easy move to everyone seems really hard for him. He did not give up. After tons of trying, he finally get through, but tirped and fall. He get up, simile, proudly. A simple story, I sat in that room, and watch 5 times. I saw a reflection”.unknown blogger found in the web, 2006

MARCO BELFIOREBorn in Rovereto (TN), lives and works in Milano.

cosmicbombero@gmail.com

SELECTED SOLO SHOWS2014 ExtraDry, Peep-Hole | Dry, Milano2013 SCHERZI DELLA NATURA, Careof, Milano2011 EXOTIC SPLEEN, Spazio Morris, Milano2010 LIFE IS A BEACH, MARS Milan Artists Run Space, Milano2007 OH, LES ITALIENS!, Galleria Le Case D’Arte, Milano2007 Short Show #4 ENCYCLOPEDIA, Neon>fdv, Milano

SELECTED GROUP SHOWS2016 LIVENEL - Performing Art Festival @ Ex Enel, Piacenza2016 LABOR ZERO LABOR, a video selection curated by Caterina Riva2015 GLITCH, OCAT, Shanghai2014 GLITCH, PAC Padiglione Arte Contemporanea, Milano2014 ITALIAN SUMMER, Galleria Monica De Cardenas, Zuoz2012 SHORVISIT, Marselleria, Milano2012 TAKE THE LEAP, Peep-hole, Milano2011 OFFICINE DELL’ARTE, Viafarini, Milano2010 THE CLIFFORD IRVING SHOW, Objectif Exhibitions, Anversa2010 IF YOU DO KNOW THAT ‘HERE IS ONE HAND’, CAC, Vilnius2010 AN ELABORATE FICTION, Acme Space Project, Londra2010 MANIMAL, Kaleidoscope Project Space, Milano2010 LOOPS, Chelsea Project Space, Londra2009 STUDIOVISIT, GCAC, Monfalcone2008 A, B, F, G, M, N, O, R, Z, Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa, Venezia2008 NEW SEASON_NO REASON, Neon>fdv, Milano2006 FRAME, Gertrude Art Spaces, Melbourne

PROJECTS AND PRIZES2016 Progetto Musica, Fondazione Spinola Banna Per L’Arte, Poirino2016 Era Pacifica Pare, Careof, Milano2012 Terna Prize winner2010 Covers Project, Fondazione Nicola Trussardi, Milano