Burning Man... Sort of.

We made a visit to Davide Cantoni's studio on Thursday. I love studio visits because they are somewhat rare and the conversation and experience of one is even rarer. Obviously over this month we see a lot of art in many different places, but rarely is the artist there to personally talk to us about the art (so visiting Davide then heading to Chelsea to visit Ken Solomon in his gallery made for an especially extraordinary day).

Davide was one of the artist in the Burning Desire show/gallery talk and he is one of Marc's closer friends so we had already been introduced to him and were a little familiar with his work. We enter his studio as Davide constantly apologizes for the clutter, which is something I'm always intrigued by. I haven't seen too many studios, but I have never seen a clean studio. I never expect them to be. Anyways, there is good reason for Davide's studio to be full.

If you are unfamiliar with his work, he mainly works with images from the New York Times and these images often deal with problems of the world. This is in part by choice, but in part because there is an abundance of these types of images in the media. What he does with these images is quite compelling though. He uses interference paint, which will only show when reflected in a certain light. Once the viewer positions themselves in the right light, though, his talent literally shines through. Each painting is well done technically, showing that his work does not need to rely on the paint to be unique. He mentioned that this is part of his intention, to force the viewer to work a little harder to see what he presents to them. This is an interesting thought and part of a larger discussion about how long people actually look at artwork and the arena in which they view it. It can also branch off into a better lesson about audience and the importance of recognizing your audience.

Davide also does burn drawings, which are meticulous drawings made from using a magnifying glass in sunlight. These pieces add a certain physicality that the paintings do not have. They are in your face and visceral. Each piece is also a testament to his outstanding work ethic. However, the paintings and drawings together form an intriguing narrative about the state of the world today.

After showing us some of the work he has already completed, including his video work, he began showing us projects and plans for upcoming shows. I won't give away too much, but they involve similar themes, but involving much more work. Once completed, they should be quite remarkable and I am very excited to see how they turn out. Davide Cantoni's work is quickly becoming one of my favorites and visiting his studio and talking with him, I can see how beneficial the synthesis of hard work, sound ideas, and innovation can be.