A story of art, poetry, music and passion, with the artist’s words
By Marco Nereo Rotelli. My artistic story begins with a fascination. When I was 6 years old, the painter Vittorio Matino visited my home, drawing with me and opening up an enchanted world. In that pure universe, where children navigate through colors, I found a poetic essence that I didn’t want to lose. This is why, sometimes, I create projects for and with children.
I trained in Venice in the 1980s. I became an architect, but instead of building houses, I composed languages. I believe this is due to the fact that, back then, I had interlocutors and friends like Massimo Cacciari, Franco Rella, Daniele del Giudice, and Emilio Vedova: I learned a lot simply by being around them. Then, in the 1990s, I felt the need to align myself with music, poetry, science, and even architecture. I had already exhibited in galleries like Cannaviello, Trisorio, and Il Capricorno, and participated in a Biennale (Aperto ‘86), but I felt the need for a shift, driven by a love for other forms of knowledge.
His training in Venice during the 1980s, where he graduated in architecture, but instead of building houses, he composed languages
Love is a dangerous word because it’s overused. The term manifests itself in every era with different nuances, to the point that today, I could decode the dynamics of a love by reading the WhatsApp messages between the two lovers. I mean love in its etymological sense, from the Sanskrit kama: desire, passion. I could condense all of this into the word feeling, which for me is superior to the idea, which comes and goes. A genuine and visceral feeling has led me to the search for wonder. It may seem strange that in an era dominated by technology, this has become the absolute protagonist. For me, it represents the primary form of knowledge. I created my first installations in Palermo and Gibellina with Franco Battiato, then at the Petit Palais in Paris. Later, I sculpted an entire quarry in Carrara with the words of Adonis, Mario Luzi, Edoardo Sanguineti, among others.
He created installations in Chicago, BeiJing, Palermo and Gibellina. In Paris at the Petit Palais and at the Espace culturel Louis Vuitton. In Carrara, he sculpted an entire quarry with the words of Adonis, Mario Luzi, Paul McCartney, Edoardo Sanguineti
For me, identity is something that is composed: I am not what I once was. Roots represent the original component, but identity is something that is reached. It was based on this idea that I created the Bunker poetico for the 49th Venice Biennale, directed by Harald Szeemann. He granted me a huge space at the Arsenale. I proposed a catastrophe where poetry was expressed through epistrophes, a world in decay made up of abandoned doors and objects. I strongly felt that we were losing things, it was like a final farewell. But on each lost object, a poem was written, and that marking became my stylistic signature. Throughout my long journey, I met beautiful people, such as Graziella Lonardi Bontempo, who, through international art meetings, gave me space and helped me understand the incomprehensible. This is how the large light installations were born, where one can always perceive the enigma of the gaze. Elena Lombardi has been managing my studio for years, which consists of young designers and graphic artists. Over time, it has been frequented by people like Fernanda Pivano, Adonis, and today by musicians such as Alessio Bertallot, scientists like Riccardo Valentini, and various artists and poets. Together, we have collaborated on projects and participated in various editions of the Venice Biennale, where I have been invited ten times, spanning the fields of art, theater, and architecture. For some years now, a constant reference for me has been the group Ever in Art. When I met Raf Perrino, president of Ever in art, he quoted Hannibal the African: "Either we will find a way or we will make one." And indeed, we made one, with works on sustainability in the form of art. For me, this is a cerebral act: after having loved various languages, I realized that I loved the idea of beauty that resides in them.
For the Venice Biennale, directed by Harald Szeemann, he created the Bunker poetico (Poetic bunker) at the Arsenale, where poetry was expressed through epistrophes
