Tiziana La Piana

What type of printing do you prefer?

I find backlit printing interesting for my work, the colors are bright and the support is aluminum, without a frame, one with the work, the final result reminds me of the screen on which I paint.

The screen, in fact, allows you to view digital works as they were created, in their true nature and chromatic power, but it is expensive and the format is limited.

The possibility of different printing methods is a great opportunity to seize, allowing you to materialize and enhance your work. Experimentation is essential to find the right medium for each project.

I like the effect of printed carpet; it’s pleasant to the touch, lightweight, and easy to shape. I’ve also tried materials like canvas, plexiglass, aluminum, wood, leather, and paper.

I find prints on fabrics fascinating, they offer various design possibilities.

What comes first, the idea or the fascination with the material? In other words, does the artistic/photographic project come first, or is it inspired by the techniques and particular processes that strike you?

Continuous research and experimentation on different media also paves the way for new artistic projects.

For example, in the case of fabric printing, I was first inspired by the possibilities and then created a furniture line from unique and recycled pieces, such as chairs and armchairs abandoned on the street, upholstered and personalized with my fabrics, giving them a ‘second life’.

Do you have any Masters you look up to and feel close to?

I have no points of reference in digital painting.

I remember that at the beginning of my artistic career, in 2005, in Amsterdam, there were photographers who inspired me with their work, including: David La Chapelle, Erwin Olaf and Ruud van Empel.

 

What struck me about his works is the happy mix of different aesthetics.

I can see references to futurist artists such as Giacomo Balla and Fortunato Depero but also to the more recent Tom Wesselmann, an exquisitely Pop artist, and Cecily Brown, with a vibrant and electric style, similar to her body of work from 2015.

Looking carefully at the works in his atelier in Catania, we cannot help but realize that we are faced with true “genre scenes,” traditionally pictorial representations that have events from everyday life as their theme.

I’d like to ask you how this interest in observation arose in you and what attracts you to the subjects and situations you choose for your digital works.

I was born and raised in Catania, in a vibrant working-class neighborhood, where people take to the streets every day, with their voices and their scents.

Sidewalks overrun with vendors of all kinds with their colorful stalls selling chestnuts, citrons, artichokes, black pudding, fish, horse meat roasted on a brazier, car trunks full of freshly picked blood oranges to sell, countless mopeds loaded with seasonal fruit and vegetables, squares with card players and neighborhood markets, white vans at intersections piled high with enormous rolls of paper towels, colorful horse-drawn carts out for a stroll—in short, countless street scenes and a lot of smoke in the air.

I like to capture, preserve and remember that moment of life in a work.

 

 

Future projects?

My atelier is located in the historic haberdashery in Piazza Manganelli in the center of Catania.

I love how the antique wood paneling of the structure contrasts and welcomes my digital works and my creations printed on various media.

It’s a 250m2 exhibition space where I work and show. Currently, I’m focusing on fabric prints, creating decorative cushions, curtains, wallpaper, rugs, silk scarves, beach towels, and bags.

I just bought a dressmaker’s mannequin to create costumes and dresses made with my work printed on fabrics.

I strongly believe in children’s artistic ability and their expressive power. I created a line of products printed with my daughters’ drawings and would like to continue it.

I hope in the future to be able to continue researching and experimenting with new printing media that are increasingly suited to my creations.