Summarize this article with:
Nicola Samorì paints like a baroque master, then destroys what he creates.
The Italian contemporary artist builds perfect reproductions of 16th and 17th-century paintings using classical oil painting techniques. Then he scrapes, tears, and peels the surfaces until they bleed.
Born in 1977 in Forlì, Samorì studied at Bologna’s Accademia di Belle Arti, mastering the same methods as Caravaggio and Rembrandt. But instead of preservation, he practices controlled violence.
This article examines his unique approach to figurative painting, exploring how he transforms religious imagery and Old Master techniques into contemporary statements about art history’s suffocating weight. You’ll discover his distinctive surface destruction methods, the materials he works with (copper, marble, canvas), and why his work matters in today’s art landscape.
Identity Snapshot
Full Name: Nicola Samorì
Born: May 13, 1977
Birthplace: Forlì, Italy
Current Location: Bagnacavallo, Italy
Primary Roles: Painter, Sculptor, Printmaker, Poet
Nationality: Italian
Movements: Contemporary Baroque, Neo-Baroque, Figurative Contemporary Art
Primary Mediums: Oil on canvas, oil on copper, oil on wood, fresco, wax sculpture, marble sculpture, oil on stone (onyx, marble)
Signature Techniques: Surface destruction, paint skinning, chiaroscuro, scraping, diluting, slashing, palette knife manipulation
Education: Accademia di Belle Arti, Bologna (graduated 2004)
Iconography: Religious martyrs, saints, flayed figures, corporeality, decay, blind saints (especially Saint Lucy)
Key Influences: Caravaggio, baroque masters, Lucio Fontana, Alberto Burri, Francis Bacon
Collections: Taylor Art Collection (Denver), Fondation Francès (Senlis, France), AMC Collezione Coppola (Vicenza, Italy), MART Museum
Notable Exhibitions: 54th Venice Biennale (2011), 56th Venice Biennale (2015), Quadriennale di Roma (2016), Pinakothek der Moderne Munich (2016)
Awards: Giorgio Morandi Engraving Prize (2002), Michetti Prize, 9th Cairo Prize (Palazzo della Permanente, Milano)
What Sets The Artist Apart
Samorì attacks classical beauty with surgical precision.
He builds perfect Old Master paintings only to wound them. His method involves creating skilled reproductions of 16th and 17th-century works, then systematically destroying the surface through scraping, peeling, and chemical assault.
The result sits between veneration and vandalism.
Where most contemporary painters cite art history, Samorì performs autopsies on it. He paints on copper like a Flemish master, then tears the dried pigment away to expose raw underlayers. His sculptures twist marble and wax into liquid states of decomposition.
The violence is deliberate. Each scrape reveals what he calls “freshness unknown in the outer tones.”
Think Francis Bacon meets Rembrandt, but darker.
Origins & Formation
Early Training
Born in Forlì in 1977, Samorì grew up surrounded by Italy’s dense art historical weight.
His family pushed him toward formal art education early. He entered the Accademia di Belle Arti in Bologna, graduating in 2004 with mastery of classical painting techniques.
Bologna’s academic rigor gave him the technical foundation he’d later undermine.
First Stylistic Developments
Early work (2003-2006) showed traditional figurative skill without the destruction. Exhibitions like “Dei Miti Memorie” at Central TAFE Gallery, Perth (2003) and “TAC – Un paesaggio chiamato uomo” in Bologna (2005) presented competent but unremarkable paintings.
The breakthrough came around 2007-2008.
He started questioning why he was replicating old techniques at all. His answer: replicate them, then destroy them.
Pivotal Shift
The 2010 exhibition “La Dialettica del Mostro” at Galleria Marcorossi introduced his “incorporations” technique. He began altering existing art historical references while their paint remained wet.
That same year, the first surface skinning appeared.
He peeled back dried paint like torn skin, exposing reverse forms. The process emerged fully in three 2011 exhibitions: “Baroque” (LARMgalleri, Copenhagen), “Scoriada” (Studio Raffaelli, Trento), and “Imaginifragus” (Christian Ehrentraut Gallery, Berlin).
First Major Recognition
His first museum solo came in 2012: “Fegefeuer” at Kunsthalle Tübingen.
Critics noticed immediately. R.C. Baker of the Village Voice called his work “a revelation.”
The Italian Pavilion selected him for the 54th Venice Biennale (2011), then again for the 56th (2015). International galleries followed.
Movement & Context
Position Within Contemporary Art
Samorì occupies a strange position. He rejects contemporary art’s move away from painting while simultaneously attacking painting’s historical legitimacy.
Most figurative painters today either ignore or celebrate Old Master techniques.
Samorì does both at once.
Comparison to Proximate Artists
vs. Jenny Saville: Both work with flesh and distortion. Saville builds thick impasto bodies from observation. Samorì copies historical bodies, then physically mutilates the canvas surface itself.
vs. Anselm Kiefer: Similar interest in material violence and historical weight. Kiefer applies lead, straw, and ash to address German trauma. Samorì scrapes, peels, and tears to address Italian art historical burden.
vs. Yan Pei-Ming: Both paint at monumental scale with aggressive brushwork. Yan’s gestures are expressive but intact. Samorì’s surfaces get destroyed post-completion, turning gesture into wound.
Material Distinctions
Where others use oil painting for its buttery qualities, Samorì treats it as skin to be flayed.
His edge hardness varies wildly within single works. Soft sfumato transitions erupt into razor-sharp tears. Tonal range clusters in sepia and burnt umbers, punctuated by raw copper or exposed ground.
His canvases skew vertical (200 x 150 cm common), emphasizing the body’s height.
Copper works stay smaller (100 x 100 cm), dictated by the metal sheet’s weight and handling limits.
Materials, Techniques, and Process
Supports
Samorì works on linen canvas (stretched or mounted), wood panels (poplar common), copper sheets (up to 200 x 100 cm), and stone (onyx, marble, Trani stone).
Copper provides a smooth, luminous ground that Old Masters like Rembrandt used for small devotional pieces.
Stone supports incorporate natural voids and veins into the image. He paints around geodes, letting raw material interrupt the figure.
Grounds and Primers
Traditional gesso on canvas and wood.
Copper gets minimal preparation, sometimes just light abrasion. The metal’s reflective quality stays partially visible through thin paint layers.
Stone receives no ground. Oil binds directly to porous marble or onyx surfaces.
Paint Application
He works in oils exclusively for paintings, using linseed and stand oils as mediums.
Application happens in stages. First: faithful reproduction of baroque compositions using classical techniques. Smooth blending, careful chiaroscuro, attention to anatomical precision.
Then destruction.
Destruction Methods
Scraping: Palette knives and scalpels remove semi-dried paint in controlled gestures. He peels away entire facial planes, exposing underlayers or raw support.
Chemical dilution: Solvents applied to dried surfaces create melting effects. Paint liquefies and drips, mimicking decay.
Tearing: On canvas, he rips dried paint sections completely off, then reattaches them inverted or displaced.
Folding: Wet canvases get folded along vertical or horizontal axes, forcing paint to merge and crack. “The Roman Butterfly” (after Luca Giordano) uses this technique.
Puncturing: Sharp tools penetrate the surface, creating voids that read as wounds or missing flesh.
Brushwork Taxonomy
Before destruction, brushwork follows baroque precedents:
- Smooth sfumato transitions in flesh
- Directional strokes following anatomical form
- Heavy impasto in highlights
- Thin glazes in shadows
Post-destruction, the brushwork becomes forensic evidence. Strokes get interrupted mid-gesture by scrapes and tears.
Palette
Dominated by earth tones: burnt umber, raw sienna, ochres. Heavy use of blacks and deep browns.
Flesh tones skew cool and greenish, suggesting corporeality rather than life.
Temperature bias: warm grounds with cool surface tones, creating atmospheric depth through color contrast.
Occasional bright reds appear in martyrdom scenes, standing out violently against sepia surroundings.
Studio Practice
Samorì works in layered stages, not alla prima.
He builds traditional baroque paintings over days or weeks. Only when dry or semi-dry does destruction begin.
Some works incorporate underdrawing visible through scraped sections. Most start directly with paint.
Recent work (2023-2024) adds AI mediation. He feeds Old Master images through Midjourney, creating hybrid compositions, then translates these digitally-warped forms into physical paintings.
The digital becomes tangible. Then he destroys the tangible, creating a three-stage removal from the original.
Sculptural Work
Wax sculptures show similar decay aesthetics. He casts figurative forms, then melts or distorts them.
Marble carvings twist classical forms into impossible organic states. “Lieve Legno” (2017), carved poplar at 530 cm tall, appears simultaneously solid and liquid.
Themes, Subjects, and Iconography
Recurring Motifs
Martyred saints dominate. Saint Lucy appears repeatedly, her pierced eyes dripping paint instead of blood.
Flayed figures reference both Christian martyrology and anatomical studies. Skinned bodies merge with skinned paintings.
Blind prophets and seers question vision itself. What does it mean to see when looking at destroyed images of destroyed sight?
Corpses and decay frame mortality through painterly decomposition.
Compositional Schemes
Most compositions cite baroque precedents directly:
- Triangular stability (sacred figures enthroned)
- Diagonal movement (martyrdoms, depositions)
- Tight cropping on faces and torsos
- Dark, undefined backgrounds (pure tenebrism)
His destruction often follows the composition’s internal logic. Scrapes trace anatomical planes. Peeling happens where skin would naturally separate from muscle.
Symbol Sets
Eyes: Absent, pierced, or weeping. Vision fails or bleeds.
Hands: Clutching torn paint (as in “Lo Spagnolo,” 2023, where the figure grips his own flayed surface).
Wounds: Both depicted and literal (actual holes in the canvas).
Copper as relic: The metal support references devotional objects, adding sacred connotations.
Stone voids: Natural geodes in marble become orifices or wounds in painted bodies.
Socio-Historical Triggers
Born into Italy’s overwhelming art historical legacy, Samorì addresses the anxiety of influence through violence.
Baroque art celebrated Catholic Counter-Reformation values: suffering, martyrdom, transcendence through pain.
Samorì retains the suffering but removes transcendence. His martyrs don’t ascend. They decompose.
This positions him against both traditionalists (who want preservation) and conceptualists (who want complete rejection). He does both simultaneously.
Notable Works
“L’Occhio Occidentale” (2013)
Medium: Oil on wood
Significance: Early masterwork showing fully developed destruction technique. The title (“The Western Eye”) questions European visual culture while literally destroying that culture’s imagery.
Technique: Classical portrait base with extensive surface removal. The eye becomes a void.
“Agnese” (2009)
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: Approximately 200 x 150 cm
Current Location: Private collection
Visual Signature: Female saint with flesh melting downward. Soft edges dissolve into streaks.
Why It Matters: Shows Samorì’s ability to make destruction look like natural decay rather than violence.
“Volta del Mondo” (2014)
Medium: Oil on copper
Size: 100 x 100 cm
Visual Signature: Tight facial closeup on copper ground. Surface scraped to reveal metal beneath.
Innovation: Demonstrates how copper’s reflectivity creates ghostly luminosity through thin paint.
“Inginocchiatoio” (2018)
Medium: Fresco on wood (mixed media)
Size: 300 x 150 cm
Current Location: Private collection North Germany (formerly Galerie EIGEN+ART)
Visual Signature: Monumental vertical format. Fresco technique (rare in contemporary practice) subjected to destruction.
Why It Matters: Proves his destruction works across mediums. Even ancient fresco techniques aren’t safe.
“Pentesilea” (2017-2018)
Medium: Mixed media on canvas, mounted on wood
Size: 200 x 75 cm
Visual Signature: Vertical figure, heavily mutilated surface. Named for the Amazon queen.
Related Works: Part of series exploring mythological female figures as sites of violence.
“The Column (Christ’s Ruff)” (2016)
Medium: Oil on copper
Size: 100 x 100 x 2 cm
Current Location: Rosenfeld Gallery
Visual Signature: Religious imagery fragmented through surface manipulation.
Why It Matters: Shows how he treats sacred subjects with the same destructive approach, questioning devotional image-making.
“Blend the Blind” (2023-2024)
Medium: Oil on canvas (monumental diptych)
Significance: Landmark work incorporating AI mediation. Takes Pieter Bruegel the Elder‘s “Parable of the Blind” and runs it through Midjourney with Samorì’s own sphinx sculptures.
Technique: Digital image translated to paint, then physically torn and reassembled as mosaic.
Innovation: Three-stage removal from original (digital manipulation, translation to paint, physical destruction).
“Lo Spagnolo” (2023)
Medium: Oil on linen
Visual Signature: Bare-chested male figure clutching a strip of his own flayed surface. The “skin” is actual dried paint pulled from the picture plane.
Why It Matters: Makes the metaphor literal. The figure doesn’t just look flayed; the painting IS flayed.
“Ebbro” (2011)
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 200 x 300 cm
Current Location: Rosenfeld Gallery
Visual Signature: Large horizontal format (unusual for Samorì). Extensive surface damage creates atmospheric effect.
“Lieve Legno” (2017)
Medium: Carved poplar wood
Size: 530 x 47 x 45 cm
Visual Signature: Monumental vertical sculpture appearing to melt or twist despite being solid wood.
Why It Matters: Shows his destruction extends beyond painting mediums. Even sculpture becomes subject to implied decay.
Exhibitions, Collections, and Provenance Highlights
Major Solo Exhibitions
“Fegefeuer” (Purgatory), Kunsthalle Tübingen (2012) – First major museum solo outside Italy
“Sfregi”, Palazzo Fava, Bologna (2021) – Comprehensive 20-year retrospective, 80 works
“Black Square”, Fondazione Made in Cloister & Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples (2020)
“In Abisso”, Galerie EIGEN+ART, Berlin (2020)
“Blend the Blind”, Nicodim Gallery, New York (2024) – Introduced AI-mediated works
“Luce e sangue”, Duomo di Napoli (2023) – Site-specific cathedral installation
“Le Ossa della Madre”, Villa d’Este, Tivoli (2022)
“Cannibal Trail”, Yu-Hsiu Museum of Art, Taiwan (2019)
Key Biennales and Group Shows
54th Venice Biennale (2011) – Italian Pavilion
56th Venice Biennale (2015) – Italian Pavilion
Quadriennale di Roma (2016) – Major presentation
5th Biennale Gherdëina (2016)
“The Last Supper After Leonardo”, Fondazione Stelline, Milan (2019)
“KAFKAesque”, DOX Centre for Contemporary Art, Prague (2024)
Collections with Depth
Fondation Francès (Senlis, France) – Multiple works across mediums
AMC Collezione Coppola (Vicenza, Italy) – Significant Italian holdings
Taylor Art Collection (Denver, Colorado) – Primary U.S. institutional collection
MART (Museo d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto)
Gallery Representation
Galerie EIGEN+ART (Berlin/Leipzig) – Long-term European representation
Monitor Gallery (Rome/Lisbon) – Italian representation
Nicodim Gallery (New York/Los Angeles/Bucharest) – Recent U.S. representation
Rosenfeld (London) – UK representation
Provenance Patterns
Most works pass through European galleries to private collections in Germany, Italy, and France.
North American presence growing since 2023 through Nicodim representation.
Institutional acquisitions remain limited but significant. Museums prefer mid-period works (2010-2018) before AI incorporation.
Catalogues and Documentation
“Fegefeuer / Purgatory” (Strzelecki Books, 2012) – Documents Tübingen exhibition
“Nella Pelle della Pittura” – Monograph on surface manipulation techniques
“Vitamin P2: New Perspectives in Painting” (Phaidon, 2011) – Included by Barry Schwabsky
Market & Reception
Auction Results
Recent auction activity shows steady growth:
- “Inginocchiatoio” (2018, 300 x 150 cm fresco): High estimate €80,000-120,000 range
- Smaller copper works (100 x 100 cm): €30,000-50,000
- Works on canvas (200 x 150 cm): €40,000-70,000
Mid-period paintings (2010-2015) perform strongest. Pre-2010 work rarely appears at auction.
Price Bands by Medium
Oil on copper (100 x 100 cm): €35,000-55,000
Oil on canvas (200 x 150 cm): €50,000-80,000
Monumental works (280+ cm): €80,000-150,000+
Sculptures (marble, wood): €40,000-90,000
Works on stone (onyx, marble): €30,000-60,000
Critical Reception
International acclaim since 2012 Tübingen exhibition. Critics value his technical mastery combined with conceptual rigor.
R.C. Baker (Village Voice): “Rereadings of old master oils are a revelation”
Italian critics position him as answer to art historical burden. Northern European reception focuses on material violence and Fontana/Burri lineage.
U.S. reception (post-2023) emphasizes AI incorporation and relationship to digital culture.
Authentication Considerations
Signature placement: Verso, upper center, with date and title (format: “SAMORÌ [YEAR] – [TITLE] -“)
Material verification: Copper works must show appropriate weight and patina. Stone works require geological verification.
Surface damage patterns: Forgeries struggle to replicate the specific violence of his destruction. Authentic scraping shows anatomical logic.
Provenance importance: Work should trace to known galleries (EIGEN+ART, Monitor, Nicodim, Rosenfeld) or documented exhibitions.
Condition Issues
Inherent fragility: Destroyed surfaces create conservation challenges. Peeled paint sections can detach further.
Copper oxidation: Works on copper develop natural patina. This is expected and arguably desired.
Fresco works: Inherently fragile medium (lime plaster) made more fragile by intentional damage.
Wax sculptures: Temperature-sensitive. Must be stored below 25°C to prevent warping.
Influence & Legacy
Upstream Influences
Caravaggio (1571-1610): The master reference. Chiaroscuro, tenebrism, violent subject matter, theatrical lighting. Samorì doesn’t just study Caravaggio; he mutilates him.
Baroque Masters (Guido Reni, Annibale Carracci, Guercino): Bologna’s artistic heritage. Samorì studied in Bologna, absorbing local baroque tradition before attacking it.
Rembrandt (1606-1669): Use of copper as support. Psychological intensity in portraits.
Lucio Fontana (1899-1968): Direct influence on surface destruction. Fontana slashed canvases to create spatial ruptures. Samorì scrapes and peels to create temporal ones.
Alberto Burri (1915-1995): Material violence. Burri burned plastic and burlap. Samorì flays paint.
Francis Bacon (1909-1992): Distortion of figurative forms. Psychological intensity. Both create beautiful horror.
Anselm Kiefer (b. 1945): Use of heavy materials. Addressing historical weight through physical weight.
Downstream Influence
Still developing (relatively young artist at 48), but early signs show impact on:
Figurative painters returning to classical techniques but with conceptual frames. Samorì proves you can master Old Master methods without becoming a pasticheur.
Material painters exploring surface destruction as content. His work legitimizes violence against the picture plane.
AI-mediated painting: His recent “Blend the Blind” series (2023-2024) establishes precedent for using AI as intermediary between art history and contemporary practice.
Cross-Domain Echoes
Photography: Joel-Peter Witkin’s baroque compositions of corpses and body parts share Samorì’s aesthetic of beautiful grotesque.
Cinema: His atmosphere anticipates slow horror films dealing with decay and religious imagery.
Fashion: High-fashion photography increasingly references his aesthetic of elegant destruction.
Positioning in Art History
Samorì solves a problem for contemporary painting: how to engage art history without drowning in it.
His solution: drown in it, then claw your way out, leaving wounds as evidence.
He’s not post-modern (too invested in mastery) and not traditional (too violent). He occupies a third position: aggressive classicism.
Where realism depicts and abstract art rejects depiction, Samorì depicts-then-destroys in a single gesture.
This positions him as a bridge figure. Younger painters can now cite baroque masters AND deconstruct them simultaneously. Samorì proved both are possible in a single work.
How to Recognize a Samorì at a Glance
Dark, sepia-dominant palette with earth tones and burnt umbers
Baroque composition (triangular, diagonal, or tightly cropped on torso/face)
Visible surface destruction (scraping, peeling, tearing, or puncturing)
Chiaroscuro lighting with dramatic contrast between light and shadow
Religious or mythological subjects (martyrs, saints, classical figures)
Copper or wood supports more common than canvas
Vertical formats for single figures (often 200 x 150 cm or similar ratios)
Wounded eyes or absent faces as recurring motif
Signature verso in format: “SAMORÌ [YEAR] – [TITLE] -”
Flesh tones skew cool/greenish rather than warm
Hard edges interrupting soft modeling (where scraping meets painting)
Anatomically precise destruction (violence follows the body’s logic)
Oil medium exclusively for paintings (no acrylic, no mixed media besides in sculptures)
Hybrid of mastery and violence (too skilled to be purely destructive, too violent to be purely classical)
FAQ on Nicola Samorì
What is Nicola Samorì known for?
Nicola Samorì is known for creating baroque-inspired figurative paintings that he intentionally destroys through scraping, peeling, and tearing. The Italian contemporary artist reproduces Old Master techniques using oil painting on copper, wood, and canvas, then violently mutilates the surfaces. His work addresses the weight of European art history through physical destruction.
Where was Nicola Samorì born?
Samorì was born on May 13, 1977, in Forlì, Italy. He currently lives and works in Bagnacavallo, a small town in the Emilia-Romagna region. He studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Bologna, graduating in 2004 with mastery of classical painting techniques that he now systematically undermines through his destruction process.
What techniques does Nicola Samorì use?
Samorì uses classical chiaroscuro and tenebrism to create baroque-style paintings. Then he destroys them with palette knives, scalpels, chemical solvents, and tearing. He works on copper sheets, wood panels, marble, and canvas. Recent work incorporates AI (Midjourney) to blend historical images before translating them into paint and physically mutilating the surfaces.
What materials does Nicola Samorì paint on?
Samorì paints primarily on copper sheets (up to 200 x 100 cm), wood panels (poplar common), linen canvas, and stone surfaces including onyx and marble. Copper provides luminous grounds similar to Flemish masters. Stone works incorporate natural voids and geodes into the imagery. He also creates sculptures in wax and carved marble, all subjected to similar decay aesthetics.
Which artists influenced Nicola Samorì?
Caravaggio heavily influences his chiaroscuro and violent subject matter. Lucio Fontana and Alberto Burri inspired his surface destruction approach. Francis Bacon’s distorted figures inform his psychological intensity. Rembrandt‘s use of copper and baroque Bologna masters (Carracci, Guido Reni) provide technical foundations. He studies Old Masters to destroy them systematically.
Has Nicola Samorì been in the Venice Biennale?
Yes, Samorì participated in the Italian Pavilion at both the 54th Venice Biennale (2011) and 56th Venice Biennale (2015). These appearances established his international reputation. He also showed at the Quadriennale di Roma (2016), Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich (2016), and numerous solo exhibitions including “Fegefeuer” at Kunsthalle Tübingen (2012).
What themes does Nicola Samorì explore?
Samorì explores religious martyrdom, especially flayed saints and blind prophets like Saint Lucy. His work questions vision, mortality, and the body’s physicality through paint as skin. He addresses Italy’s art historical burden by attacking classical beauty. Decay, corporeal destruction, and the materiality of painting versus its representation form his central concerns across paintings and sculptures.
Where can I see Nicola Samorì’s work?
Samorì’s work is held in the Taylor Art Collection (Denver), Fondation Francès (Senlis, France), and AMC Collezione Coppola (Vicenza, Italy). MART Museum in Italy also owns pieces. He’s represented by Galerie EIGEN+ART (Berlin/Leipzig), Monitor Gallery (Rome/Lisbon), Nicodim Gallery (New York/Los Angeles), and Rosenfeld (London). Works appear regularly at international art fairs.
How much do Nicola Samorì paintings cost?
Oil on copper works (100 x 100 cm) range €35,000-55,000. Canvas paintings (200 x 150 cm) sell for €50,000-80,000. Monumental pieces (280+ cm) reach €80,000-150,000+. Sculptures in marble or wood range €40,000-90,000. Recent auction results show steady growth. Mid-period works (2010-2015) perform strongest at auction and through galleries.
What does Nicola Samorì’s signature look like?
Samorì signs verso (on the back), typically upper center. The format follows: “SAMORÌ [YEAR] – [TITLE] -” in capital letters. For example: “SAMORÌ 2018 – INGINOCCHIATOIO -“. Some earlier works show lowercase signature: “Nicola Samorì [year]”. Authentic works should trace provenance to known galleries (EIGEN+ART, Monitor, Nicodim, Rosenfeld).
Conclusion
Nicola Samorì occupies a unique position in contemporary art, bridging technical mastery with conceptual violence.
His approach solves a critical problem for figurative painters: how to engage renaissance and baroque traditions without becoming a mere copyist. By mastering classical techniques like sfumato and atmospheric perspective, then systematically destroying what he creates, Samorì creates something entirely new.
The destruction isn’t random.
It follows anatomical logic, revealing how deeply he understands both composition and the body’s structure. His work on copper, marble, and canvas transforms painting mediums into sites of conflict between preservation and decay.
Whether shown at Venice Biennale or private galleries, his pieces force viewers to confront art history’s weight through physical trauma to the painted surface itself.
