Hello and thank you for your interest in my work. Here is some information on me and on my mezzotint prints.
I am an Italian artist living in London. I am a painter and a printmaker and have been showing my work regularly in the past twenty years.
My work is in the collection of the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles and the Calcografia Nazionale in Rome, as well as having been often shown at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in London and in several other group and solo shows. You can download my full CV here.
TECHNIQUE
Mezzotint is a printmaking technique similar to etching, except that it does not involve toxic acids. It's well known for its velvety tones and deep blacks, and also for being very time consuming. In mezzotint, a copper plate is prepared using a special serrated blade that makes the surface similar to sand paper. The image is then drawn onto the surface of the plate and the lights are painstakingly obtained by progressively scraping the plate working "from dark to light" .
Once the work on the matrix is finished, the plate is inked by hand and printed on a press. Normally, one can make twenty to thirty prints before the copper plate deteriorates.
WORK
In the past two years I have been working at a series of print that features figures by the sea. They are contemporary bathers but bear references to classical myths. While some of the prints are playful and somewhat ironic, others recall dancing figures from Roman and Greek sculptures.
Please feel free to get in touch with me if you would like to receive further information.