Aurelio Gaiga

Biography

Born in 1969.
Live and work in Alpo of Villafranca ( Verona ).
1989 : diploma ( high school )at the State Art School of Verona.
The works presented are part of a cycle that began in 2018, which investigates the growing importance that technology has assumed and will assume more and more in our lives.
I work on the deformation of images ( images of people seen in their daily lives reading a newspaper, drinking a coffee, ect... ) as in the case of television interference or digital distortions.
Something of these works only present these digital distortions as if they had taken over our reality, waiting for something new, that we don't know.
Other works present interpretations of famous paintings of the past reinterpreted and modified in this key, as if technology were erasing our past, our history, our memory, perhaps our humanity.
All the works are characterized by vivid and intense colors, to represent the seductive and positive aspects with which each new technological discovery is presented, always leaving out any potential negative aspect.

What’s your background?

Since I was a child I loved drawing, it was my favorite pastime.
After obtaining the diploma at the Liceo Artistico Statale of Verona in 1989, I began

to read art magazines and to visit exhibitions, mainly in the Verona galleries.
At the time of school, contemporary art was not treated much, in fact, almost not at all.

I was very attracted by the profession of painter, I remember that one day my professor of figure drawing took the whole class to visit his studio: I was fascinated. But at the same time I was almost reverential.
After seeing an exhibition on Paul Klee at Palazzo Forti in Verona, in 1995 I began my first timid experiments in painting.

What does it mean to you to win the Collectors Art Prize?

First of all a big surprise because I didn't expect it.
At the same time a great joy because it confirms the goodness of the work I have

done so far and gives me the opportunity to present my work to a vast audience of collectors, experts and enthusiasts of art.

What do you think is the role of art in the world today?

Although art does not have a primary role in the world today, it is still the daughter of the time and of the society in which it lives and reflects them.
I therefore believe that art can induce reflections both on the exposed nerves of society and on issues closely related to art.
Furthermore, I believe that even in the case of revisiting themes or currents from the past, this revisiting is always done according to current aesthetic and thought canons, thus generating something different, new in any case.

What would it be if you could change one thing about the art world?

I believe that today too much importance is given to the economic value of the work , as if its value were determined only on the basis of its economic value.
But this is also the system in which art lives today.
However, I believe that every artist, at any level, in any age, has had to deal with an art system.

And we have ours too.

What are your most significant professional achievements?

Winning this Award is also a success.
I also believe that having the opportunity to continue working, to paint, to be able to experiment with new paths despite the difficulties of everyday life is already a success.

What do you wish to tell viewers about your work that might not come out explicitly? What do you hope to inspire with your artwork?

What I want to tell with my paintings is how technology is increasingly present in our lives.
And how an excess of technology can endanger or even erase our history, our past, our memory and perhaps our own humanity.

I also hope that my works arouse curiosity in the viewer and push him to ask himself questions.

What advice would you give to the upcoming generation of artists?

The only advice I can give is to study, read, visit exhibitions, museums, learn about the history of art of the past as well as contemporary art but also know and be focused on the most current issues that cross our society .
A gallery owner then, about a decade ago, told me never to give up; I think this is also important: believe in what you do and never give up.

In what direction would you like to see your career go in the next five years?

I would like to be able to find a gallery that values my work and with which I can start a professional collaboration and a reciprocal relationship.

Country Italy

Website https://www.aureliogaiga.it