We interviewed the artist Giuseppe Veneziano to talk about his career, collecting, and his plans for the future.
Here is the full interview with Veneziano:
Can you tell us about your journey as an artist?
My first artistic experiences were during my University years in Palermo. Alongside my architecture studies, I collaborated with the newspaper “Il Giornale di Sicilia” where I created illustrations and cartoons.
After graduating and until the age of thirty, however, I worked as an architect until I was struck on the road to Milan and completely changed my life by dedicating myself exclusively to art. The first years in Milan were economically difficult but emotionally exciting because I managed not to abandon the dream.
What have been the key stages of your career as an artist?
The first episode that I consider fundamental to my artistic history was the solo exhibition organized at the Milanese venue “Le Trottoir” by the writer Andrea Pinketts. On that occasion, I exhibited my works for the first time in the Milanese capital. The exhibition was so successful that it earned me the cover of an international contemporary art magazine “Flash Art”.
But the first important exhibition in a real gallery I held at “Luciano Inga Pin Contemporary Art” in 2006 with the exhibition “American Beauty”. At that time, a portrait of the writer Oriana Fallaci titled “Occidente, Occidente” sparked much debate. Another work that confirmed and gave credit to my artistic journey was the work “La Madonna del Terzo Reich”.
It was a reinterpretation of a quadro by Raphael in which the Madonna is depicted holding a small Hitler.
Your works often challenge conventions and tackle controversial themes. How do you choose the subjects of your creations?
Before creating a work, there is a long gestation and in-depth study of the topic I want to address until the right idea comes. My work revolves around social themes that are controversial in themselves, such as: politics, religion, and sex.
At the moment you touch these topics, from any point of view, you come across as a provocateur.
The subject is chosen based on the theme that you consider urgent at that moment, and the success of the work depends on how much you have managed to make that subject symbolic.
Is there a central message or idea that you try to communicate through your art?
As presumptuous as it may seem, behind each of my works I always hope to tell a fragment of truth. It is well known that truth is a double-edged sword, but an artist (if they truly are one) must not be afraid and must strive to seek and represent it. Often the beauty of a work is determined precisely by the truth it wants to reveal.
Your style is recognizable and iconic. Which artists or movements have most influenced your work?
An artist to whom I owe a lot is Andrea Pazienza, I often find in his works the right stimuli to continue doing my work. The movement I am usually associated with is Pop Art, to which I owe a lot, but I have always emphasized that the historical period I am most attached to is the Renaissance and the Baroque.
How does the social and political context influence your creative process?
A lot. My work is predominantly influenced by the political and social conditions in which I live. The themes I address are often social and aim to be a thermometer that measures the cultural degree of this era.
How do you see the role of the artist in the contemporary cultural landscape? Has it changed compared to the past?
In the past, the artist had a well-defined social role, today their role is quite varied and undefined. Each artist freely builds their own operational space and personal social role. I have always defined myself as a chronicler of art with the aim of bringing an increasingly wider audience closer to this world.
What is your relationship with the art market? How do you manage to balance the creative side with commercial needs?
I have never considered the problem (perhaps mistakenly). The only issue that interests me about a work is its technical quality and its communicative ability. I must admit that inside or outside the market, my works have always found a collector willing to buy them, and this makes me a lucky artist.
An artist’s coefficient is often a subject of debate. How do you perceive your coefficient, and how does it influence your relationship with collectors and the market?
In my opinion, the coefficient is a very limiting evaluation metric, it only looks at the measurements of the format of the work and not the content. As far as I’m concerned, a coefficient cannot determine the true value of a work.
The coefficient that has been applied to me until today has always satisfied me in part, because I always think I am worth more.
Is there something new we can expect in your work?
Perhaps a Mural in a Tuscan city and also a large sculpture in Lombardy, but all the details have not yet been defined, so we leave everything to time.
As expert in digital marketing, Amelia began working in the fintech sector in 2014 after writing her thesis on Bitcoin technology. Previously author for several international crypto-related magazines and CMO at Eidoo. She is now the co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Cryptonomist and Econique.
She is also a marketing teacher at Digital Coach in Milan and she published a book about NFTs for the Italian publishing house Mondadori, while she is also helping artists and company to entering in the sector. As advisor, Amelia is also involved in metaverse-related project such as The Nemesis and OVER.
