Alessandro Nucci is a painter much appreciated for his wild natures. The protagonists of his paintings are the typical landscapes of his land, the Calabria, overlooking the sea and perched on boundless mountains and hills. In his works, in which the blue of the sky and the sea predominates, the wind is the dominant element. A wind that is sometimes light, sometimes impetuous, like his passions and her moods. Alessandro Nucci, originally from Malito, in the province of Cosenza, is a son of art. After graduating in Economic and Social Sciences he was first a teacher, then a manager in the public administration. He began his artistic career as a cartoonist very early on, and then devoted himself mainly to painting. He has several exhibitions to his credit, held throughout Italy. In this passionate interview, exclusively for Italians.it, Alessandro talks to us about his art, also revealing something about himself.
Nucci, when did you discover your love for art?
«In a house full of ideas, projects, colours, canvases, cards, you quickly learn to hold the brushes in your hand. My father, who was a painter and sculptor, managed to make any object "speak" even just after a walk on the beach the day after a day of wind and rough seas. He sat on the armchair and, with his penknife, carved and modeled a root that he had found on the beach."
When did you learn to express yourself with colors?
«I learned very early to express myself with colours, pencils, markers, wax crayons, acrylic colours, tempera, oil colours, clay. Over time I refined techniques and skills. I had some problems with the colors. Being color blind, I was limited "naturally", but little by little I discovered that this "diversity" of mine, after all, was a gift that nature offered me. The limit became an advantage because I learned to "build" colors by combining them together, and my paintings became "unique" in the true sense of the word. I began to participate in collective exhibitions and painting prizes which were frequent in my area."
He also paints objects and jewellery. Who makes them for?
«I painted on all surfaces: glass, plastic, wood, stones, precious stones. The birth of my daughters guided my choices. The glasses on the easel became incompatible with the little girls running around the house. Same thing for oil paints and varnishes, the smell of which disturbed the peace of the family. Today, as a full-time painter, I try my hand at all pictorial expressions. I have painted everything: boxes of all sizes, chandeliers, lamps, nativity scenes, watercolors on colored paper, table placemats, sheets, t-shirts and much more.
I love coral and I have tried to make necklaces, earrings, rings with the same enthusiasm as that of friends, relatives, acquaintances, then gradually people who asked me to make some special ones for them. So, between one exhibition and another, I spend my time creating something unique for others or even just for myself."
Nature is his muse. How have "your" sea and "your" meadows changed after the pandemic?
«The pandemic and the resulting isolation have transformed my landscapes. My beaches and my sea, kept at bay by boulders, were transformed into a beautiful place where the freedom of seagulls could offer nature a place to meet and regain power over overbuilding and mass tourism."
What does your choice not to paint people depend on?
«Human beings have disappeared from my paintings for many years. I couldn't say for what reasons in particular. Certainly, I have stopped painting them since I created the Via Crucis for a church in Rende, in which the only faces were those of Christ, Magdalene and those who were very close to him. I often ask myself why but I can't give myself an answer. Maybe because of the pain I was forced to endure, or maybe because it's difficult to talk to men. As in Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's masterpiece "The Little Prince", where an aviator meets a child who asks him to draw a sheep, and the latter, after several attempts, draws a box telling him that the sheep is inside, demonstrating that what is essential is invisible to the eye".
What relationship does it have with modern art?
«I love art in all its forms and, thanks to my brother, I have been able to meet and associate with leading artists in the world, visit their studios and observe them at work. Of course, I have my preferences: Hopper and Chagall with his painted dreams. It's easy to imagine why, right?"
What “hides” in its skies?
«My skies, with shades of various colors, attracted criticism from my loved ones who defined them as “improbable”. That is until, after a storm of rain and wind, the kind that transforms everything at the seaside, my daughter Ilaria ran to me shouting: "Come, dad, come and see your sky". What could be more fascinating for an artist than owning a sky?".
He is very attached to his roots. What inspires you most about your country?
«I am still entranced by seeing the places of my childhood again, the enormous spaces that surround my town, nature, the green of the leaves and the grass at the mercy of the wind, which still fascinate me today and are often present in my paintings» .
He has exhibited in several places. Are you already thinking about the next exhibition?
«I have held 48 exhibitions so far, exhibiting not only in my city and in my region, but also in Rome, Venice, Naples, Padua, Bologna, in galleries, famous bars and banks. Every morning I get up with a new idea to paint and think about what the next exhibition will be like."
(Photo: Alessandro Nucci, Facebook Profile)
