Artist Statement
My work is about searching and studying the connections between the opposites.
Things like illusions and reality, comfort and discomfort, happiness and sadness.
I am trying to study the difference between human beings, what make us like or dislike something and the psychology between each other.
My work is like a theatre; I have always been attracted by the theatre since I was a teenager and I was an actor for many years too.
Every time, with my work, I try to tell a story; The white canvas is like an empty stage and on a stage we need to tell a story.
Very often the story comes from my own experiences, a friend story or family, other times I might be inspired while I am on a bus or train, in a small town, by the sea or in a big city… Then, I see someone who catch my imagination and I create a new story, a drama to tell on the canvas or even on wood as often do.
They are stories about daily lives, encounters that we make, people that we like and others we don’t; Good and bad situations that we are constantly confronted with like love and fears, emotions, disappointments, contradictions and so on.
I might be inspired by a news on tv, a song on the radio, a political programme.
My “People”, or better, my "characters", are always on a kind of conflict; They are on the edge; They have dreams and hopes, new places to go to and new stories to live and tell; Love affairs that did not work out and love affairs that only seem to be working for the fear of loneliness… They all somehow live the instability of this life. They are no matter what on a constant search; I strongly believe that the moment that we stop searching and wondering our lives will become a boring still existence. My “People” are for sure always on the move; They are actors on a stage where they tell a personal story. They have lights and shadows, they have felt the the cold rain and known the pain and more, much more.
Of course on a stage we see all kinds of plays, sad, funny, tragic… and some of my characters are very ironic indeed (irony for sure has always saved my life). I also explore the abstract in my work, but even in doing so there are always a kind of of ‘invisible’ characters through the colours and shapes; It’s all about a theme , a thought, a dream… Long time ago I wrote: “When colours become a tool to tell a story… The artist is the director , the colours are the costumes , the shapes are the actors.“
April 2024
Siro Carraro