ART, WHATEVER IT TAKES

Since the early pandemic in 2020, Rome Art Program has conducted a series of interviews, “Art, Whatever It Takes.”
Artists, Art Critics, and Art Historians living in Italy, the U.S., and U.K., share their insights during these powerful times.

Interview with Emiliano Alfonsi

Emiliano Alfonsi was born in Rome in 1980. During his academic studies, in addition to easel painting, with a particular interest in Flemish art, he dedicated himself to the study of ancient stained glass and mosaics, following the dictates of the medieval tradition.

His monumental works are still to be seen in more than seventy public buildings, ancient, modern and contemporary.

Emiliano’s paintings tell of the dimension of the human being through a meticulous study of the portrait as icon or allegory.  His solo and group exhibitions in galleries, museums and cultural centres have been numerous;   recently his solo exhibition ‘Sinopie’ was shown at Museo Riso, the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Palermo.

RomeArtProgram: What is your definition of “art” today?

Emiliano Alfonsi: Art is a manifestation of identity.

RAP: Art is dynamic and regenerates itself… how does it change, and how did it change us?

Emiliano: Art has the power not to change us, but to manifest the balance or imbalance of a society; it changes or evolves accordingly.

RAP: When (and how) did you understand that art was becoming very important in your life?

Emiliano: I have always believed that strong creativity is a trait or a predisposition that you are born with.

RAP: What role does art play today? What are the “great figures” who have recently changed it? Do you feel close to any of these figures?

Emiliano: The role of art today is to accompany us in an inner, subjective exploration. I rarely find its educational value, typical of past centuries. There are no people who have the power to ‘change’ art, but there are artists who restore the possibility of experiencing art through new and different forms.

RAP: Are there still traditional figures such as collectors, muses, mecenate and patrons, in today’s art and society interaction model?

Emiliano: Those figures certainly exist, with a less determined and decisive role than in past eras.

RAP: How have the new technologies and media culture changed art today, improving or worsening it…? What do you feel are your biggest challenges?

Emiliano: The absolute value of a work of art lies first and foremost in the ‘concept’ manifested through the tool. In this sense, technology has become a useful tool.

RAP: Art as a mirror of man, in this moment of emergency seems to be shattered …what do these fragments reflect now?… Shadow or light of the moment?

Emiliano: Art may reflect confusion, uncertainty and mistrust, but it’s right that it should also reflect this. After all, art has always denounced social conditions.

RAP: What is the real role of Academies and Art schools today? What can artists learn from these institutions today?

Emiliano: The role of institutions must be above all to fill cultural gaps; the student, the future artist, must prepare for his study with constancy and interest.

RAP: Art too has undergone a complex process of globalization; can having an authentic and genuine style be an advantage or a drag for an artist?

Emiliano: Authenticity is never a disadvantage, but a strength.

RAP: How do Art Galleries and Museums position themselves today, and, in your opinion, how should they?

Emiliano: Galleries and Museums have to be a comfortable place for artists, they must strengthen the dialogue between the work of art and the public, inviting enjoyment and freeing art from the elitist view in which it has often found itself.

RAP: “Figurative” or “Abstract” ? Which of the two is better descriptive of the period we live in? Which one will have a better future?

Emiliano: Every form of art must be able to describe the specific historical period.

RAP: Today we often speak of “emerging artists”; what advice based on your experience do you feel you can give to young artists?

Emiliano: Honesty, authenticity and devotion…

RAP: Art as a lens for reading the present, can it modify the space and time we pass through? …will art save us?

Emiliano: Art can only save the individual; let’s hope that it can save many people..!

@emiliano.alfonsi_art

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