Pier Forlano – Circle Foundation for the Arts

What themes does your work involve?

The themes vary immensely: work can be inspired by political topics, maps and territorial perceptions, tribal figures revisited, shamans and symbols or an inner journey in the unconscious world. Recently I have cherished a lot works that resemble to sculpted paintings, where I use a plank of polystyrene to sink certain figurines, or shapes, tunnels, glass shards and shells. the overall impression is a three-dimension artwork which offers extra stimuli and possibilities.

Describe your creative process.

The creative process starts by collecting images, drawings, sketches and also notes about the overall compilation. I then select the specific support, draw a sketch and begin filling the various parts having always at heart the harmony and the message. I try to respect a balance of black and white, a good geometry and appropriate colors. The equilibrium among those is paramount.

What influences your work? What inspires you? Why do you make art?

My work is influenced by travels, collecting images and art, or associations that I gather reworking on sketches and drawings. I am inspired by a lot of painters from the Nabis to the Transavanguardia and more generally by simple associations that manage to impress me and bring me a novelty in terms of meaning and representation. I make art to attract attention on the place where aesthetical and philosophical meaning are intertwined.

What are your goals and plans as an artist in 2023?

My plans for 2023 are seeking physical exhibitions in galleries and cultural centers of the region and keeping on participating to international catalogues or contests online. Another ambition is to take my art into working spaces. I want to sit and work on a specific new piece only if the quality and the meaning of the underpinning concept make sense. So I usually don't rush production.

How do recent advancements in technology affect your art practice? How may recent developments in Artificial Intelligence (image generator software) affect the definition of fine art?

I haven't so far ventured in AI to produce art. I have enjoyed a lot working on 3D laser prints. My impression is that AI or even tools like Non Fungible Tokens are. like any technological conquest, a dual-use weapon: they can disclose possibilities and accessibility but at the same time generate plagiary, simplification and over-proliferation of dull images that are totally guided by profit.

What is the role of the artist today?

I believe that the role of artists is to impersonate the "zeitgeist" or spirit of the time they live in but also digging down in their mind, unconscious and soul and bring up what is their true spirit and uniqueness. Very often, the artist has also a duty to protest or to convey a political message, although that hasn't forcibly got to become a permanent feature. Another sacred duty of the artist is being honest and avoid any manipulation by the market. Not an easy condition, when often artists are mostly overlooked and come last in social or welfare schemes.

What is good art? What makes a piece of art great?

I personally think that great art happens when the impact on gut feelings is overall larger than the impact on the mind; when defining art becomes almost useless and it appeals primarily to the right side of our brain. Great art is also when we keep coming back to something that intrigues us without knowing why. So explanations and captions help a lot but I remain convinced that the primal effect must appeal in a magical region of our brain where no one has access other than us, and sometimes that is also a bit painful or emotional.