ALBERTO BACCARI. LIGHT THOUGHTS

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ALBERTO BACCARI. LIGHT THouGHTS.

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TESSERE MONDI. Come tanti fotogrammi di un film, mi scorrono rapide sotto gli occhi le immagini delle opere di Alberto Baccari che danno vita a questo catalogo. Ho già avuto modo di vedere qualche tempo fa alcune sue opere, ma questa è la prima volta che osservo nel suo insieme, il frutto della ricerca artistica degli ultimi sei anni di attività. Ciò che mi sembra evidente, di primo acchitto, in questi lavori, è l’estrema libertà di Baccari nell’attingere ad un thésaurus iconografico illimitato della Storia dell’arte del Novecento: dall’Arte Plastica all’Informale, dalla Pop Art alla Street Art, strizzando di tanto in tanto l’occhio al Concettuale pur conservando in fondo la propria identità di graphic designer. Ed è proprio da questo mondo, tuttora frequentato da Baccari, che vorrei iniziare per tentare un’analisi della ricerca fin qui condotta. A quella “scuola”, incunabolo di idee rapide e di veloce comprensione appartengono, a mio parere, molti dei lavori fin qui elaborati. Tante delle sue opere infatti, riportano dei titoli già contenuti al loro interno, come fossero delle insegne luminose, slogan sociali, spot o reclame. Sono in altre parole, la visualizzazione pittorica del sistema iconico di cui si serve il mondo della comunicazione. In questo processo di trasposizione l’opera pittorica acquista con Baccari quell’immediatezza nell’acquisizione del dato percettivo che è tipica del messaggio pubblicitario anglosassone. Ecco allora che a definire l’impianto del quadro concorrono lettere, numeri, parole, frasi che rimandano al mondo della strada, della tv, della comunicazione più in generale. Forme, pupazzi, profili di volti, ominidi, skyline di città, sono solo alcune delle immagini che popolano le sue tele, tutte o quasi, raccordate da una linea-segno che ne definisce gli spazi, sorta di limes, quasi a voler assegnare un ordine ad un qualcosa che è per natura difficilmente incasellabile. Momenti della vita, ricordi, che l’artista cerca di trattenere all’interno di griglie di modo che non se ne perda la memoria. La libertà di attingere ad un repertorio iconografico sconfinato è pari alla libertà di adottare stili e ricerche di un recente passato artistico che l’artista avverte come non ancora concluso. Ecco allora che i vari linguaggi come l’Informale e la Pop, l’Arte dei Graffiti, ma anche l’Arte Concettuale che hanno caratterizzato la cultura americana dagli anni Sessanta ad oggi, e che Baccari ha avuto modo di conoscere direttamente vivendo a New York in quegli anni di piena gestazione, si mescolano tra di loro e convivono senza gerachie all’interno dei suoi dipinti. Ma quello di Baccari, si presti attenzione, non è un atteggiamento cleptomane, quello cioè dell’artista a corto di idee che prende in prestito o ruba stili e idee altrui. Esso è semmai una rivisitazione in chiave del tutto personale, ovvero dotata di una propria cifra, sorta di citazionismo volto a portare avanti discorsi, tecniche, generi, sentiti ancora di grande attualità, all’insegna del già noto ma non acquisito o comunque sia, di un noto che viene manipolato e reinterpretato e dunque di nuovo conio. Emergono in conclusione in questi dipinti, la facilità e la felicità espressive di creare attraverso trame e orditi sempre differenti, tessiture di mondi infiniti dove ciascuno è invitato a partecipare e dove ognuno, anche per un momento, si può ritrovare.

Alberto Dambruoso

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Beginning with pieces of graphic work, fragments, puzzles, lines, clips, trips, out takes, close-ups and lost brushes, the artist works with things that have seeming wandered in from somewhere else. They are collected fragments from the world of forms. Layers over layers. Lines that connect and lines that do not connect. An unexpected match of patterns. Adult and childish. Sophisticated and fun. Filled with contradictions. Much like the world itself.

Robert Shulman, New York.

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Intorno al 1890 una comunità di pigmei M’bute, fu visitata da un antropologo che guidava una moto. Questi non furono colpiti né dalla visione di un uomo così diverso da loro, né da quella specie di cavallo meccanico che l’uomo scolorito conduceva; ciò che al di sopra di ogni cosa colpì la loro attenzione fu il segno che la ruota della motocicletta aveva impresso sul terreno. Non diversamente nella storia della pratica pittorica, la tela come il terreno, può essere considerato lo spazio, in cui di secolo in secolo, il pittore lascia il suo segno.La ricerca pittorica di Alberto Baccari nasce da questa storia e dall’esigenza di decifrare i segni. Il lavoro sul segno è un’eredità dell’attività di designer della comunicazione che l’artista svolge da anni. I quadri sono sequenze ritagliate dai resti di progetti grafici e di design, sviluppandosi da una suggestione visiva e come per i Pigmei impressionati dalla traccia, l’artista lega la propria ricerca al caso delle cose che restano. La casualità è l’impianto teorico e visivo, una mappa pre-concettuale nella quale cercare le direzioni da prendere per dipingere. Nel lavoro grafico il segno è strutturato in funzione della comunicazione, nel lavoro pittorico è destrutturato e diventa esso stesso comunicazione. Il segno grafico così decostruito produce uno spostamento semantico causato dall’inserzione e sovrapposizioni di numeri, linee, parole. La pittura intesa come il negativo o l’altra faccia della del lavoro grafico è il luogo dove avviene l’azione contraddittoria di sfilacciare l’ordito della tela fino all’evidenza del frammento. Così come il testo dell’introduzione concepito in una lingua fantastica abbandona lo spazio dell’interpretazione dettato dall’urgenza della pagina da leggere, alla stessa maniera la pittura di Alberto Baccari abbandona lo spazio della costruzione visiva, lasciando che i segni accumulati restino nell’enigma del doppio sguardo che lega autore e spettatore nella percezione pittorica.La pittura diventa allora decifrazione e allo stesso tempo destrutturazione del segno.

In 1890 a M’bute pygmy’s community was visited by a famous anthropologist driving a motorcycle. They weren’t at all interested in the new human encounter, nor in the never seen before speed vehicle the man was driving. What they were interested in were the tire prints left in the sand. Alberto Baccari’s pictorial research begins from the desire to decode these marks. His work is part of the essence of being a long time communication designer. His paintings are cut off pieces from graphic and design projects. Developing from a visual suggestion, the artist connects his own search to things that last. The search is both theoretic and visual. It’s a pre-conceptual mapping in which the artist looks for a path, a direction to paint. In the graphic work the mark is structured to communicate. In the pictorial work it’s de-structured and becomes communication itself. The de-structured mark produce a semantic leap with superimposition of numbers, lines and words.Painting as the exact negative or the other side of the graphic work, it is where the canvas warp gets worn out till the fragment is revealed. As the intro above is conceived in a nonsensical language only the leftover marks are accumulated as the only dual evidence between the viewer and the author.

Mariapaola Spinelli

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THE PROCESS OF THINKING.EUNUCHS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE (1299-1923).

SEARCHING.LOGOS.

CORNERS. GRAPHICS.

NYC.HETEROGENEOUS.

ON PAPER.bIO.

112543516777139145175185

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THE PROCESS OF THINKING.

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light thought #1 (2012). acrylic on canvas 155x200

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PROCESS OF THINKING.

light thought #2 (2012). acrylic on canvas 155x200

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light thought #3 (2012). acrylic on canvas 180x120

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PROCESS OF THINKING.

light thought #4 (2012). acrylic on canvas 155x200

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light thought #5 (2012). acrylic on canvas 140x230

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PROCESS OF THINKING.

light thought #5 (2012). acrylic on canvas 140x230

light thought romanico (2012). acrylic on canvas 100x100

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light thought #6 (2012). acrylic on canvas 100x100

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light thought #10 (2009). oil and acrylic on canvas 130x150

PROCESS OF THINKING.

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light thought #9 (2012). acrylic on canvas 120x180

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PROCESS OF THINKING.

light thought #11 (2012). acrylic on canvas 120x180

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light thought #13 (2012). acrylic on canvas 120x180

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PROCESS OF THINKING.

light thought #14 (2012). acrylic on canvas 120x180

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EUNUCHS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE (1299-1923).

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eunuch #1 (2010). acrylic on canvas 130x150

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eunuch #4 (2008). acrylic on canvas 100x100

EUNUCHS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE (1299-1923).

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eunuch #3 (2012). acrylic on canvas 155x200

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EUNUCHS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE (1299-1923).

eunuch #5 (2008). acrylic on canvas 100x100

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8 eunuchs (2007). acrylic on canvas 90x120

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EUNUCHS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE (1299-1923).

4 eunuchs (2007). acrylic on canvas 130x150

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eunuch #7 (2010). acrylic on canvas 130x150

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eunuch #6 (2009). acrylic on canvas 80x100

eunuch #7 (2010). acrylic on canvas 130x150

EUNUCHS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE (1299-1923).

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eunuch #8 (2012). oil and acrylic on canvas 130x150

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EUNUCHS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE (1299-1923).

eunuch #10 (2011). acrylic on canvas 100x100

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eunuch #12 (2013). oil and acrylic on canvas 150x130

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eunuch #13 (2008). oil and acrylic on canvas 130x150

EUNUCHS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE (1299-1923).

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eunuch #11 (2011). acrylic on canvas 80x100

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EUNUCHS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE (1299-1923).

eunuch #14 (2010). oil and acrylic on canvas 130x150

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eunuch #15 (2013). oil and acrylic on canvas 100x100

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eunuch #16 (2009). acrylic on canvas 130x150

EUNUCHS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE (1299-1923).

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SEARCHING.

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search #8 (2010). acrylic on canvas 150x130

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search #6 (2010). acrylic on canvas 150x130

SEARCHING.

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search #9 (2010). acrylic on canvas 100x100

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search #7 (2010). acrylic on canvas 120x80

SEARCHING.

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search #5 (2010). acrylic on canvas 130x150

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SEARCHING.

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LOGOS.

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amicus (2008). acrylic on canvas 60x60

LOGOS.

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good energy (2010). acrylics on canvas 100x70

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good energy (2010). acrylics on canvas 100x70

LOGOS.

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artist’s proof 1/1

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artist’s proof 1/1

LOGOS.

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artist’s proof 1/1

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artist’s proof 1/1

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tw2 (2005). acrylic on canvas 120x80

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tw2 (2005). acrylic on canvas 120x80

LOGOS.

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DC Junior (2012). acrylic on canvas 90x120

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DC Junior (2012). acrylic on canvas 90x120

LOGOS.

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CORNERS.

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corners (2003) #5. acrylic on canvas 100x100

CORNERS.

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cairo (2003). acrylic on canvas 100x100

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cairo (2003). acrylic on canvas 100x100

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corners #5 (2004). acrylic on canvas 80x120

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corners #6 (2004). acrylic on canvas 80x120

CORNERS.

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corners #9 (2004). acrylic on canvas 80x80

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corners #10 (2012). acrylic on canvas 150x130

CORNERS.

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GRAPHICS.

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graphic #4 (2008). acrylic on canvas 100x100

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GRAPHICS.

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graphic #1 (2007). acrylic on canvas 140x120

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graphic #5 (2007). acrylic on canvas 120x140

GRAPHICS.

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60’s (2002). acrylic on canvas 100x100

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60’s (2002). acrylic on canvas 100x100 british (2004). acrylic on canvas 100x100

GRAPHICS.

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crime scene (2006). acrylic on canvas 100x100

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crime scene (2006). acrylic on canvas 100x100

GRAPHICS.

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time change (2005). acrylic on canvas 80x120

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time change (2005). acrylic on canvas 80x120

red and blue (2008). acrylic on canvas 100x100

GRAPHICS.

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previous page:nyc (2004). acrylic on canvas 120x803 hands (2002). acrylic on canvas 120x80

i wish i could be him (2005). acrylic on canvas 120x80

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previous page:nyc (2004). acrylic on canvas 120x803 hands (2002). acrylic on canvas 120x80

GRAPHICS.

i wish i could be him (2005). acrylic on canvas 120x80

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parco (2007). acrylic on canvas 100x100

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parco (2007). acrylic on canvas 100x100 untitled (2006). acrylic on canvas 120x120

GRAPHICS.

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graphic #12 (2009). acrylic on canvas 60x80

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out takes #1 (2009). print on paper 15x15

GRAPHICS.

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black and brown (2008). acrylic on canvas 80x120

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malta unfinished (2008). acrylic on canvas 80x120

GRAPHICS.

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africa (2007). acrylic on canvas 80x120

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crop #1 (2007). acrylic on canvas 80x120

GRAPHICS.

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tiles (2007). acrylic on canvas 100x100

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octopus (2007). acrylic on canvas 100x100tiles (2007). acrylic on canvas 100x100

GRAPHICS.

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faith (2008). acrylic on canvas 100x100

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faith (2008). acrylic on canvas 100x100

wind instrument (2008). acrylic on canvas 80x100

GRAPHICS.

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tartan #1 (2009). acrylic on canvas 80x120

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head-lines (2007). acrylic on canvas 80x120

GRAPHICS.

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crop #2 (2007). acrylic on canvas 80x120

GRAPHICS.

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crop #3 (2007). acrylic on canvas 80x120

GRAPHICS.

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crop #6 (2008). acrylic on canvas 80x100

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graphic #6 (2008). acrylic on canvas 130x150

GRAPHICS.

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graphic #11 (2009). acrylic and oil on canvas 80x100

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graphic #10 (2009). acrylic on canvas 80x100

GRAPHICS.

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out takes #2 (2009). acrylic on canvas 33x16

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verdi (2008). acrylic on canvas 50x70

GRAPHICS.

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graphic #17 (2009). acrylic on canvas 120x80

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graphic #17 (2009). acrylic on canvas 120x80

GRAPHICS.

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graphic #16 (2009). acrylic on canvas 120x80

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graphic #16 (2009). acrylic on canvas 120x80

GRAPHICS.

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graphic #18 (2012). acrylic on canvas 150x130

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graphic #18 (2012). acrylic on canvas 150x130

GRAPHICS.

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rings #1 (2012). acrylic on canvas 100x100

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self-portrait (2012). acrylic on canvas 80x120

GRAPHICS.

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graphis #19 in Germany (2011). acrylic on canvas 120x180

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graphis #19 in Germany (2011). acrylic on canvas 120x180 graphis #21 in Germany (2011). acrylic on canvas 120x180

GRAPHICS.

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graphis #23 in Germany (2011). acrylic on canvas 120x180

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graphis #23 in Germany (2011). acrylic on canvas 120x180 graphis #18 in Germany (2011). acrylic on canvas 120x180

GRAPHICS.

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graphis #25 in Germany (2011). acrylic on canvas 120x180

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graphis #25 in Germany (2011). acrylic on canvas 120x180 tartans and tweeds #2 (2010). acrylic on canvas 130x150

GRAPHICS.

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tartans and tweeds #3 (2010). acrylic on canvas 130x150

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tartans and tweeds #4 (2010). acrylic on canvas 130x150

GRAPHICS.

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tartans and tweeds #5 (2010). acrylic on canvas 130x150

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tartans and tweeds #1 (2010). acrylic on canvas 130x150

GRAPHICS.

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NYC.

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china town (2004). acrylic on canvas 100x100

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upper east side (2009). oil and acrylic on canvas 130x150

NYC.

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upper west side (2009). acrylic on canvas 130x150

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culture vs. instinct, Brooklyn (2007). acrylic on canvas 120x120

upper west side (2009). acrylic on canvas 130x150

NYC.

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HETEROGENEOUS.

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on the road to the east (2005). acrylic on canvas 150x150

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february ghosts (2004). acrylic on canvas 80x80

HETEROGENEOUS.

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fight (2007). acrylic on canvas 120x120

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friends (2005). acrylic on canvas 120x120 fight (2007). acrylic on canvas 120x120

HETEROGENEOUS.

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self-portrait (2006). acrylic on canvas 120x120

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HETEROGENEOUS.

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push (2007). acrylic on canvas 120x120

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sign (2007). acrylic on canvas 120x120

HETEROGENEOUS.

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ola (2006). acrylic on canvas 120x120

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ola (2006). acrylic on canvas 120x120 country club (2006). acrylic on canvas 120x120

HETEROGENEOUS.

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teddy bears don’t dance (2007). acrylic on canvas 120x120

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thing (2006). acrylic on canvas 120x120

HETEROGENEOUS.

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harlequin on mott street (2006). acrylic on canvas 120x120

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harlequin on mott street (2006). acrylic on canvas 120x120

HETEROGENEOUS.

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analysis (2005). acrylic on canvas 120x120

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graphic #12 (2009). acrylic on canvas 60x80

HETEROGENEOUS.

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road map to nowhere (2005). acrylic on canvas 100x100

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road map to nowhere (2005). acrylic on canvas 100x100

HETEROGENEOUS.

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portairt of a bearded man (2008). acrylic on canvas 120x140

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portairt of a bearded man (2008). acrylic on canvas 120x140

greece (2008). acrylic on canvas 100x100

HETEROGENEOUS.

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tizio (2004). acrylic on canvas 100x100

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equusgucci (2007). acrylic on canvas 100x100

HETEROGENEOUS.

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ON PAPER.

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deep thought #a (2012). graphite and acrylic on paper 30x30

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ON PAPER.

deep thoughts #b (2012). graphite and acrylic on paper 30x30

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deep thoughts #c (2012). acrylic on paper 23x23

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deep thoughts b/w (2012). graphite on paper 23x23

ON PAPER.

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bb&bob (1993). watercolor on paper 36x41

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ON PAPER.

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Alberto Baccari

Italian and American.Art Director. Graphic Designer. Writer. Product Designer. Filmmaker. Painter. Alberto is a creative innovator who has driven award-winning communication strategies for many of the world’s premier brands.

He has worked in Tokyo, London, Barcelona, Los Angeles, Turin, Milan and New York.

His work has been featured by and has won awards including; the Clio, a Lion at the Cannes Film Festival, The one Show, the NY Art Director’s Club, D&AD (British AD’s Club), Creativity, LaTriennale di Milano (industrial design), CA Ad Annual The British Television Award. A selection of his work is on permanent exhibit at theLouvre Museum in Paris.

Baccari’s credits include running Baccari Meckler Worldwide in New York, a group of International strategic thinkers.

Now Alberto is creating TW2, based in Milan Italy, a new team of Dynamic Communication Designers geared toward smart European products interested in international markets. He is also maniacal about riding boots, men’s shoes, uniforms and horses, but that’s another story.

Baccari studied Psychology at university of Padua, Italy, and Film at The New York university in New York He lives with his wife Deane and sons Maximilian and octavius in New York and Milan.

Exhibition: Biennale Internazionale di Arte Contemporanea di Firenze, Davide Cenci’s Temporary Store 2010, Milano, Fucking Kunst at Kindl-Brewery in Berlin 2010. Frequency at onishi Gallery New York. Clen Gallery at Rogue Space New York, 2011, 2012, 2013. London Art Biennale, Chelsea old Town Hall, 2013.

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albertobaccari.com